Julián Prieto is a political scientist with more than fifteen years of professional experience working across government institutions, international aid organizations, non-governmental organizations, and higher education. His research focuses on the geopolitics of scientific collaboration, with particular attention to science diplomacy, scientific diasporas, and research security. Climate change and biodiversity conservation are central themes that guide both his academic work and policy engagement.
At the University of Toronto, Julián co-leads a research initiative examining how emerging research infrastructures—particularly self-driving laboratories—are reshaping global regimes of research security, cooperation, and competition. His work investigates how states, industries, and institutions govern the circulation of scientific knowledge and technological capabilities in strategic fields such as battery innovation and critical technologies, and how these new forms of automated experimentation contribute to broader geopolitical, economic, and environmental transformations.
Julián has led and contributed to regional and international initiatives on science diplomacy, the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) Nexus, and biodiversity governance, with a strong focus on Latin America and the Amazon. He routinely collaborates with policymakers, scientific networks, and multilateral organizations to translate research into actionable insights for decision-makers.
