Sebastian Correa-Gallego

Biologist · Universidad EAFIT · Medellín, Colombia

Microbial ecology and cellular physiology, from subterranean systems to the yeast proteome.

About

I study how microbial life organizes under constraint. My work spans two systems: the cultivable microbial communities of a tropical volcaniclastic cave, where community structure shifts along a light gradient, and the proteomic allocation of cellular resources in yeast under carbon limitation.

These are different scales of a shared question — how biological systems negotiate energy, nutrients, and environmental restriction. I approach this through microbial ecology, evolutionary cell biology, and the integrative study of natural systems, with growing investment in quantitative and computational frameworks.

Research

Two active projects define the current scope of my work.

Sebastian Correa-Gallego collecting samples inside a cave in Antioquia, Colombia.

Cultivable Microbial Community Structure along a Light Gradient in a Tropical Volcaniclastic Cave

Undergraduate thesis

Universidad EAFIT

Advisor Prof. Nicolás Pinel Peláez
Group GEBI — Research Group on Geosciences and Biodiversity, Universidad EAFIT

This project examines how cultivable microbial communities vary as illumination, microclimate, and substrate conditions change across a confined subterranean system. The Organal San Antonio, a tropical volcaniclastic cave at ~2350 m a.s.l. in Támesis, Antioquia, provides a clear gradient that can be followed across three sectors — Entrance, Transition, and Dark.

My work combines field characterization, zonation, microclimatic records, R2A cultivation, and morphotype-based community assessment. At this stage, the scope is descriptive and ecological: to document cultivable community structure along the gradient and to interpret those patterns within the cave environment.

microbial ecologysubterranean systemscommunity assemblycultivable microbiologyfield ecology

Thesis completed

Schematic of the light gradient across the Organal San Antonio cave sectors. — Light gradient across the Entrance, Transition, and Dark sectors.

Distribution of cultivable morphotypes along the cave light gradient. — Cultivable morphotypes recovered along the gradient.

Fluorescence microscopy image showing mitochondrial staining on a dark background.

Proteome Allocation in Osmotrophic Eukaryotes across Carbon Regimes

Visiting Student Intern and ongoing collaborator

Purdue University

Advisor Dr. Shahed U. A. Shazib
PI Dr. Sergio A. Muñoz-Gómez

At Purdue, I contributed to a project examining how osmotrophic eukaryotes allocate proteomic resources to mitochondria under carbon limitation, using Kluyveromyces marxianus and Vanderwaltozyma polyspora as model systems. The work connects mitochondrial function, proteome composition, and cellular organization across physiological conditions.

My contribution centered on chemostat and turbidostat cultivation, cell harvesting, and the sample-preparation workflows feeding downstream proteomics. It took place during a Visiting Student Internship and continues through collaborative manuscript preparation; the description here remains intentionally general because the manuscript is still in preparation.

evolutionary cell biologymitochondriayeast physiologyproteomicscellular resource allocation

Manuscript in preparation

Publications & Presentations

Manuscripts in preparation

Sebastian Correa-Gallego, Nicolás Pinel Peláez

Cultivable microbial community structure along a light gradient in a tropical volcaniclastic cave

In preparation
Sebastian Correa-Gallego, Shahed U. A. Shazib, Sergio A. Muñoz-Gómez

Proteomic resource allocation to mitochondria across carbon regimes in yeast

In preparation

Presentations

Research proposal presentation, 2nd Symposium of Biology

Universidad EAFIT · 2024 · Awarded second place
Oral presentation, XXIII Encuentro Departamental de Semilleros de Investigación

RedCOLSI, Antioquia, Colombia · 2024 · January 2024

Recognition

Visiting Student Intern, UREP-C Program

Purdue University · 2025–2026
Undergraduate Scholarship

Comfama and Fundación Fraternidad Medellín · 2022

Academic Record

Education

B.Sc. in Biology, Universidad EAFIT

2022–2026

GPA: 4.44 / 5.00

Research positions

Visiting Student Intern, ECSO Lab

Aug 2025 – Jan 2026

Purdue University

Undergraduate Thesis Researcher

2024–2026

Universidad EAFIT · Advisor: Prof. Nicolás Pinel Peláez

Research Monitor

Jul – Dec 2024

Universidad EAFIT

Academic service

Student Director, Research Group on Microbiology and Astrobiology (SIAB)

Oct 2023 – May 2025

Universidad EAFIT · Affiliated with GEBI

Certifications

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training

Aug 2025

CITI Program

Technical Skills

Laboratory & biological methods

microbial cultivation (chemostat, turbidostat)environmental samplingecological field recordsmorphotype characterizationcell physiologyproteomics sample preparationmicroscopy

Quantitative & computational

RPythonLinux/BashLaTeXQGISbiological data analysisdata visualizationintroductory bioinformatics

Scientific workflows

scientific writingresearch communicationliterature synthesisfigure preparation

Languages

Spanish (native)English (professional proficiency)

Contact

Email is the best route for academic correspondence.

scorreag6@eafit.edu.co LinkedIn GitHub Download CV