Rosa León Zayas

Rosa León Zayas explores some of the most remote places on the planet. A microbial ecologist, she explores the diversity and metabolic capabilities of microbial communities, spending weeks at sea far from land. Her work has led to the discovery of new organisms, and she has also identified genes involved in important processes such as the degradation of plastics.

León Zayas uses the latest computational biology tools to uncover distinctive attributes that allow bacteria and archaea to survive the high pressures and reduced resource availability in remote and extreme places. These include deep sea trenches many miles below the surface of the ocean, subsurface oil reservoirs that can reach temperatures of 320° F and the guts of reef fish migrating between regions. In addition to her computational approaches, León Zayas has the remarkable ability to return the novel organisms she discovers and grow them in the laboratory by figuring out the unusual conditions they prefer, whether it’s a preference for no oxygen, high temperatures or acidic conditions.

León Zayas is committed to the advancement of groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM, and she’s especially passionate about engaging members of the Puerto Rican, Hispanic and queer communities. She is a gifted educator that ignites curiosity about field biology.