Dr Clarissa Rios Rojas

Dr Clarissa Rios Rojas is a Peruvian scientist researching the risks of emerging technologies and the policy of a Science of Global Risk. She is founder and director of Ekpa’palek, an organization mentoring Latin-American young professionals, a futurist and gender equality advocate.

Academic interests

Clarissa Rios Rojas’s academic interests include: 

• Global catastrophic risks
• Policy
• Government science advice
• Mentoring
• Gender equality
• Existential risks
• Science diplomacy.

Degrees obtained

• BA, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Peru.
• Masters, Karolinska Institutet University, Sweden.
• PhD, University of Queensland, Australia.

Awards and prizes

• Latin American Eisenhower Fellow (2019).
• Awarded 'Exceptional Woman of Excellence', ​Women Economic Forum (2018​).
• Asian Forum on Global Governance and Raisina Dialogues Young Fellow (2018).
• Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders Program (2016​).
• UN Women champion for change​ (2015).
• Hero at EDUEXPO. ​Selected speaker and titled “Empowerment Leader” by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (AUSTRADE) and StudyBrisbane.

Biography

Dr Clarissa Rios Rojas started her career as a researcher on molecular biology, neurosciences, biomedicine and developmental biology, studying in Peru, Finland, Sweden and Australia. Following this, she undertook research on the risks of emerging technologies, providing evidence and advice to policymakers and international institutions around the world. Among others, this included the Ministry of Environment in Peru, European Commission, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, University of Cambridge and the World Health Organisation.

In 2015, Dr Rios Rojas founded the not-for-profit organisation Ekpa’palek, focused on the empowerment of Latin American young professionals through free mentorship programs in Spanish, Quechua, English and Portuguese. To date, Ekpa’palek have helped more than 400 students and professionals to reach some of their academic dreams.

She is a Global Future Council Fellow at the World Economic Forum and has also served as UN Women champion for women's economic empowerment, a UNESCO delegate, an Emerging Leader at the Atlantic Dialogues, a Fellow at the Asian Forum for Global Governance, an Expert Reviewer for the European Commission, an advisor at Women Economic Forum, the lead for the Science Advice working group at the Global Young Academy, an Eisenhower Fellow and an advisor to different mentorship initiatives.

Her current work is focused on international security, risks of emerging technologies, science diplomacy, foresight, co-creation of policy and preventing/managing global catastrophic (and existential) risks such as nuclear war, the misuse of artificial intelligence, bioweapons and human-engineered pandemics.

Other interests

Travel, dystopian books, science fiction, reduction of inequalities, dancing, living in different countries (9 so far), eating.