Catherine Cifuentes-Rojas, Ph.D., is a biotechnology R&D executive and scientific leader whose career spans RNA therapeutics, genetic medicines, biologics, immunology, functional genomics, and translational research.

Raised in the foothills of the Andes in Colombia by parents who were elementary school teachers, Cifuentes-Rojas developed an early appreciation for education and intellectual curiosity. She graduated from high school at age 15 as class valedictorian before pursuing her scientific education.

Cifuentes-Rojas earned a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Microbiology from Universidad del Valle and a Master of Science in Immunology from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. She subsequently moved to the United States and earned her Ph.D. in Genetics from Texas A&M University, specializing in RNA biochemistry, molecular biology, and functional genomics.

Her scientific career continued at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where she investigated long non-coding RNAs in stem cell biology and received competitive research support, including an NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award and an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Fellowship. Her research was later recognized with the National Academy of Sciences Cozzarelli Prize in Biological Sciences.

After years in academic research, Cifuentes-Rojas expanded her work into biotechnology and therapeutic development. She held scientific leadership positions at Sail Biomedicines involving translational medicine, discovery biology, and in vivo pharmacology before joining Ginkgo Bioworks. Her work there has included R&D strategy across biotherapeutic programs as well as the development of RNA therapeutics and high-throughput validation capabilities.

Cifuentes-Rojas believes effective scientific leadership requires more than achieving technical milestones. Her approach emphasizes rigorous decision-making, intellectual curiosity, mentorship, adaptability, and empowering scientists to develop their own expertise.

Across her career, she has remained focused on connecting fundamental biological research with technologies capable of advancing therapeutic discovery.