César de la Fuente

César de la Fuente is one of the world’s leading voices on how artificial intelligence is transforming biology, scientific discovery, medicine, and the future of human health. A Presidential Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Machine Biology Group, he pioneered AI-driven antibiotic discovery and launched the field of molecular de-extinction, using machines to uncover potential medicines from both living and extinct organisms. His keynotes take audiences inside the next revolution in science: a future where computers help us discover life-saving molecules in hours instead of years. He is best known for pioneering AI approaches to antibiotic discovery, dramatically accelerating the identification of preclinical candidates from years to hours, including candidates that hold promise as therapies for infections that are currently untreatable. His work has reimagined the code of life as an information source that can be mined with algorithms to discover and design new functional biomolecules with therapeutic potential. He is among the youngest tenured professors in the history of Penn Medicine, has received more than 80 major awards, including the Princess of Girona Prize and the Fleming Prize, has published around 200 scientific articles, including in Science and Cell, and was elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, becoming one of the youngest scientists ever inducted.