Antonio was born in Michoacán, México and moved to the United States during his youth. He attended the University of California, Davis and double majored in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering with a Departmental Citation. Currently, Antonio is a fifth year PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. His research deals with studying the biosynthetic pathways associated with natural products and the reaction mechanisms of enzymes that form different bioactive metabolites, such as antibiotics and potential anti-viral agents. Apart from research, Antonio is passionate about mentoring and teaching students as evidenced with his three years as the lead graduate student instructor for the biochemical engineering laboratory course at Berkeley.