Marta Linares

Colombian environmental engineer revolutionizing rainforest conservation through biotech solutions

Marta Linares is a trailblazing environmental scientist leading Rainforest Biodesign Collective, a Bogotá-based organization deploying synthetic biology to combat deforestation. Her groundbreaking work includes:

1. Bioengineered Mycelium Networks: Developing fungal networks that accelerate soil regeneration in degraded areas, tested across 15 Amazonian communities since 2020
2. Plant Sentinel Sensors: Created low-cost biosensors using modified tobacco plants to detect illegal logging activity through reported by WIRED in 2022
3. Community Biotech Labs: Established mobile labs teaching indigenous groups CRISPR techniques to improve crop resilience against climate change
Her team's 2023 project - using gene-edited bacteria to break down plastic waste in rainforest rivers - was highlighted by the Nature Climate Change journal. Currently scaling operations with funding from the Global GreenTech Alliance, aiming to restore 500,000 hectares by 2025 through bioremediation techniques.