In the Spotlight-Early career researcher.

Google scholar page: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=T4DDUukAAAAJ With whom and where did you study? I did my PhD mentored by Dr. Douglas Houston at the University of Iowa. My first postdoctoral training was at the University of Chicago, working with Dr. Elizabeth Grove. More recently, I embarked on a second postdoctoral position in the laboratory of Dr. Gemma Carvill at Northwestern University in Chicago. What got you interested in Biology? When did you know EvoDevo was for you? I have always been fascinated by the intricate developmental processes involved in creating a complex nervous system. After completing my graduate studies, my interest shifted toward comprehending how signaling pathways orchestrate the formation of organs in different vertebrates. As I relocated to the Amazon in Belem-Brazil to establish my own laboratory, I capitalized on my training in established models and devoted all my efforts towards establishing Anableps, the four-eyed fish, as a research system for investigating evolutionary innovations in the visual system. Anableps presents a combination of features, including a partially duplicated eye and the ability to simultaneously see both above and underwater. This unique model offers an exceptional opportunity to explore the developmental changes within the visual system that give rise to a spectacular evolutionary novelty of the visual system. What is your experience with setting up and running an EvoDevo lab? Setting up an EvoDevo lab using a species from the Amazon was very challenging. My primary goal was to identify collection sites in the Amazon, next, I had to establish protocols to maintain animals and obtain embryos. Then I had to characterize an ontogenetic series to identify the developmental stages in which partial duplication of the eye is initiated. The four-eyed fish is a viviparous species with internal fertilization, wherein early embryonic events, including eye formation, take place inside the female fish, which imposes considerable challenges to developmental studies. It took me a few years to dedicate time, effort, and resources to turn the Anableps into a model system. Since relocating to Louisiana State University, I have established a thriving Anableps colony and have begun applying cutting-edge approaches, such as epigenetic profiling and spatial transcriptomics, to unravel the genetic underpinnings of partial eye duplication. Despite the hurdles, I believe we have successfully paved the way for students and postdocs to join my lab to hit the ground running and work in a supportive research environment that will help them to thrive in their careers. What opportunities and hurdles do you see for EvoDevo groups within biology (or ecology and evolution) departments? EvoDevo laboratories can bring together students and postdocs from different fields, such as genetics, developmental biology, evolutionary biology, ecology, and computational biology. This interdisciplinary collaboration within a lab and a department creates innovative research and provides a broader perspective on evolutionary processes which can help students gain a deeper understanding of the interrelation of biology as they prepare to start an academic career. I find the major hurdle in working on EvoDevo is the fact that being so interdisciplinary, some research programs may not fit into traditional departmental structures. This can lead to barriers in securing adequate funding, resources, and faculty positions within biology departments.