Vicuña Rafael

Vicuña obtained his PhD in molecular biology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (New York) in 1978. He then joined the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the Pontifical Catholic U. of Chile in Santiago where he has been full professor since 1994. In 1986, he was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship. He is a member of the Latin American Academy of Sciences, the Chilean Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, among others. During 1997-99, he served as president of the Chilean Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He is also former dean of research and vice president for academic affairs at his University. His present field of interest is the biochemistry and molecular genetics of bacteria growing under extremely arid conditions. He is author of many scientific publications as well as essays dealing with science and society as well as science and religion.