AI-Driven Antibiotic Discovery Scientist & Presidential Associate Professor at University of Pennsylvania; Director of Machine Biology Group; MIT Technology Review Top Innovator

Philadelphia, PA, USA
Live Event: Please Contact Virtual Event: Please Contact More Fee Info

César de la Fuente Biography

César de la Fuente is a Presidential Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and among the youngest tenured professors in the history of Penn Medicine. He serves as director of the Machine Biology Group at Penn and holds a distinguished early-career position at the institution. De la Fuente completed postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned a doctorate from the University of British Columbia. He holds appointments in psychiatry, microbiology, chemical and biomolecular engineering, and bioengineering across Penn's Perelman School of Medicine and School of Engineering and Applied Science.

De la Fuente's research focuses on leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to accelerate discovery in biology and medicine. He pioneered the development of the first computer-designed antibiotic with efficacy in animal models, helping establish AI-driven antibiotic discovery as an emerging field. His work integrates principles from synthetic biology, chemistry, and microbiology to develop antibiotics using computational approaches. His lab has developed methods to mine biological information, enabling the identification of more than 1 million antimicrobial compounds and reframing the human body as a systematic source of antibiotics. This research has significantly increased the speed of antibiotic discovery, reducing processes that once took decades to just hours.

De la Fuente's lab has advanced antibiotic discovery by applying machine learning to explore the proteomes of extinct organisms, including Neanderthals and Denisovans, to identify potential new antibiotics. This work launched the field of molecular de-extinction and introduced a new framework for drug discovery. The approach has yielded preclinical antibiotic candidates such as neanderthalin, mammuthusin, and elephasin. Additional innovations from his lab include reprogramming venoms into antimicrobials, developing autonomous nanorobots to treat infections, creating resistance-proof antimicrobial materials, and inventing rapid, low-cost diagnostic devices for COVID-19 and other infections.

De la Fuente has received more than 80 national and international awards. He is an elected fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and was recognized by MIT Technology Review as one of the world's top innovators for work on digitizing evolution to improve antibiotics. His honors include the Princess of Girona Prize, the ASM Awards for Early Career Applied and Biotechnological Research and for Early Career Basic Research, the Fleming Prize, selection as a National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine, the Sloan Fellowship, and selection by the World Economic Forum to the Young Global Leaders Class. He was also elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. De la Fuente has been named a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher multiple times, placing him among the top 1 percent of cited researchers globally, and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Leon at age 39.

He has co-authored a book on machine learning for drug discovery, secured multiple patents, and published around 200 peer-reviewed papers in journals including "Cell," "Science," "Cell Host & Microbe," "Nature Biomedical Engineering," "Nature Microbiology," "Nature Communications," and "PNAS." De la Fuente has delivered around 400 invited lectures, including keynote and named lectures, and has spoken at TEDx. He serves on the editorial boards of numerous scholarly journals and is an associate editor of "Drug Resistance Updates," "Nature Communications Biology," "Bioactive Materials," "Bioengineering & Translational Medicine," and "Digital Discovery." With antimicrobial resistance projected to claim millions of lives annually in the coming decades, de la Fuente's work addresses a critical frontier in modern medicine and contributes to public discourse across academia and industry.

BOOK César de la Fuente

Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 04/29/2026.

César de la Fuente Videos

César de la Fuente: Uncovering new antibiotics with AI

César de la Fuente: Uncovering new antibiotics with AI

César de la Fuente leverages machine learning to accelerate the discovery of lifesaving drugs and help reduce antibiotic resistance, a rising global...

Fleming Prize Lecture 2025: Professor Cesar de la Fuente - AI for Antibiotic Discovery

Fleming Prize Lecture 2025: Professor Cesar de la Fuente - AI for Antibiotic Discovery

0:00 - Interview 09:20 - Prize lecture About us: The Microbiology Society is a membership charity for scientists interested in microbes, their...

Machine Biology: The Future of Limitless Medicine  | César de la Fuente | TEDxPenn

Machine Biology: The Future of Limitless Medicine | César de la Fuente | TEDxPenn

NOTE FROM TED: Research around COVID-19 remains an ongoing field of study. This talk was delivered in April 2021. TEDx events are independently...

  • How do I book César de la Fuente to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like César de la Fuente for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for César de la Fuente, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for César de la Fuente or any other speaker of your choice.
  • What are the speaker fees for César de la Fuente

    Speaking fees for César de la Fuente, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book César de la Fuente are available upon request for live events and available upon request for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire César de la Fuente, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
  • What topics does César de la Fuente speak about?

    César de la Fuente is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Digital Health, Futurism, Healthcare, Innovation, Inventors, Medicine, Professors, Research & Exploration
  • Where does César de la Fuente travel from?

    César de la Fuente generally travels from Philadelphia, PA, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
  • Who is César de la Fuente’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like César de la Fuente for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book César de la Fuente for your next private or corporate function.
  • What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host César de la Fuente or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.
  • Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

César de la Fuente is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics. The estimated speaking fee range to book César de la Fuente for your event is available upon request. César de la Fuente generally travels from Philadelphia, PA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Samantha Tucker-Samaras, Sally Ann Frank, Girish Nadkarni, Kate Sasser and John Whyte. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling César de la Fuente for an upcoming live or virtual event.

Tell us about your event!

During normal business hours, we respond to most inquiries within 4 hours.
Please Select Event Budget
Please enter your message
Please Enter Your Name
Please Enter Your Email
  • Customized Service

    Our agents find the right fit for your event

  • Unparalleled Database

    Full access to all speakers & celebrities

  • One Stop Shopping

    A reliable and unbiased point of contact

  • Logistics Management

    Your personal Logistics Manager who takes care of all event details

This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.

All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.

If you are the talent and wish to request a profile update or removal from our online directory, please submit a profile request form.

TOP