I am a tenure-track assistant professor in the Data Science and AI division at Chalmers since January 2023. I head the AI Laboratory for Molecular Engineering (AIME) in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. If you are a student/postdoc interested in doing research at the interface of machine learning, life science, and materials science in a vibrant and supportive environment, feel free to reach out via email to learn more about upcoming opportunities in my team and at Chalmers!

Previously, I was a postdoctoral associate in the Coley group at MIT, as well as an industrial postdoc in the Molecular AI team at AstraZeneca. Throughout my postdoctoral career, I worked on the development of Generative AI for small molecule drug discovery. Before AstraZeneca, I was a PhD student in Professor Berend Smit’s molecular simulation group at UC Berkeley and EPFL where I worked on materials discovery for carbon capture applications. I received my PhD in Chemistry from UC Berkeley in August 2018, and my BS in Chemistry from Caltech in June 2013.

I am Mexican-American, originally from Wilmington, California, but I fell in love with Gothenburg when I moved here for my first postdoc!

I can be reached at rocio.mercado [at] chalmers [dot] se or rocio [at] ailab [dot] bio.

News

• 24-04-14 - Save the date for the following two exciting workshops happening in Gothenburg this fall, both of which I am co-organizing:
  • Aug 26-28, 2024 - Machine Learning for Materials and Molecular Discoveries Symposium (ML2MD)
  • Oct 29-31, 2024 - CHAIR Structured Learning Workshop
• 24-01-29 - Our team at Chalmers is currently recruiting for two positions to join us as part of the Intel-Merck AWASES program. In this project, a PhD student and postdoc will work closely with researchers at Intel and Merck to engineer non-toxic PFAS replacements using AI. Here is the link to the PhD advertisement, and here is the link to the postdoc advertisement.
• 23-09-12 - Our division is currently recruiting for a position at the assistant professor (FoAss) level at Chalmers. The position is for candidates working in the data-driven life sciences (and related) fields. Consider applying and come be our colleague! link to job announcement (closed)
• 23-08-25 - Our group is currently recruiting two postdocs! For details, check out our group page.
• 23-07-10 - Out of office July 11 - August 14. I will be slow in responding to email and prioritize communications from students. Thank you for your patience!
• 23-07-05 - Our perspective on data sharing in chemistry is now published in JCIM! If you’re interested in a (brief) history of data sharing in chemistry, and some steps we can take to improve the publication of chemical reaction data, then you’re in luck.
• 23-01-09 - First official day as an assistant professor at Chalmers!
• 22-11-07 - Our group website is up and running! Though we are still in the process of updating a few pages, feel free to start browsing our research interests and open positions.

Last updated 24-08-04.

In case you are wondering, here’s how to pronounce my name.