Marcela Henao-Tamayo is an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology and Director of the Flow Cytometry Center at Colorado State University. She has a medical degree from the University of Antioquia, Colombia. After finishing medical school, Henao-Tamayo joined a research group investigating genetic characteristics that could predispose people to tuberculosis. After working on this devastating global disease, she was determined to pursue a career in the field of TB.

She came to CSU as a visiting scientist and leads a team that is studying the immune response needed to prevent TB. Henao-Tamayo is also part of a group working on a vaccine candidate to fight SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.