Ernesto Llamas obtained his Master’s degree in Biochemistry Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He received his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Center of Research of Agricultural Genomics (GRAG). In 2018, he was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellowship to study plant proteostasis mechanisms at the Cluster of Excellence - Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD). Since 2021, Ernesto has been working with Algas Zuccaro’s Lab part of the Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), where they study proteostasis rewiring during plant-microbe interactions.

The plant protein homeostasis (proteostasis) network is responsible for preserving proteins in their native conformations, even under stress conditions. This network is maintained by a balance between protein synthesis, folding, and degradation. Damaged or misfolded proteins are targeted for refolding or degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) or by chaperones. Proteostasis signaling pathways are activated under stress conditions to mitigate proteotoxic stress caused by the accumulation of misfolded and aggregated proteins. Ernesto's project focuses on investigating how proteostasis pathways are rewired during root colonization by the mutualistic fungus Serendipita indica.