Pablo Dans Puiggròs, Principal investigator and ProfessorDansLab applies this approach as a fully academic research group at the University of the Republic in Uruguay, centered on computational biophysics, molecular modeling, and structural bioinformatics, with AI emerging as a newer area of its research.
Led by Pablo Dans Puiggròs, principal investigator and professor, the group has more than two decades of experience studying nucleic acids, modified oligonucleotides, protein-nucleic acid complexes, and molecular recognition. Its contribution is centered on scientific research, training students and young researchers, developing and evaluating methods, sharing tools through open science, and building collaborative research connections. That academic foundation is complemented by Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, where access to biomedical researchers, experimental expertise, and specialized infrastructure brings the group closer to biological and biomedical questions.
“We are not only users of computational tools. We also develop new methods, force fields, and molecular models. Our goal is to move from sequence and structure to dynamics, function, and molecular mechanism,” says Dans.
That established expertise is now providing the foundation for a new research direction. With the addition of bacterial genetics researcher Dr. Germán Traglia, DansLab is bringing together computational biophysics and bacterial genetics to investigate antimicrobial resistance. The group is exploring how mutations alter protein function, how bacteria adapt to selective pressure, how genetic regulation and mobile elements contribute to resistance, and how oligonucleotide therapeutics could potentially be explored against these mechanisms. Still an emerging area of research, this work represents an effort to apply DansLab’s established computational expertise to biologically and medically relevant questions at a new frontier.
Central to its research is the relationship between computation and experimentation. While the group’s work is predominantly theoretical and computational, experimental observations remain essential for validating, refining, and challenging its models. Computational simulations generate hypotheses, explore molecular mechanisms, and help identify which systems, mutations, chemical modifications, or experimental conditions may be most informative, while experimental results provide evidence that can strengthen or correct those predictions. Notably, the group views disagreements between simulations and experiments as opportunities to identify missing assumptions and deepen scientific understanding through an ongoing feedback loop.
Open science is equally central to DansLab’s academic mission. The group shares computational tools, datasets, databases, analysis pipelines, and source code so that other researchers can inspect, reproduce, reuse, and build on its work. These resources support student training, reproducibility, transparent collaboration, scientific responsibility, and regional capacity building.
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We are not only users of computational tools. We also develop new methods, force fields, and molecular models. Our goal is to move from sequence and structure to dynamics, function, and molecular mechanism.
Open science is equally central to DansLab’s academic mission. The group shares computational tools, datasets, databases, analysis pipelines, and source code so that other researchers can inspect, reproduce, reuse, and build on its work. These resources support student training, reproducibility, transparent collaboration, scientific responsibility, and regional capacity building.
The commitment to collaboration also extends across Latin America. DansLab currently has around 10 projects and research partnerships involving Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico, while maintaining connections with researchers in Europe and the U.S. The group focuses on strengthening regional research communities, where access to specialized computational infrastructure can be challenging, by sharing expertise, computational capacity, and scientific resources.
Internationally, the group has also been involved for more than a decade in the Ascona B-DNA Consortium, an international community focused on DNA structure, dynamics, and mechanics (https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascona_B-DNA_Consortium). DansLab recently contributed to an article published in Nature Communications and participates in organizing consortium meetings, including efforts to bring researchers in the community together. Beyond its academic collaborations, DansLab also works closely with the pharmaceutical industry on the computational design and development of oligonucleotide therapeutics, with ongoing collaborations involving The Cell Company (US/Argentina) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (US). These activities, bridging fundamental research, international scientific collaboration, and translational applications, have earned DansLab recognition as the Top Molecular Modeling and Structural Bioinformatics Research Group in Latin America 2026.
DansLab is extending its work into antimicrobial resistance while strengthening research ties across Latin America and beyond. The group will continue using computational biophysics to develop methods, investigate molecular mechanisms, train researchers, and share its work openly, contributing to stronger scientific collaboration and research capacity across the region.
Molecular Modeling that Connects Structure to Mechanism
Structural biology projects often reach a point where a static structure stops answering the question that matters. A sequence may identify the system and a solved structure may show one conformation, yet therapeutic design or mechanism work can depend on how that structure moves, changes state and interacts with its molecular environment. Research leaders evaluating a molecular modeling group should therefore look beyond software access or compute capacity. The harder question is whether the group can connect simulation to a biologically useful interpretation without treating the model as an answer in itself.
That distinction is especially important in nucleic acid research. Modified nucleotides and oligonucleotide therapeutics can behave differently across conformational states, while protein–nucleic acid complexes and other recognition systems may depend on motions invisible in a single structure. A capable group should move from sequence and structure into dynamics and mechanism, then judge where the model remains uncertain. Method development matters because standard workflows are not equally reliable across every molecular system. The ability to adapt models, test force fields, benchmark external methods and develop new methods can be more consequential than simply running larger simulations.
Experimental grounding is another dividing line. Computation can narrow the search space before expensive laboratory work begins, but its value drops when simulation and experiment are treated as separate tracks. Better research programs use experimental measurements to challenge structural assumptions and resolve ambiguous conformations. They also allow computational work to identify which mutations and chemical modifications deserve closer examination under different test conditions. Disagreement between the two is useful when it exposes a missing assumption instead of being forced into a tidy match.
"DansLab works closely with experimental data and maintains an open-science model for code and research outputs."
Reproducibility deserves equal scrutiny because molecular modeling results can change with technical choices that are easy to hide in a publication summary. Structural preparation and sampling strategy can materially affect interpretation, as can force-field parameters and analysis settings. Research groups that expose code and data alongside analysis workflows and preparation details give collaborators a clearer basis for checking how conclusions were reached. That openness matters for institutions building internal expertise, since students and early-career researchers can learn from complete working projects rather than simplified descriptions.
Collaboration fit becomes more important when the research question spans several disciplines or institutions. Biomedical modeling rarely sits inside one clean boundary, particularly in areas such as antimicrobial resistance where genetics and molecular mechanism intersect with therapeutic design and evolutionary pressure. Groups that can work across computational and experimental teams are better placed to refine hypotheses and interpret data without overstating what simulation alone can establish.
DansLab is a strong fit for organizations looking for an academic research collaborator rather than a commercial modeling contractor. Its work is centered on computational biophysics and structural bioinformatics, with method development, benchmarking, model adaptation and critical evaluation tied directly to biologically grounded molecular modeling. DansLab works closely with experimental data and maintains an open-science model for code and research outputs. Its research structure is particularly relevant where nucleic acid dynamics and oligonucleotide therapeutics intersect with antimicrobial resistance and molecular mechanism. For buyers evaluating collaborative research depth rather than packaged services, that combination makes it a compelling choice.
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Molecular Modeling and Structural Bioinformatics Research Groups in Latin America Info
Q1
What Do Molecular Modeling and Structural Bioinformatics Research Groups in Latin America Do?
Molecular Modeling and Structural Bioinformatics Research Groups in Latin America study how biological molecules are built, move, interact and change in ways that influence function. Their work can combine molecular modeling, structural bioinformatics, molecular dynamics, sequence analysis and computational biophysics to examine systems that are difficult to understand from static structures alone. The field can support hypothesis generation, method development and interpretation of experimental findings while giving researchers a deeper view of molecular mechanisms.
Q2
How Does DansLab Connect Molecular Structure with Biological Function?
DansLab shows how Molecular Modeling and Structural Bioinformatics Research Groups in Latin America can move from sequence and structure toward dynamics, function and mechanism. Based at the University of the Republic in Uruguay, the academic group works across computational biophysics, molecular modeling and structural bioinformatics, with AI also contributing to its research. It develops methods, force fields and molecular models rather than relying only on existing tools. Most of its work is theoretical and in silico, while a wet-lab facility supports selected experiments.
Q3
Why Do Molecular Dynamics Matter in Structural Bioinformatics Research?
Molecular Modeling and Structural Bioinformatics Research Groups in Latin America use molecular dynamics because a single structural snapshot may not reveal the conformational changes that influence biological activity. Simulations can explore flexibility, molecular recognition and interactions across changing states, especially in systems involving DNA, RNA, proteins and modified nucleic acids. When computational predictions are compared with experimental evidence, researchers can test assumptions, refine models and identify questions that deserve closer laboratory investigation.
Q4
What Should Researchers Look for in Molecular Modeling Collaborations?
When assessing Molecular Modeling and Structural Bioinformatics Research Groups in Latin America, researchers should look beyond access to software or computing power. Useful capabilities include method development, model adaptation, force-field evaluation, reproducible analysis and a clear relationship between simulation and experimental evidence. Strong collaborations also make uncertainty visible rather than treating a model as a final answer. Open methods, accessible data and transparent workflows can make results easier to inspect, reproduce and extend.
Q5
How Does DansLab Support Regional Research Capacity and Open Science?
DansLab illustrates how Molecular Modeling and Structural Bioinformatics Research Groups in Latin America can combine scientific collaboration with shared research infrastructure. It makes computational tools, datasets, databases, analysis pipelines and source code available through an open science approach. The group also maintains research projects and partnerships across several Latin American countries, sharing expertise and computational capacity where specialized infrastructure may be harder to access. Its work extends from nucleic acid research and oligonucleotide therapeutics to an emerging focus on antimicrobial resistance.
Q6
Where Can Molecular Modeling Add Value in Biomedical Research?
Molecular Modeling and Structural Bioinformatics Research Groups in Latin America can add value when researchers need to connect structural information with mechanism. Computational studies can help narrow which mutations, molecular interactions, chemical modifications or conditions merit deeper investigation before laboratory resources are committed. They can also help interpret how structural changes relate to function across complex biological systems. The greatest value comes when modeling, structural bioinformatics and experimental work inform one another, creating a more testable path from molecular observation to biological understanding.
