Julio was born in Mexico City. He studied Chemistry at the University of Houston, and worked on the synthesis of indolyl propylene glycol natural products under Prof. Jeremy May. He then joined the Sarlah Group at Rice , with interests in natural product synthesis and drug development. Julio enjoys cooking outside of the lab almost as much as in lab. He also plays tennis and is always up for a match in any racquet sport. His other interests include snowboarding, piano, F1, and good food.