Francisco Cubillos Riffo

Francisco A. Cubillos earned his degree in Molecular Biotechnology Engineering from Universidad de Chile (2007) and his PhD in Genetics from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom (2010), under Edward J. Louis and Gianni Liti. He conducted postdoctoral research at INRA Versailles-Grignon, France, with Olivier Loudet, studying natural genetic variation and adaptation.

He is a Full Professor in the Department of Biology at Universidad de Santiago de Chile and leads the Molecular Genetics Laboratory. He is an Associate Investigator at the Millennium Institute for Integrative Biology (iBio; ICN17_022) and the Millennium Nucleus of Patagonian Limit of Life (LiLi; NCN2021_050). He leads FONDECYT Regular 1260075 and ECOS-ANID ECOS230001 and participates in Startup Ciencia SUC260289, which supports the development of a sustainable Chilean spirit. He has been recognized as an EMBO Global Investigator and serves as Editor of GENETICS, FEMS Yeast Research and Yeast.

His research examines how genetic diversity shapes yeast adaptation, diversification and biotechnological traits. He integrates field ecology, population and comparative genomics, quantitative and functional genetics, and experimental evolution to investigate wild Saccharomyces species from Patagonia. His work connects species discovery, including S. chiloensis, and the study of structural genome variation with the development of novel strains for food fermentation and sustainable bioprocesses.