Faculty Researcher & Principal Investigator, Universidad Católica de Santa María
Luis Daniel Goyzueta Mamani, Ph.D.
I study Andean and Amazonian biodiversity to identify early drug candidates and scalable bioprocesses.
About
I'm a biotechnologist and Ph.D. in Bioprocess Engineering and Biotechnology, with ten years of research across Peru, Brazil, and France. My work sits at the intersection of computational drug discovery and industrial bioprocess engineering: I use molecular docking, dynamics simulation, and omics data to work out which natural compound is worth testing, then follow the strongest candidates into fermentation, nanomaterial synthesis, and in vitro validation.
I currently lead funded research at Universidad Católica de Santa María on neglected tropical diseases — Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, sarcocystosis — and, most recently, on a newly identified target in liver cancer. Earlier in my career I helped scale fermentation processes in Brazil and led a nanotechnology programme for smart textiles in Peru.
Most recently, I've begun developing amphiphilic saponins from quinoa — an Andean crop by-product usually treated as industrial waste — as biocompatible nanocarriers for drug delivery, alongside a patent-pending micellar formulation for leishmaniasis. Fluent in Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French.
What I work on
Five capabilities that carry a project from an idea in a natural-product database to a validated result on the bench.
Computational drug discovery
Virtual screening and molecular-dynamics pipelines that turn a natural-product library into a short list of validated leads — docking, MM/PBSA binding-energy analysis, and pharmacophore modelling on real disease targets.
Bioprocess engineering
Fermentation scale-up and Design of Experiments that cut production cost while turning agro-industrial residues into feedstock.
Biomaterials & nanotechnology
Biogenic nanoparticle synthesis and hybrid electrospray deposition for smart textiles — and, most recently, amphiphilic saponins and polymeric micelles as biocompatible nanocarriers for drug delivery.
Cell & molecular biology
Cell culture, ELISA, flow cytometry, and nucleic-acid workflows that confirm what the models predict.
Analytical characterisation
HPLC, NMR, HPSEC-MALLS, GC-MS, and FTIR to characterise every bioproduct I work with.
Experience
Ten years moving between the computer and the bench, in Peru, Brazil, and France.
Faculty Researcher & Principal Investigator
Universidad Católica de Santa MaríaSep 2025 — Present- Appointed by public competition as full-time Research Faculty (ranked 2nd of all areas, Res. 9313-CU-2025).
- Identified VCX2 as a previously unreported druggable target in hepatocellular carcinoma, combining single-cell RNA-seq and protein-interaction networks with natural-product docking — published as first and corresponding author.
- Lead a parallel project developing amphiphilic saponins from quinoa — an Andean crop by-product — as biocompatible nanocarriers for antileishmanial drugs; a related micellar formulation is now under patent examination with INDECOPI.
- Delivered three peer-reviewed articles in 2026 by running an integrated in silico → in vitro pipeline end to end.
- Extended the group's reach to five countries through joint studies with Ain Shams University (Egypt), UFMG, UFSJ and UNESC (Brazil), UNAM (Mexico), and INDICASAT-AIP (Panama).
Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Computational Biology & Chemistry Group, UCSMJan 2024 — Present- Lead a US$45.3K project prioritising candidates against Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, and sarcocystosis from the Peruvian natural-product database (PERUNPDB).
- Converted computational predictions into experimentally confirmed hits — malvidin and echiodinin validated as antileishmanial agents in vitro.
- Built the first pH-dependent inhibition model of a Leishmania infantum target enzyme, cited internationally.
Principal Investigator, Smart Textiles & Nanomaterials
Le QaraApr 2021 — Dec 2023- Directed a S/500,000 (~US$132K) FONDECYT grant, coupling biogenic nanoparticle synthesis with hybrid electrospray deposition on organic fibres.
- Removed hazardous reducing agents from the process by synthesising silver nanoparticles from pomegranate peel waste.
Postdoctoral Researcher, Bioinformatics
Genomics & Neurovascular Diseases Lab, UCSMNov 2020 — Dec 2023- Led bioinformatics for a rapid Alzheimer's diagnostic programme, publishing in iScience and Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience.
- Positioned Peruvian native metabolites as candidates against Alzheimer's disease and SARS-CoV-2 through structure-based screening.
Doctoral & Master's Researcher, Bioprocess Engineering
Universidade Federal do ParanáMar 2013 — Dec 2018- Cut production cost by 10% for PUFA-rich fungal biomass by reformulating culture media from agro-industrial residues, then scaling to bioreactor.
- Discovered a chitin-like exopolysaccharide from Mortierella alpina with antitumour activity — three Brazilian patent filings and six-plus publications.
A new druggable target in liver cancer
I identified VCX2 — a gene not previously linked to cancer therapy — as a druggable target in hepatocellular carcinoma, by combining single-cell RNA-seq, pan-cancer transcriptomics, and protein-interaction networks with natural-product docking. It's my first paper as both first and corresponding author.
A natural compound against three neglected-disease parasites
A collaboration with INDICASAT-AIP (Panama), supported by PROCIENCIA–CONCYTEC, has identified a natural compound active against Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania spp., and Plasmodium falciparum — pairing experimental assays in Panama with computational biology from our group in Arequipa.
A nanocarrier for a neglected disease, from waste to patent
I'm developing amphiphilic saponins from quinoa — an industrial by-product — as biocompatible carriers for antileishmanial drugs, from extraction through in silico validation of the carrier–drug interaction. A related Poloxamer 407 micellar formulation encapsulating malvidin, built with the same group, is now under patent examination in Peru.
Selected publications
Twenty-eight indexed articles, five book chapters, and two preprints under review. Filter by year, or see the full record on ORCID.
2026Goyzueta-Mamani LD, Barazorda-Ccahuana HL, Candia-Puma MA, Hamdy NM, Chávez-Fumagalli MA. An integrative omics-guided druggability analysis of VCX2 in hepatocellular carcinoma using Peruvian natural products. Frontiers in Bioinformatics 6:1822441.
2026Goyzueta-Mamani LD, Shimizu FY, de Freitas Diniz de Souza A, Pereira GVM, Dimbarre J, Soccol CR, Rodrigues C. Fermentation dynamics of yerba-mate and coffee-husk kombuchas: bioactive compounds, organic acids, volatile metabolites, and microbial succession. Frontiers in Nutrition 13:1935769.
2026Candia-Puma MA, Goyzueta-Mamani LD, Barazorda-Ccahuana HL, et al. In silico discovery and serological validation of Trypanosoma cruzi-specific B-cell epitopes for high-precision Chagas disease diagnosis. Frontiers in Microbiology 17.
2026Goyzueta-Mamani LD, et al. Targeting Dengue Virus NS3 Helicase: Biochemical and Computational Evaluation of Catechins from Camellia sinensis as Potential Therapeutic Leads. Preprint.
2026Rodrigues C, dos Reis GA, Ocán-Torres D, Goyzueta-Mamani LD, et al., Soccol CR. Unlocking the pharmaceutical potential of Kombucha: production, regulatory challenges and patent landscape. Food Science and Biotechnology 35(3):427–442.
2026Johnson-Corrales F, Terán Hilares R, Rodrigues C, de Carvalho JC, Goyzueta-Mamani LD. Structured systems based on natural saponins: a systematic review of design. ChemRxiv [preprint].
2026Goyzueta-Mamani LD, Barazorda-Ccahuana HL, Ng MG, Pineda L, Medina-Franco JL, Florin-Christensen M, Ferraz Coelho EA, Spadafora C, Chávez-Fumagalli MA. From proteome mining to structural validation: phosphopyruvate hydratase as a structurally tractable drug target in kinetoplastid parasites. bioRxiv [preprint].
2025Goyzueta-Mamani LD, Pagliara Lage D, Paco-Chipana M, Candia-Puma MA, et al. Exploring the potential of malvidin and echiodinin as probable antileishmanial agents through in silico analysis and in vitro efficacy. Molecules 30(1):173.
2025Machaca-Luque LY, Candia-Puma MA, Roque-Pumahuanca BM, Barazorda-Ccahuana HL, Goyzueta-Mamani LD, et al. Treatment options applied to preclinical animal-model studies for Chagas disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. F1000Research 13:885.
2025Vilca-Alosilla JJ, Candia-Puma MA, Goyzueta-Mamani LD, et al. Evaluating rabies test accuracy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of human and canine diagnostic methods. Diagnostics 15(4):412.
2024Goyzueta-Mamani LD, Barazorda-Ccahuana HL, Candia-Puma MA, Medina-Franco JL, Florin-Christensen M, Ferraz Coelho EA, Chávez-Fumagalli MA. Targeting Leishmania infantum mannosyl-oligosaccharide glucosidase with natural products: pH-dependent inhibition explored through computer-aided drug design. Frontiers in Pharmacology 15:1403203.
2024Echegaray-Ugarte TS, Cespedes-Loayza AL, Cruz-Loayza JL, Huayapa-Yucra LA, Cruz I, de Carvalho JC, Goyzueta-Mamani LD. Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles mediated by Punica granatum peel waste. Polymers 16(11):1531.
2022Rangel-Peña AC, Goyzueta-Mamani LD, et al. Bioprospecting lipid-producing microorganisms: from metagenomic-assisted isolation techniques to industrial application. Bioresource Technology 344:126455.
2022Goyzueta-Mamani LD, Barazorda-Ccahuana HL, Mena-Ulecia K, Chávez-Fumagalli MA. In silico analysis of metabolites from Peruvian native plants as potential therapeutics against Alzheimer's disease. Molecules 27(3):918.
2020Goyzueta-Mamani LD, de Carvalho JC, Magalhães AI, Soccol CR. Production, characterisation and biological activity of a chitin-like EPS produced by Mortierella alpina under submerged fermentation. Carbohydrate Polymers 247:116716.
Book chapters — Springer (Cultivated Meat, 2024); CRC Press (Second and Third Generation Bioplastics, 2023; Microbial Enzymes in Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, 2023); Elsevier (Microbial Lipids, 2022); Bentham (2016).
Patents
Pharmaceutical composition comprising malvidin in micellar form as a therapeutic alternative for leishmaniasis
Process for the identification and experimental validation of Trypanosoma cruzi-specific B-cell epitopes
Submerged-fermentation processes for Mortierella exopolysaccharide and PUFA-rich biomass
Funding
Competitive grants I've secured or contributed to as investigator.
Talks & visibility
Invited seminars and features from international research collaborations.
Education & skills
Ph.D., Bioprocess Engineering & Biotechnology
Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil · CAPES scholar
M.Sc., Biotechnology for Sustainable Development
Aix-Marseille Université, France · BIODEV–UNESCO scholar
M.Sc., Bioprocess Engineering & Biotechnology
Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil
B.Sc., Biotechnological Engineering
Universidad Católica de Santa María, Peru
Computational drug discovery
Omics & data science
Bioprocess & materials
Analytical & cell biology
Let's talk about your next study.
Open to postdoctoral collaborations, consulting, and speaking invitations in computational drug discovery and bioprocess engineering.
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