1. What do you study related to biodiversity (what are your research questions, what organisms do you work on)?
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I study evolution, biogeography, systematics and behavior of birds.
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2. How do you study biodiversity (for example, what technological tools and methodologies do you use in your research)?
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 I study the genetic diversity and genealogies of widespread Neotropical bird genera using molecular (DNA) markers. The species in these genera are distributed in Central America, the Choco, Amazonia and its periphery, and the Brazilian Atlantic forest. Knowledge of their distributional patterns and evolutionary relationships will help us to understand the evolutionary history of the Neotropical region, and to address the processes that have led to the diversification of species in the Neotropics.
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3. Where do you study biodiversity?
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In the Bird Division and the Pritzker Lab for Molecular Systematics at the Field Museum.
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4. How might your research have implications for biological conservation?
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 Studies of genetic diversity are particularly important in the Neotropical lowlands, where levels of biological diversity may still be underestimated, as has been suggested by studies of the genetics of several Amazonian organisms. These studies have shown that even morphologically undifferentiated populations (e.g., from opposite sides of major rivers) can exhibit substantial genetic differentiation, and need to be recognized as different species.
These data will also have implications for determining conservation priorities based on genetic diversity, by allowing researchers to identify geographic areas within which whole communities have undergone substantial periods of independent evolution.
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5. How did you become interested in science? What made you want to be a scientist, and how did you get to The Field Museum?
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I was interested in natural science since my childhood, where I used to enjoy watching nature around my hometown in Lima, Peru.
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