Alejandro Llanes, PhD

Education:

  • S. in Biochemistry with specialization in Bioinformatics, University of Havana, Cuba.
  • Ph.D in Biotechnology, Acharya Nagarjuna University/INDICASAT AIP.

Position:

  • Researcher at Centro de Biología Celular y Molecular de Enfermedades (CBCME), Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP).

Research Area

  • Biochemistry and Bioinformatics.
Main research lines
  • Implementation of high-performance computer (HPC) systems to solve problems in biomedical research.
  • Genomics of bacterial and protozoan microorganisms causing infectious diseases.
  • Modelling of protein-ligand interaction and its application to the design of new drug and vaccine candidates.
Methodological Innovation and Implementation Lines
  • High-performance computer clusters (HPC) for the analysis of biological data.
  • Interactive computer systems for the visualization of the 3D structure of biomolecules.
  • Sequencing, assembly and annotation of microbial genomes with application to species of Leishmania, Leptospira and Anaplasma.
  • Molecular evolution and phylogenetics applied to pathogenic microorganisms, including SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).
  • Predictive strategies for the identification of B- and T-cell epitopes for the design of vaccines within the paradigm of reverse vaccinology.
Collaborations
  • Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios en Salud (ICGES), Panama.
  • Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Panamá, Panama.
  • Laboratorio Nacional de Trasplante de la Caja de Seguro Social (CSS), Panama.
  • Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
  • College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN, USA.
  • Department of Chemistry, University of Texas San Antonio, TX, USA.
Awards
  • Member of Sistema Nacional de Investigación (SNI), Panama, National Researcher II, March 2023.
  • Travel Award to attend the Research Explorer Ruhr Program. Rurh Univerität Bochum, Bochum, Germany, June 2019.
  • Travel Award to attend the Workshop on Next-generation Sequencing Bioinformatics. Wellcome Trust Advanced Courses, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile, January 2019.
  • Member of Sistema Nacional de Investigación (SNI), Panama, Ph.D. Student, November 2017.
  • Travel Award to attend the Workshop on Parasite Database Resources. Wellcome Trust Advanced Courses, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, United Kingdom, October 2013.

Publications

First author
  1. Restrepo, CM, Llanes A, Herrera L., Ellis E., Lleonart R., Fernández PL (2021) Gene expression patterns associated with Leishmania panamensis infection in macrophages from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. PLOS Neg Trop Dis 15(2): e0009225.
  2. Cruz H, Llanes A, Fernández PL (2024) Computational Prediction of Amino Acid Preferences of Potentially Multispecific Peptide-Binding Domains Involved in Protein-Protein Interactions. J Vis Exp 26:(203).
  3. Llanes A, Cruz G, Morán M, Vega C, Pineda VJ, Ríos M, Penagos H, Suárez JA, Saldaña A, Lleonart R, Restrepo CM(2022) Genomic diversity and genetic variation of Leishmania panamensis within its endemic range. Genet. Evol.103:105342.
  4. Llanes A, Cruz H, Nguyen VD, Larionov OV, Fernández PL (2021)A Computational Approach to Explore the Interaction of Semisynthetic Nitrogenous Heterocyclic Compounds with the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease. Biomolecules 11(1):18.
  5. Llanes A, Ortiz L, Moscoso J, Gutierrez G, Blake E, Restrepo CM, Lleonart R, Cuero C, Vernaza-Kwiers A (2021)HLA allele and haplotype frequencies in the Panamanian population. Human Immunol 82(1):5-7.
  6. Llanes A, Restrepo CM, Caballero Z, Rajeev S, Kennedy MA, Lleonart R (2020)Betacoronavirus genomes: How genomic information has been used to deal with past outbreaks and the COVID-19 pandemic. Int J Mol Sci 21(12):4546.
  7. Llanes A, Prakoso D, Restrepo CM, Rajeev S (2020)Complete genome sequence of a virulent Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni strain, assembled with a combination of Nanopore and Illumina reads. Microbiol Resour Announc 9(17):e00200-20.
  8. Llanes A, Rajeev S (2020)First whole genome sequence of Anaplasma platys, an obligate intracellular rickettsial pathogen of dogs. Pathogens 9(4):277.
  9. Llanes A, Restrepo CM, Lleonart R (2018)VianniaTopes: a database of predicted immunogenic peptides for Leishmania (Viannia) species. Database 2018:bay111.
  10. Llanes A, Restrepo CM, Rajeev S (2016) Whole genome sequencing allows better understanding of the evolutionary history ofLeptospira interrogans serovar Hardjo. PLoS ONE 11(7), e0159387.
  11. Llanes A, Restrepo CM, Del Vecchio G, Anguizola FJ, Lleonart R (2015) The genome of Leishmania panamensis: insights into genomics of the (Viannia) subgenus. Sci. Rep. 5, 8550.

Publications

Second Author
  1. Restrepo CM, Llanes A, Herrera L, Ellis E, Quintero I, Fernández PL (2025) Baseline gene expression in BALB/c and C57BL/6 peritoneal macrophages influences but does not dictate their functional phenotypes. Exp Biol Med 249, 10377.
  2. Barbosa LN, Llanes A, Madesh S, et al. (2024) Enhancement of clinical signs in C3H/HeJ mice vaccinated with a highly immunogenic Leptospira methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein following challenge. PLOS Neg Trop Dis 18 (9), e0012155.
  3. Ayala A, Llanes A, Lleonart R, Restrepo CM (2024) Advances in Leishmania Vaccines: Current Development and Future Prospects. Pathogens 13 (9), 812.
  4. Restrepo, CM, Llanes A, Herrera L., Ellis E., Lleonart R., Fernández PL (2021) Gene expression patterns associated with Leishmania panamensis infection in macrophages from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. PLOS Neg Trop Dis 15(2): e0009225.
  5. Herrera L, Llanes A, Álvarez J, Degracia K, Restrepo CM, Rivera R, Stephens DE, Dang HT, Larionov OL, Lleonart R, Fernández PL (2021)Antileishmanial activity of a new chloroquine analog in an animal model of Leishmania panamensis infection. Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist 14:56-61.
  6. Restrepo CM, Llanes A, Cedeño EM, Chang JH, Álvarez, J, Ríos M, Penagos, H, Suárez JA, Lleonart, R (2019)Environmental conditions may shape the patterns of genomic variations in Leishmania panamensis. Genes 10(11), 838.
  7. Restrepo CM, Llanes A, Lleonart R. (2017) Use of AFLP for the study of eukaryotic pathogens affecting humans. Genet. Evol. 63, 360-369.
  8. Restrepo CM, Llanes A, De La Guardia C, Lleonart R (2015)Genome-wide discovery and development of polymorphic microsatellites from Leishmania panamensis parasites circulating in central Panama.  8, 527.

Publications

Collaborations
  1. Rajeev S, Reed P, Llanes A, Jones R, Cushing A, Craig LE, Johnson B (2025) Infection caused by a cryptic fungal species, Blastomyces gilchristii, in a tiger. Acc Microb v1.
  2. Boya CA, Rodriguez C, Mojica-Flores R, Urrutia JC, Cantillo-Diaz V, Barrios-Jaen M, Ng MG, Pineda L, Llanes A, Spadafora C, Mejía LC, Gutiérrez M (2024) Antiprotozoal natural products from endophytic fungi associated with cacao and coffee. Metabolites 14(11):575.
  3. Rajeev S, Shiokawa K, Llanes A, Rajeev M, Restrepo CR, Chin R, Cedeño E, Ellis E (2020) Detection and characterization of Leptospirainfection and exposure in rats on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts. Animals 10(2), 350.
  4. Shiokawa K, Llanes A, Hindoyan A, Cruz-Martinez L, Welcome S, Rajeev S (2018) Peridomestic small Indian mongoose: An invasive species posing as potential zoonotic risk for leptospirosis in the Caribbean. Acta Tropica 190:166-170.
  5. González Y, Doens D, Cruz H, Santamaría R, Gutiérrez M, Llanes A, Fernández PL (2018)A Marine Diterpenoid Modulates the Proteasome Activity in Murine Macrophages Stimulated with LPS. Biomolecules 8(4), 109.
  6. Larson CR, Dennis M, Nair RV, Llanes A, Peda A, Welcome S, Rajeev S (2017) Isolation and characterization of Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni from a dog from Saint Kitts. JMM Case Rep. 4(10), e005120.
Alejandro Llanes, PhD

Alejandro Llanes, PhD

Highest degree of studies: Doctor of Biotechnology, Acharya Nagarjuna University/INDICASAT-AIP

Category: Researcher

Contact information:

E-mail: allanes@indicasat.org.pa

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