Filipa Godoy-Vitorino, Ph.D.
Core Lab Director
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Metagenomics, US NSF & DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), 2009–2012
- Ph.D. Biology (Microbial Ecology), University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras, 2009
- EU Socrates Erasmus Fellow, Univ. of Las Palmas, Spain (ULPGC), 2002
- B.S. Biology (Licentiate), University of Porto, Portugal (FCUP), 1998–2002
Mariam Vázquez, Ph.D
Project Coordinator
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Neurobiology – UPR Medical Sciences Campus, 2018-2025
- Complutense University of Madrid - Ph.D. in Neuroscience, 2016
- Complutense University of Madrid - Master’s Degree in Psychopharmacology and Drugs of Abuse, 2008
- Princeton University - B.A. in Psychology, 2004
Bio Dr Vazquez
Dr. Mariam Vázquez Berríos is the Project Coordinator for the RCM-COBRE Microbiome Center. She was able to acquire an extensive background in several disciplines including behavior, biochemistry, and molecular biology throughout her college and graduate career and research experience. From cognitive psychology to different aspects of alcohol addiction, this interdisciplinary experience has been crucial to her formation as a scientist.
Dr. Vázquez obtained a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Princeton University. She pursued a Master’s Degree in Psychopharmacology and Drugs of Abuse, where she began her career as a scientist at Universidad Complutense de Madrid. She then continued to earn her PhD degree at the School of Medicine of Universidad Complutense de Madrid by focusing on the link between the endocannabinoid system and alcoholism. After, she continued her training as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Neurobiology at Recinto de Ciencias Médicas.
As Project Coordinator, she is interested in supporting and furthering microbiome research through the COBRE Center to improve scientific research and, by extension, public and environmental health.
Jaleniz Suarez, B.S.
Miss Suarez is a research associate and bioinformatician with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science with a major in Environmental Sciences, mentored by Dr. Filipa Godoy-Vitorino. Her research focuses on microbial ecology and applied microbiome science across environmental and clinical contexts with a strong interest in data-driven research and translational science. She contributes to projects examining the microbial community structure in a variety of settings across Puerto Rico. In the COBRE Center she supports data generation, bioinformatics analyses, project organization, and interdisciplinary collaborations.
787-758-2525, ext 1323 (A376)
Irmarie Cotto, Ph.D
Adjunct Professor
Education
- Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 2022 - M.S. in Civil Engineering (Environmental Engineering)
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, 2015 - B.S. in Chemical Engineering University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, 2011
Biography
Irmarie Cotto, Ph.D. is an Adjunct Professor in Bioinformatics at the COBRE Puerto Rico Center for Microbiome Sciences. She earned her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Northeastern University and completed an NSF ASEE Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Washington. Her previous research focused on environmental microbiology, wastewater treatment, and the application of metagenomics and bioinformatics to study microbial communities and antimicrobial resistance in environmental and human-associated systems.
Dr. Cotto’s work has addressed critical challenges at the intersection of water quality, sanitation, and public health, including nitrogen removal in wastewater systems and environmental drivers of antimicrobial resistance in vulnerable populations. She has published peer-reviewed research in leading journals such as Water Research and Environmental Science & Technology and collaborated with interdisciplinary teams spanning engineering, microbiology, epidemiology, and public health.
In her role at the COBRE Puerto Rico Center for Microbiome Sciences, Dr. Cotto contributes to bioinformatics training, student mentorship, and collaborative research initiatives that advance microbiome science and data-driven approaches in Puerto Rico.
Zoila Alvarez-Aponte, Ph.D
Adjunct Professor
Education
- Ph.D. in Microbiology, University of California, Berkeley, 2025
- B.S. in Industrial Biotechnology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, 2019
Biography
Dr. Zoila Alvarez Aponte is an Adjunct Professor of Metagenomics at the COBRE Puerto Rico Center for Microbiome Sciences (COBRE-PRCMS). Her work has spanned diverse microbial systems, including vaginal, gut, plant-associated, and soil microbiomes, with a unifying focus on how microbial interactions shape community structure and function—and, ultimately, their surrounding environments.
Dr. Alvarez Aponte obtained her PhD at UC Berkeley, where she investigated nutrient-sharing interactions among soil bacteria using a model nutrient approach. By integrating genomic analyses with molecular and experimental approaches in microbial ecology, she developed a predictive framework for understanding cooperative and competitive interactions within bacterial communities.
In her role at COBRE-PRCMS, Dr. Alvarez Aponte supports bioinformatics training initiatives and contributes her expertise in data analysis to a range of collaborative research projects. She is deeply committed to interdisciplinary research, mentorship, and serving the people of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean through scientific knowledge.
