Bachelor degree in Biological Sciences (1996). Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Perú
Licenciate degree in Zoology (2000). Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Perú

Research Interests:

Systematics of Sigmodontinae Rodents.

Current Research:

The Subfamily Sigmodontinae (Rodentia: Muridae) occurs in South America and parts of Central and North America. Traditionally Sigmodontinae rodents have been subdivided into many tribes according to the variation on external and cranial features. There is not agreement on the monophyly of these tribes, and the phylogenetic relationships between them are still under debate. However, progress in the understanding of the evolutionary history of Sigmodontinae has been achieved recently through studies on morphology and molecular-based phylogenies.

As part of my thesis research, I am studying the Systematics of a noteworthy sigmodontine mouse discovered in 1999 in the montane forest of Manu Biosphere Reserve, Southeastern Peru. I aim to compare this new taxon with representatives of each sigmodontine tribe by constructing phylogenies based upon both morphological and molecular characters. For the molecular phylogenies, I am sequencing mitochondrial cytochrome b and 16S genes and using published sequences available in the literature. Analyses of such phylogenetic patterns will help me find the closest relative of this new taxon and locate it in a phylogenetic context in relation to other tribes of Sigmodontinae.