Patricio Pérez-Henríquez

I graduated as a Biotechnology Engineer from the University of Chile, where I also completed my Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology. Enriched by my research experiences abroad at UC Davis and University of Ghent, I moved to California to pursue fundamental biological questions, joining UC Riverside as a Postdoctoral Researcher in 2016. Later, I advanced to an Assistant Project Scientist role, and in 2024, I joined the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). My research is focused on coordinate cellular pattern formation and hormone signaling.

Research

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I’m fascinated on how biological systems program the self-assembly of complex, functional architectures from the bottom up. While traditional engineering relies on top-down assembly, life utilizes a decentralized control system for development where individual cells integrate biochemical signals and physical forces to orchestrate large-scale morphogenesis.

To decode these principles, I analyze cell biology through an engineering lens. I see cells as dynamic, responsive units that utilize “molecular logic gates” — such as auxin signaling hierarchies and polarized receptor-like kinases — to tune developmental programs to its environment. By combining advanced quantitative imaging with biomechanical characterization, I investigate how these cells adaptively “print” tissue patterns, from the interdigitated geometries of leaf epidermis to the radial architecture of the root.

My long-term goal is to uncover the fundamental design rules of biological self-organization. By defining these rules, I aim to provide a blueprint for synthetic biology, climate resilience, and the development of next-generation bio-inspired materials and self-repairing engineered systems.