On Aug. 1, 2025, Alexis “Alex” Jaramillo Cartagena, MS, PhD, joined the Department of Pathology as an assistant professor and assistant director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, where he will serve as section director of Bacteriology, Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing, and Specimen Management. He will support the department’s clinical, educational, and research missions—especially in delivering high-quality service to patients with complex needs, including transplant recipients, oncology patients, and pediatric populations.
“It’s truly exciting to be part of such a dynamic and high-performing lab,” said Jaramillo Cartagena. “The clinical microbiology enterprise at Duke is a large, high-complexity operation with outstanding facilities, cutting-edge instrumentation, and deep bench expertise across the Clinical Pathology division. I’m thrilled to contribute to this remarkable group and collaborate on advancing diagnostic testing and patient care. I’m also eager to mentor and train the next generation of pathologists, clinical laboratorians, and infectious disease specialists.”
Jaramillo Cartagena plans to collaborate with colleagues on test development and validation, ensuring that the laboratory continues to meet evolving diagnostic demands with innovation and scientific rigor.
He completed his undergraduate studies at Amherst College, where he developed computational mass spectrometry tools to study protein folding. He earned his PhD from The Rockefeller University, using single-particle cryo-electron microscopy to define the 3D structure and transcriptional interaction of an unconventional transcription factor in Salmonella.
Jaramillo Cartagena’s postdoctoral fellowship at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard focused on mechanisms of carbapenem resistance in clinical Enterobacterales isolates. Most recently, he completed a clinical microbiology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he led projects on HPV epidemiology and molecular testing in gynecologic and oropharyngeal specimens.
“Moving from NYC to Durham has been a big, but welcome, change,” said Jaramillo Cartagena. “I’m enjoying the warmer weather, scenic hiking trails, and the welcoming community—and I’m looking forward to catching some Duke basketball and football games this season!"