Santiago, born in Bogotá, Colombia studied a double degree in Biology and Microbiology at Universidad de Los Andes. As a bachelor student, he went on several expeditions to remote areas of the country and was involved in two major projects.

The first project explored the novel antimicrobial activities in black widow’s venoms against environmental bacteria of medical importance. His second project surrounded the field of herpetology, where he studied the genetics, acoustic patterns, and geographical variations in nine species of Dendrobatidae frogs. 

After completing his studies in 2016, he worked at a biomedical company. Here he acquired experience in tissue culture under strict manufacturing procedures. In 2018, he worked in the plant physiology and quality control before being awarded with a Colfuturo sponsorship to study abroad. He then relocated to Melbourne, Australia in 2019, where he studied a Master of Biotechnology at The University of Melbourne.

Between 2019-2020 he completed research in the field of gene editing at the Centre for Eye Research Australia under the supervision of Dr Raymond Wong. From March 2021, he joined the TVRU team at CMRI as a Research Assistant.