[5] He completed his dissertation "The reaper tales: molecular mechanism of inhibition of translation and induction of apoptosis by a novel family of reaper-like proteins" in 2003.

Following his PhD, Colón-Ramos moved to California in 2004 to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscientist Kang Shen's laboratory as a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation fellow, with the additional support of a National Institutes of Health "Pathways to Independence" award.

[1] In collaboration with William A. Mohler at University of Connecticut Health Center, Zhirong Bao at Sloan Kettering Institute, and Hari Shroff at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, Colón-Ramos has developed a mobile application and collaborative platform called WormGUIDES to act as a systems-level resource to track and detail neuronal connections in the nematode worm.

[11] In 2018, Colón-Ramos received a "High-Risk, High Reward" grant from the National Institutes of Health to better understand how energy is produced within neurons to power brain functions, which include memory formation and behavior.

[12] He holds an appointment at Marine Biological Laboratory and is an adjunct professor at the Instituto de Neurobiología José del Castillo, University of Puerto Rico.

[19] Colón-Ramos has also authored op-eds advocating for the place of rigorous science in policy in Puerto Rico, for instance, criticizing the flawed scientific findings generated by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which is tasked with evaluating the effect of pollutants on population health at Superfund sites like one found in Vieques, Puerto Rico.

Also in 2013, he and collaborator Guerrero-Medina authored an op-ed for PBS about a Puerto Rican Supreme Court ruling against the right of a lesbian couple to adopt a child.

[21] Together with the Mexican-American surgeon and researcher Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, he also wrote an op-ed for The New York Times about the role racism and discrimination continues to play in science education.