Otto X. Cordero, Ph.D.

PriME Project: Top-Down Control and Metabolic Cross-Feeding in Marine Microbiomes

Otto Cordero is interested in the biological and ecological processes that govern the assembly and collective function of microbial communities, in particular those that colonize and break down complex forms of organic matter in the environment. His laboratory addresses this challenge by developing novel model systems that allow the study of microbial communities at microbial scales, and by using advanced computational techniques to leverage the information encoded in microbial genomes. In 2017, Cordero co-founded PriME, a new Simons Collaboration that brings together physicists, biologists and engineers to decipher the rules that govern the assembly and functioning of marine microbial ecosystems.

Bio:
Otto X. Cordero received a B.S. in computer and electrical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Ecuador, an M.Sc. in artificial intelligence from Utrecht University, and a Ph.D. in theoretical biology, also from Utrecht University. In 2014 Cordero received the ERC Starting grant in Europe and in 2015 he moved to MIT, where he has since been a member of the faculty. Cordero is a past Sloan Fellow in Ocean Sciences and recipient of the Simons Early Career Award in Marine Microbial Ecology.