Research Trainee Spotlight: Julian David Otálvaro, PhD
As an undergraduate, Julian David Otálvaro, PhD, became “obsessed” with a 19th century scientist named Carl Friedrich Gauss—considered one of the greatest mathematicians in history.
“I realized that I wanted to live a life like his, filled with discovery and a passion for knowledge,” Dr. Otálvaro explains. “In retrospect, I may have been dreaming a bit too high, trying to be like Gauss! But that is where my deep interest in research began.”
Today, he is pursuing that dream at CHLA, in the lab of Michael Neely, MD, MSc, FCP. A Postdoctoral Fellow, his research combines pharmacokinetics—the study of how an organism interacts with a drug—with artificial intelligence.
“We are using machine learning and modeling tools to predict how quickly the kidneys will filter a medication from the blood,” Dr. Otálvaro says. “That information would help doctors better determine safe and effective medication dosing for children in intensive care.”
Outside of the lab, he enjoys traveling with his girlfriend and playing role-playing games with friends. He also loves to read. Originally from Rionegro, Colombia, he highly recommends “El Olvido que Seremos” (Forgotten We’ll Be) by the Colombian author Héctor Abad Faciolince. “Just the book, though,” he adds. “Avoid the movie!”
