Last version: February 2025

Appointments

Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution (ISEM), Université de Montpellier, France.	Postdoctoral Fellow	2025 – present
Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Senckenberg Society for Nature Research & Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.	Postdoctoral Researcher	2020 – 2024
American Museum of Natural History, Dept. Vertebrate Zoology, New York, USA.	RGGS Fellow	2018 – 2020
The Ohio State University, Dept. Evolution Ecology and Organismal Biology, Ohio, USA.	Graduate Research/Teacher Assistant	2013 – 2018
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Ecologia. Mexico City, Mexico.	Lab manager and technician	2011 – 2013

Education

The Ohio State University	Evolution and Ecology (Ph.D.)	2013 – 2018
The Ohio State University	Statistics (Graduate minor)	2013 – 2018
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México	Environmental Biology (M.S.)	2009 – 2012
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México	Biology (B.S.)	2003 – 2008

Publications 

I have published 21 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 1 invited chapter in a book. According to Google Scholar (February 2025), my work has been cited 993 times; my h-index is 14. 

Awarded Grants And Fellowships

 I have received a total of USD 297,529 in funding for Research (USD 61,564), Fellowships/Scholarships (USD 232,015), and Travel grants (USD 3,950). My funding agencies include the National Science Foundation in the USA (NSF), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia in Mexico (CONACyT), Ohio Supercomputer Center in the USA (OSC), Academia Mexicana de Ciencias (AMC) and Santander Universia in Mexico, and Goethe University in Germany.

Research Projects

Postdoctoral project: What is the genomic basis of phenotypic differences between species? Advisor: Michael Hiller. LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Senckenberg Society for Nature Research & Goethe University (2020 – Present).

Postdoctoral project: Parallel evolution of the bat genus Myotis. Advisors: Nancy Simmons and Frank Burbrink. American Museum of Natural History (2018 – 2020).

Ph.D. project. Evolutionary history of Myotis bats using genomic and morphologic approaches. Advisor: Bryan Carstens. The Ohio State University (2013 – 2018).

Graduate Research Assistant: phrapl – Phylogeographic model selection using Approximate Likelihood (DEB 1257784/DEB 1257669). PI: Bryan Carstens and Brian O’Meara. The Ohio State University (2013 – 2015).

Teaching Experience  

Since 2017, I have been a teaching assistant or instructor of courses and workshops on Ecology and Evolution of Mammals, Comparative Genomics, Phylogeographic Methods, and Evolutionary Biology across several institutions, such as the Dept. Evolution Ecology and Organismal Biology at The Ohio State University (USA), the Richard Gilder Graduate School at the American Museum of Natural History in New York (USA), and the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main (Germany). 

Open-Source Software Development

Demographic model selection (R package): PHRAPL (phylogeographic model selection using approximated likelihood). Part of developer team in collaboration with Brian O’Meara, Nathan Jackson, Bryan Carstens at University Tennessee, in Knoxville and the Ohio State University in Columbus, USA.  Code available at: https://github.com/bomeara/phrapl, user manual: https://github.com/ariadnamorales/phrapl-manual.

Genome annotation tool (python-based) – TOGA: Tool to infer Orthologs from Genome Alignments. Part of the developer team at Michael Hiller’s research group at the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History, Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics & Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Code available at: https://github.com/hillerlab/TOGA.

Academic Service

Since 2014, I have been a reviewer for 35 manuscripts submitted to journals such as Systematic Biology (3), Evolution (1), Biological Journal of the Linnean Society (1), Evolution and Ecology (2), Evolutionary Biology (1), Ecography (1), Journal of Biogeography (1), Journal of Mammalogy (2), Molecular Ecology (7), Molecular Ecology Resources (5), Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (2), PLOS ONE (3), The Southwestern Naturalist (1), Canadian Journal of Zoology (2), Molecular Biology and Evolution (1), Diversity (1), Conservation Genetics (1).

I was on the Public Relationships Committee of Graduate Women in Science (GWIS, 2018-2019). I have participated in reviewing committees such as the GWIS National Fellowship competition (2019), the Graduate Student Research Awards (GSRA) for the Society of Systematic Biology (2019), the Helen Fellowship Program at the American Museum of Natural History (2020), abstract reviewer for finalists to the Evolution Meeting, SSB Ernst Mayr Symposium (2023).

Languages

Spanish (native), English (proficient at reading, conversing, and writing), and German (elementary).

Personal Interests

Long-distance running and sustainable fashion.