A molecular scientist working across research, diagnostics and market implementation.
Marcela Riaño Caro is a Molecular Diagnostics and Laboratory Strategy Leader whose work connects peer-reviewed molecular research with the day-to-day reality of clinical laboratories in Latin America and Canada.
Chapters
A career at the intersection of science, diagnostics and implementation
01
Scientific foundation
Trained as a molecular microbiologist.
Marcela Riaño Caro is a bacteriologist and clinical microbiologist trained at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, with graduate work focused on molecular biology.
Her undergraduate thesis on rotavirus electrophoretic patterns and their relationship with the climate of Bogotá received an Academic Honor Mention from the University, and later contributed to peer-reviewed and molecular-database work on enteric viruses in Latin American pediatric populations.
02
From research into diagnostic implementation
A deliberate transition to industrial diagnostics.
After her early research years — at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, at Colsanitas, and through a documented collaboration with the Viral Gastroenteritis Section of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — she moved into industrial in vitro diagnostics.
The move was deliberate: to bring molecular science into the clinical laboratories that actually adopt and operate advanced testing at scale, and to make those laboratories succeed with the technology.
03
Molecular diagnostics and laboratory expertise
Across molecular biology, immunology and clinical chemistry.
Her diagnostics expertise spans molecular biology (including PCR and sequencing-related workflows), immunology and immunodiagnostics, clinical chemistry, and centralized laboratory solutions.
The work extends from scientific application support and standardization at the bench to workflow assessment, testing-pathway design and centralized laboratory operations.
04
Product and market leadership
Portfolio strategy, launch and commercial readiness.
She has led product portfolios and regional launches across Latin America and Canada — including regional marketing of immunology and molecular portfolios at DiaSorin (including the integration of Luminex molecular solutions), and product management of centralized laboratory solutions and companion diagnostics at Roche Diagnostics (with launches such as the e801 immunoassay module and the t511 coagulation system).
The consistent thread is the business case for advanced diagnostics: quantifying clinical and operational value, aligning field insight with product positioning, and building portfolio profitability inside regulated quality-system environments.
05
International and multicultural experience
Latin America and Canada.
More than fifteen years of international experience across Latin America (from Colombia as home base, extending to 12 markets during the DiaSorin LATAM period) and Canada (Abbott Laboratories, working with national laboratory networks such as LifeLabs and Dynacare).
The trajectory has consistently combined scientific depth with commercial and operational responsibility.
06
Leadership philosophy
Evidence, translation, and the laboratory as the customer.
Her working philosophy: diagnostic decisions should be evidence-based; scientific value has to be translated into clinical, operational and financial value that a laboratory director can act on; and the laboratory itself — its people, workflow and constraints — is the real customer of an in vitro diagnostics organization.
07
Education and credentials
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and specialist certifications.
MSc in Clinical Microbiology (Molecular Biology emphasis) · Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 2005.
Post-Graduate Diploma in Hematology & Blood Bank Management · Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 2000.
BSc in Bacteriology (Meritorious / Academic Honor Mention for the undergraduate research project) · Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 1999.
Specialist certifications: Train-the-Trainer / Tools for Trainer's Excellence — Neuland (Germany); Licensed Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).
Languages: English (full professional) and Spanish (native).