team

I am an evolutionary developmental (neuro)biologist passionate about understanding how genomic changes shape craniofacial and sensory adaptive morphology. I’m wrapping up my time as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley (in the Martin Fish Speciation lab, in the Department of Integrative Biology and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology), and preparing to launch the Craniosensory Devomics Lab at Texas A&M in January 2027.

• Our Research Focus: My lab integrates evolutionary developmental biology, comparative morphology, and functional genomics to uncover how naturally evolved genetic variations rewire developmental pathways and neuronal circuits. Our unique approach uses naturally-evolved systems to decode the genetic architecture that shapes, and sometimes mis-shapes, the vertebrate face.

• Our Model System: We use Cyprinodon pupfishes to investigate the genomic and developmental mechanisms linking craniofacial evolution, sensory processing, and morphological specialization. This greatly morphological diversified vertebrate system provides an unparalleled window into rapid phenotypic change and environmental adaptations, as pupfishes exhibit strikingly diverse forms despite minimal genetic differentiation.