About me

I am actively looking for research collaborations in the field of evolution and development of aquatic organisms, specifically of those in the Asia-Pacific region. If our interests overlap, please reach out!

Recent research

I am currently a postdoctoral scholar with Kinya Ota in the Laboratory of Aquatic Zoology, Marine Research Station, Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology at Academia Sinica in Yilan County, Taiwan, where I study the evolution and development of diverse morphological phenotypes in domesticated ornamental fish.

I was a Swiss Government Excellence postdoctoral scholar (from September 2021 to August 2022) with Brigitte Galliot in the Laboratory of Regeneration and Adult Neurogenesis at the University of Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland, where I studied head formation and maintenance in Hydra.

Formerly, I was a bridging postdoc in Alexander Aulehla’s lab at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, where I melded developmental biology and dynamical systems theory to understand how synchronized signaling oscillations confer spatiotemporal cues for tissue patterning in vertebrate embryos. In particular, I used synchronization theory (via microfluidics-based entrainment) to predictably control the oscillations in embryos during the formation of their somites, the precursors of vertebrae.

Broad interests

Evolution has solved all the problems we’re interested in, we just have to find those organisms and figure out how to ask them how they did it - Nipam Patel

I am broadly inspired by the “endless forms” (Darwin, 1859) of organisms in nature. It is humbling that nature already has the answers to questions we have not even asked. Driven by this inspiration, my aspirations include surveying the rich biodiversity (primarily in the Philippines, my home country) for unique organisms with unique forms (natural history), and to study these organisms’ embryonic and larval development, their tissue patterning, & their morphogenesis. To address these, I intend to use the next years further honing complementary skills in experiment (field work, classical and experimental embryology) and theory (theoretical biology, dynamical systems theory, simulations and modeling).

My research interests include:

• theoretical and experimental developmental biology
• dynamical systems theory
• history and philosophy of science
• natural history

Background

I am originally from the Philippines, the eldest of six, born into a very loving and very supportive middle-class Filipino family. My dad is from Manila, while my mom is from Bantayan Island in Cebu. I have always been curious about nature, mostly sparked by summer trips to my mom’s hometown island in the Visayas. However, I did not know I could pursue a career following this curiosity until later. In 2006, I got into the broadcast communication program at the University of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman), inspired by several journalism role models I had in high school. Being at UP Diliman allowed me to interact with people of my age who were better introduced to a prospective career in scientific research. It was thrilling to know that I could pursue a career following my childhood (and child-like) curiosity. After a year, in 2007, I shifted to the biochemistry program at the University of the Philippines Manila (UP Manila). After graduating in 2011, I joined the Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics of the College of Arts and Sciences, UP Manila as a junior faculty in chemistry and biochemistry. In the same year, I took the national licensure examinations for chemists and became a registered Filipino chemist. In 2012, I took graduate courses in molecular medicine to learn how I could apply my theoretical and technical know-how of chemistry in biology. In 2014, I grabbed the opportunity to move overseas to pursue research. I was a research intern in Michael Boutros’s lab at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany, and a research assistant in Chih-Yen King’s lab at Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. In 2016, I joined Alexander Aulehla’s lab at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, first as a PhD student and then as a bridging postdoc (I defended my PhD in December 2020). Joining Alexander’s lab was my first formal introduction to developmental biology. And this love for developmental biology and principles encompassing diversity in nature is further galvanized when I attended the Embryology Course in the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA, US.

My scientific journey has been serendipitous. And I am constantly in awe how I am now pursuing a career that is not very different from my fascination, as a child, for colors and grooves in seashells which I collected in the white sand beaches of Bantayan Island. I am grateful for everything and everyone that has led me here, and I am excited what lies ahead.

As a Filipino and somebody who identify as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I am also very passionate about “endless forms” of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I volunteered for preLights with Stefano Vianello, my partner, and I am a signatory of DORA.

Please feel free to check the CV tab for some more information, or download a digital copy (.pdf) of my CV here.