Jaleniz Suárez Pérez is a Bioinformatics Technician and Research Associate at the Puerto Rico Center for Microbiome Sciences (COBRE-PRCMS), within the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus, School of Medicine. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras Campus in 2024.

Her research experience spans microbiome science, bioinformatics, molecular biology, and biomedical and environmental research. Her work focuses on applying computational and molecular approaches to characterize microbial communities across human, animal, and environmental systems. She has contributed to multidisciplinary research examining host-associated and environmental microbiomes across cancer, neurological and metabolic conditions, environmental exposures, marine ecosystems, and the built environment. Her technical experience includes microbiome sequencing data analysis, bioinformatics workflows, metadata curation, DNA extraction, and sample preparation for sequencing.

Her research training also includes an internship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, where she investigated genetic variation associated with risk and resilience to autism spectrum disorder. Her scientific contributions have resulted in peer-reviewed publications and presentations at local and national scientific conferences, including research in microbial ecology and human-associated microbiomes.

In addition to her research activities, Suárez-Pérez is actively engaged in scientific mentorship, professional organizations, STEM education, and community outreach. Her professional interests center on advancing microbiome and biomedical research through the integration of bioinformatics, molecular approaches, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Email: jaleniz.suarez@upr.edu and smpr50@micropr.org