Alfredo Cardenas

Biography

Alfredo Cardenas obtained BS and MS degrees in Chemistry at the Universidad Simon Bolivar in Venezuela, and a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh (2000). Before coming to UT Austin, he had a postdoctoral position at Cornell University (2000-2003) and then was an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of South Florida (2003-2009).

He uses simulation techniques such as Molecular Dynamics and Milestoning, to study different dynamical events involving biological membranes. Permeation process of small solutes and peptides through membranes has been a major focus of his research in the last years. Also, he has simulated dynamical changes at the membrane-water interface in the presence of ions and heterogeneous membranes. Most of these studies have been done in close collaboration with labs performing the corresponding experimental measures.