Mohammed Mostajo-Radji Explained

Mohammed A. Mostajo-Radji
Birth Date:1989 1, df=yes
Birth Place:Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Fields:Neuroscience, science diplomacy
Workplaces:Harvard University, University of California San Francisco, United Nations, University of California Santa Cruz
Alma Mater:
Thesis Title:In Vivo Reprogramming of Neuronal Identity and Local Connectivity in the Neocortex
Thesis Url:https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/37944964
Thesis Year:2016
Academic Advisors:
Awards:
  • Google Cloud Research Innovator (2023)
  • Latin Maya Award (2019)
  • 25 Drivers of a New Economy (2018)
  • Honorary Doctorate - Jose Ballivian University (2017)
  • Latino 30 under 30 (2017)
  • Franz Tamayo Medal (2015)
  • Person of the Year - El Deber Newspaper (2015)
  • John Wiley Jones Award for Outstanding Students in Science (2011)
Website:Mostajo-Radji.com

Mohammed A. Mostajo-Radji (born January 9, 1989) is a Bolivian scientist and diplomat. As the former Bolivian Ambassador for Science, Technology and Innovation, he has been the only Latin American science diplomat at the rank of ambassador.[1] [2] [3]

Scientific career

Mostajo-Radji completed his undergraduate studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he majored in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics and obtained a minor in Science, Technology and Society Studies. During his undergraduate times, he researched the genetic components of age-related hearing-loss under the supervision of Dina Newman.[4] In addition he worked closely with Robert Dirksen at the University of Rochester studying autosomal dominant skeletal myopathies[5] and with Nobel prize laureate Roger Tsien at the University of California San Diego synthesizing dual-modality bioimaging probes.[6] [7]

He completed his PhD at Harvard University in Molecular and Cellular Biology under the supervision of Paola Arlotta. His doctoral thesis focused on neuronal and cortical circuit reprogramming.[8] [9] His postdoctoral work, under the supervision of Alex Pollen at the University of California San Francisco focused on organoid models of brain development and evolution.[10] Throughout his scientific career, Mostajo-Radji has collaborated closely with many renowned neuroscientists, chemists, engineers and computational biologists, including, David Haussler, Adam Cohen, Arnold Kriegstein, Takao Hensch and Arturo Alvarez-Buylla.[11] [12] [13] [14] [8]

In April 2021, Mostajo-Radji announced in his social media that he had accepted a position as an Assistant Research Scientist at the Genomics Institute of the University of California Santa Cruz, where he holds principal investigator status.[15] Shortly after, he announced that he had been elected as a member of the Global Young Academy effective 2021.[16] Currently, Mostajo-Radji leads a research laboratory that is part of the Braingeneers consortium and is also the Director of the Live Cell Biotechnology Discovery Lab.[17]

Diplomatic career

Through a collaboration with the U.S. Department of State, Mostajo-Radji founded the Bolivian chapter of Clubes de Ciencia in 2015. This project aimed to create bridges of science education between the United States and Bolivia.[18] Originally criticized by the Bolivian government, this program rapidly became the most prestigious science education program in Bolivia.[19] [20] [21] Moreover, it became the largest science diplomacy experiment in Bolivian history.[20]

In February 2020, President Jeanine Áñez appointed him as Extraordinary Ambassador for Science, Technology and Innovation to international organizations and Silicon Valley.[22] [23] His primary affiliation was the United Nations, where he was part of the Bolivian Permanent Mission.[24] His role in Bolivian diplomacy became particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic, as he led the scientific response team to the pandemic.[25] [26] [27] [28] From this position, Mostajo-Radji assisted the Bolivian Chancellery with securing several donations of medical equipment, diagnostic software, laboratory tests and personal protective equipment from foreign governments and tech companies, including Alibaba and Huawei.[29] [30] In addition, he aided Bolivian companies facilitating the international transit and import of raw materials for local production of medications against COVID-19.[31] Upon dissolution of the strategic response room in La Paz on April 28, 2020, Mostajo-Radji worked with the United Nations Development Programme to install 13 molecular diagnosis labs across Bolivia.[32] Throughout the month of May, he personally run patient samples in several of these labs.[32] [33] Mostajo-Radji chose to work without pay while in Bolivia, and requested to donate his salary to his country's fight against COVID-19 instead.[34] [35] [36] [37] In December 2020, Nature magazine included Mostajo-Radji among the seven science advisors highlighted in its end of the year special on COVID-19.[38] In his invited contribution, he brought attention to some of the major issues he had to overcome, including political attacks and internal fights with members of the cabinet and the armed forces. After his work in Bolivia, Mostajo-Radji returned to the United States, where he worked in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of COVID-19 infection in the brain. He is a coauthor in an article published in the Proceedings of the United States National Academy of Sciences that shows the tropism of SARS-CoV-2 for human cortical astrocytes.[39]

Mostajo-Radji wrote two articles highlighting the special needs of his country during the pandemic: one article brings attention to the need for testing ventilators at high altitude,[40] and another one warning about the risks of HIV transmission in hyperimmune convalescent plasma donations in low- and middle- income countries.[41] Both articles were highlighted in the COVID-19 section of the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA) website.[42] [43] More recently, he has been the proponent of neurodiplomacy as a new science diplomacy tool that focuses on issues related to brain manipulation, governance and health.[44] [45]

Honors and awards

Mostajo-Radji has received several awards, including an honorary doctorate from Jose Ballivian University in Beni, Bolivia. In addition, he has been granted the Franz Tamayo medal, which is the highest honor granted by the Bolivian Senate.[46] In 2015, he was selected as Person of the Year by El Deber newspaper,[47] [48] and in 2017 he was selected as "Latino 30 under 30" by El Mundo Boston.[49] In 2019 he received the Latin Maya Award from the Networking for the Arts Foundation in Washington DC for his work in education development in Latin America. Other awards include the "Cruz Potenzada", which is the maximum award granted by the Comite Civico Pro Santa Cruz,[50] as well as the Melchor Pinto award granted by the Government of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.[51] [52] In 2023, Mostajo-Radji was selected as a Google Cloud Research Innovator.[53]

Select Publications

Science Publications

Science Diplomacy Publications

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mohammed Mostajo es designado embajador de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación .
  2. Web site: Bolivia, el primer país de Latinoamérica que cuenta con un embajador en Ciencia y Tecnología . Economy.
  3. Saucedo-Bendek . O . Ewel . S . Roman-Roig . FJ . Entrepreneurs' Perception Toward International Cooperation and Government Programs Concerning Entrepreneurship . Frontiers in Education . 2020 . 5 . 57 . 10.3389/feduc.2020.00057. free .
  4. Web site: Resident of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Finds a World of Research Opportunities .
  5. Loy . RE . Lueck . JD . Mostajo-Radji . MA . Carrell . EM . Dirksen . RT . Allele-specific gene silencing in two mouse models of autosomal dominant skeletal myopathy . PLOS ONE . 2012 . 7 . 11 . e49757 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0049757 . 23152933. 3495761 . 2012PLoSO...749757L . free .
  6. Web site: El joven boliviano Mostajo brilla en Harvard y se codea con premios Nobel .
  7. Web site: Hannover . Carla A. . Mohammed Mostajo-Radji, un científico incansable . Página Siete.
  8. Ye . Z . Mostajo-Radji . MA . Brown . JR . Rouaux . C . Tomassy . GS . Hensch . TK . Arlotta . P . Instructing Perisomatic Inhibition by Direct Lineage Reprogramming of Neocortical Projection Neurons . Neuron . 2015 . 88 . 3 . 475–483 . 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.10.006 . 26539889. 4794746 .
  9. Web site: Colen . BD . Neurons reprogrammed in animals .
  10. Mostajo-Radji . MA . Schmitz . MT . Montoya . ST . Pollen . AA . Reverse engineering human brain evolution using organoid models . Brain Research . 2020 . 1729 . 146582 . 10.1016/j.brainres.2019.146582 . 31809699. 7058376 .
  11. Bhaduri . A . Di Lullo . E . Jung . D . Müller . S . Crouch . EE . Espinosa . CS . Ozawa . T . Alvarado . B . Spatazza . J . Cadwell . CR . Wilkins . G . Velmeshev . D . Liu . SJ . Malatesta . M . Andrews . MG . Mostajo-Radji . MA . Huang . EJ . Nowakowski . TJ . Lim . DA . Diaz . A . Raleigh . DR . Kriegstein . AR . Outer Radial Glia-like Cancer Stem Cells Contribute to Heterogeneity of Glioblastoma . Cell Stem Cell . 2020 . 26 . 1 . 48–63 . 10.1016/j.stem.2019.11.015. 31901251 . 7029801 .
  12. Cadwell . CR . Bhaduri . A . Mostajo-Radji . MA . Keefe . MG . Nowakowski . TJ . 202749696 . Development and Arealization of the Cerebral Cortex . Neuron . 2019 . 103 . 6 . 980–1004 . 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.07.009 . 31557462. free . 9245854 .
  13. Adam . Y . Kim . JJ . Lou . S . Zhao . Y . Xie . ME . Brinks . D . Wu . H . Mostajo-Radji . MA . Kheifets . S . Parot . V . Chettih . S . Williams . KJ . Gmeiner . B . Farhi . SL . Madisen . L . Buchanan . EK . Kinsella . I . Zhou . D . Paninski . L . Harvey . CD . Zeng . H . Arlotta . P . Campbell . RE . Cohen . AE . Voltage imaging and optogenetics reveal behaviour-dependent changes in hippocampal dynamics. . Nature . 2019 . 569 . 7756 . 413–417 . 10.1038/s41586-019-1166-7 . 31043747. 6613938 . 2019Natur.569..413A .
  14. Pollen . AA . Bhaduri . A . Andrews . MG . Nowakowski . TJ . Meyerson . OS . Mostajo-Radji . MA . Di Lullo . E . Alvarado . B . Bedolli . M . Dougherty . ML . Fiddes . IT . Kronenberg . ZN . Shuga . J . Leyrat . AA . West . JA . Bershteyn . M . Lowe . CB . Pavlovic . BJ . Salama . SR . Haussler . D . Eichler . E . Kriegstein . AR . Establishing cerebral organoids as models of human-specific brain evolution . Cell . 2019 . 176 . 4 . 743–756 . 10.1016/j.cell.2019.01.017 . 30735633. 6544371 .
  15. Web site: UCSC Genomics Institute Research Investigators .
  16. Web site: Welcome GYA New Members 2021! .
  17. Web site: New Live Cell Biotechnology Discovery Lab aims to reshape STEM education .
  18. Web site: U.S. Embassy in Bolivia . Empowering the future generation of Bolivian scientists and innovators .
  19. Ferreira . LMR . Carosso . GA . Duran . NM . Bohorquez-Massud . SV . Vaca-Diez . G . Rivera-Betancourt . LI . Rodriguez . Y . Ordonez . DG . Alatriste-Gonzalez . DK . Vacaflores . A . Auza . LG . Schuetz . C . Alvarado-Arnez . LE . Alexander-Savino . CV . Gandarilla . O . Mostajo-Radji . MA . 195354045 . Effective participatory science education in a diverse Latin American population . Palgrave Communications . 2019 . 5 . 1 . 63 . 10.1057/s41599-019-0275-0. free .
  20. Carosso . GA . Ferreira . LMR . Mostajo-Radji . MA . 201064904 . Scientists as non-state actors of public diplomacy . Nature Human Behaviour . 2019 . 3 . 11 . 1129–1130 . 10.1038/s41562-019-0716-1 . 31427786.
  21. Carosso . GA . Ferreira . LMR . Mostajo-Radji . MA . 201711307 . Developing Brains, Developing Nations: Can Scientists Be Effective Non-state Diplomats? . Frontiers in Education . 2019 . 4 . 95 . 10.3389/feduc.2019.00095. free .
  22. Web site: Los Tiempos Digital . Presidenta Áñez posesiona a Mohammed Mostajo Radji como Embajador de Ciencia y Tecnología . 13 February 2020 .
  23. Web site: Justiniano Cuellar . Gina . Mohammed es embajador tecnológico; hará acercamientos a nombre del Estado en Silicon Valley . El Deber.
  24. Web site: Juarez . Ivone . Embajador Mostajo, listo para presentar a Bolivia como colaboradora del avance científico . Página Siete.
  25. Web site: Egaña . Camilo . Especialistas: La geografía, un obstáculo para Bolivia en la lucha contra el coronavirus . CNN en Espanol.
  26. Web site: Gobierno compra 500 respiradores y fortalece sistema de salud para luchar contra el coronavirus . 2 April 2020 . Bolivia.com.
  27. Web site: Wight . Andrew J . Venezuela faces COVID-19 outbreak with hospitals that at times lack soap and water . NBC News.
  28. Web site: Paredes Tamayo . Ivan Alejandro . Llega a Bolivia hidroxicloroquina, insumo clave para el tratamiento del coronavirus . El Deber.
  29. Web site: AFP . Bolivia recibe donación de Alibaba y pide ayuda a Musk por coronavirus . 2 April 2020 . Los Tiempos.
  30. Hospital del Norte: Implementan Inteligencia Artificial para tratar pacientes con Covid-19 . Página Siete . June 12, 2020 .
  31. Web site: Llega a Bolivia materia prima para tres medicamentos contra el COVID-19. 2020-07-15. La Razón Noticias de Bolivia y el Mundo. es.
  32. Sucre: Embajador de Ciencia y Tecnología entregó laboratorio PCR con reactivos y en pleno funcionamiento . Bolivia Nueva . May 2020 .
  33. Mostajo: Gobierno instaló 5 laboratorios para diagnóstico; los dos últimos en Beni y Chuquisaca . Opinion Bolivia . https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/pais/mostajo-gobierno-instalo-5-laboratorios-diagnostico-ultimos-beni-sucre/20200512014250767126.html.
  34. Web site: Mostajo sobre respiradores: Declaré como testigo, no tengo vela en ese entierro - Diario Página Siete. 2020-07-25. www.paginasiete.bo. es.
  35. Web site: Longaric dice que Mostajo pidió licencia sin sueldo para dedicarse a la lucha contra el COVID-19. 2020-07-25. La Razón Noticias de Bolivia y el Mundo. en.
  36. Web site: Áñez y su gabinete donarán parte de su sueldo para afectados por COVID-19. 2020-07-25. La Razón Noticias de Bolivia y el Mundo. en.
  37. Web site: Bolivia. Opinión. Mostajo dice que no tiene "vela en este entierro" y niega ser novio de hija de Áñez. 2020-07-25. Opinión Bolivia. es.
  38. Awandare . G . André . E . Corrales-Aguilar . E . Chen . CJ . Mostajo-Radji . MA . Jancoriene . L . Nemer . M . Science advisers around the world on 2020 . Nature. 2020 . 588 . 7839 . 586–588 . 10.1038/d41586-020-03557-x. 33340028 . 2020Natur.588..586A . free .
  39. Andrews . MG . Mukhtar . T . Eze . UC . Simoneau . CR . Ross . J . Parikshak . N . Wang . S . Zho . L . Koontz . M . Velmeshev . D . Siebert . CV . Gemenes . KM . Tabata . T . Perez . Y . Wang . L . Mostajo-Radji . MA . de Majo . M . Donohue . KC . Shin . D . Salma . J . Pollen . AA . Nowakowski . TJ . Ullian . E . Kumar . GR . Winkler . EA . Crouch . EE . Ott . M . Kriegstein . AR . Tropism of SARS-CoV-2 for human cortical astrocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2022 . 119 . 30 . e2122236119 . 10.1073/pnas.2122236119. 35858406. free . 9335272 . 2022PNAS..11922236A .
  40. Breevoort . A . Carosso . GA . Mostajo-Radji . MA . 220296637 . High-altitude populations need special considerations for COVID-19 . Nature Communications . 2020 . 11 . 1 . 3280 . 10.1038/s41467-020-17131-6. 32612128 . 7329858 . 2020NatCo..11.3280B . free .
  41. Ferreira . LMR . Mostajo-Radji . MA . Plasma-based COVID-19 treatments in low- and middle-income nations pose a high risk of an HIV epidemic . npj Vaccines . 2020 . 5 . 58. 10.1038/s41541-020-0209-2. 32655899. 7338534 . free .
  42. Web site: Global Science Advice . [Comment] High-altitude populations need special considerations for COVID-19 ]. INGSA.
  43. Web site: Global Science Advice . [Comment] Plasma-based COVID-19 treatments in low- and middle-income nations pose a high risk of an HIV epidemic ]. INGSA.
  44. Mostajo-Radji . MA . The emergence of neurodiplomacy. . iScience . 2022 . 25 . 6 . 104370. 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104370. 35601914. free. 9120262 . 2022iSci...25j4370M .
  45. Mostajo-Radji . MA . A Latin American perspective on neurodiplomacy. . Front Med Technol . 2023 . 4 . 1005043. 10.3389/fmedt.2022.1005043. 36712171. free. 9880232 .
  46. Web site: Prensa Senado . Senado otorga máximas condecoraciones a personalidades e instituciones destacadas . Camara de Senadores de Bolivia.
  47. Web site: EL DEBER homenajeó a 11 Personajes del Año . El Deber.
  48. Web site: Mohamed Mostajo - Investigador Club de Ciencia Bolivia premiado por El Deber . Universidad Catolica Boliviana Santa Cruz.
  49. Web site: Harvard University . Former MCO student elected to latino 30 under 30 . 14 November 2017 . Harvard University.
  50. Web site: El Comité cruceño celebrará 68 años de vida con distinciones . El Deber.
  51. Web site: Legisladores condecoran a un colegio, una maestra y un científico . El Deber.
  52. Web site: Distinciones en celebración de la urbe cruceña . El Deber.
  53. Web site: Google Cloud Research Innovators. Goggle Cloud.
  54. Awandare . G . André . E . Corrales-Aguilar . E . Chen . CJ . Mostajo-Radji . MA . Jancoriene . L . Nemer . M . Science advisers around the world on 2020 . Nature. 2020 . 588 . 7839 . 586–588 . 10.1038/d41586-020-03557-x. 33340028 . 2020Natur.588..586A . free .
  55. Ferreira . LMR . Mostajo-Radji . MA . Plasma-based COVID-19 treatments in low- and middle-income nations pose a high risk of an HIV epidemic . npj Vaccines . 2020 . 5 . 58. 10.1038/s41541-020-0209-2 . 32655899. 7338534 . free .
  56. Barber . K . Mostajo-Radji . MA . Youth Networks' Advances Toward the Sustainable Development Goals During the COVID-19 Pandemic . Frontiers in Communication . 2020 . 5 . 589539 . 10.3389/fsoc.2020.589539 . 33869518 . 8022559 . free .
  57. Acosta . M . Szlamka . Z . Mostajo-Radji . MA . Transnational youth networks: an evolving form of public diplomacy to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals . SocArXiv . 2020 . 10.31235/osf.io/8247s. 219069565 .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mohammed Mostajo-Radji".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.