I'm a Colombian biologist, broadly interested in the role of behavior as a driver of population differentiation. The outstanding bird diversity of my home country, Colombia, made me an enthusiastic birder and ornithologist. I obtained my BS at Universidad de los Andes where I had the amazing experience of performing a long term population monitoring study about patterns of space use of montane birds for my undergraduate thesis. I was also a lab research assistant in a study on avian malaria parasites along altitudinal gradients, and more recently I was involved in a research project on behavioral ecology of migratory and non-migratory populations of Fork-tailed flycatchers. I founded my own birdwatching company in Colombia called Amazona Tropical Birding, which made me a more devoted birder and gave me the possibility of traveling to remote areas of the country, always making sure that local guides and communities obtained from birding tourism an incentive to get involved in conservation. 

I joined the TropBioLab at University of Rochester in Fall 2020 aiming to explore the field of behavioral ecology using experimental and genomic approaches. I´m particularly keen on how visual and acoustic signals involved in mate choice are shaped by ecological pressures that ultimately result in reproductive isolation of neotropical birds.

I am from Seoul, South Korea. I pursued a double major in Biology and Bioinformatics for my BSc and majored in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology for my MSc at Ewha Womans[sic] University in Korea. Since I am interested in the broad process of speciation, I mainly focused on population genetics, phylogenetics, and especially the ancient/anthropogenic introgression patterns in the genus Cobitis fish. Also, I participated in a project, discovering the genomic background of Lesser cuckoo's unique polymorphism. Starting from the birding club, I became deeply fascinated by various bird species' remarkable behavioral and morphological characteristics. 

Now, I have joined the E2G2 Graduate Program of the University of Rochester and started my first rotation in the TropBio Lab. I aim to investigate introgression, genetic incompatibility, and chromosome evolution of tropical birds and to understand the linkages between genetic, morphological, and behavioral traits. My ultimate goal is to promote fundamental sciences that require more support and attention from society by sharing experiences with diverse people.