Constructing an edifice of life and science with Rocío Mercado (MIT‪)‬ Random Walks

In this episode, I converse with Dr. Rocío Mercado, who's currently a postdoc in the Coley group at MIT. Previously, Rocío was a postdoc in the Molecular AI team at AstraZeneca, where she worked on the development of deep generative models for small molecule drug discovery. Before AstraZeneca, Rocío was a PhD student in Prof. Berend Smit’s molecular simulation group at UC Berkeley and EPFL and received her PhD in Chemistry from UC Berkeley in August 2018, and her BS in Chemistry from Caltech in June 2013.

Rocío's research expertise lies in data-driven molecular design, at the interface of computer science and chemistry and she's passionate about the development of computational tools which can be used to enhance the process of pharmaceutical drug discovery, such as deep molecular generative models and molecular optimization methods. We indulge in a riveting conversation on her phenomenal journey through science and life; thoroughly inspirational mentors; fascinating research; confronting the imposter syndrome; fostering a more equitable and just environment in science; and many more things!!