Guillermo Montoya

Guillermo Montoya is Research Director and Group Leader at the Protein Structure and Function program at Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research at University of Copenhagen. His research interests revolve around the structure-function analysis of macromolecular machines involved in cell division, genome maintenance, and their connection with molecular scissors that initiate genome editing. The Montoya Group combines cryo-electron microscopy with biochemical, biophysical, and cellular approaches to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms of these complexes. The team elucidated the mechanism and further redesign of Cas12a, a new CRISPR-Cas effector ribonucleoprotein complex, and generated novel variants of Cas12a for therapeutic applications now being developed by Ensoma. Guillermo is an elected member of EMBO and is a recipient of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Distinguished Investigator Award.

Guillermo received his M.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of the Basque Country and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Zaragoza.