Karel Olavarria is a postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University. His research interest is bacterial physiology, with a focus on the understanding of the logic behind the structure and functioning of metabolic networks, combining methods such as genetic engineering, enzyme characterization, thermodynamic analysis, and bacterial cultures. He obtained his PhD at the University of Chile in 2012 studying the impact of modifying the stoichiometry of Escherichia coli central pathways. Before joining CLT, he worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Sao Paulo and the Delft University of Technology.