My interest in microbiology stems from the idea that some of the most essential processes sustaining life on Earth are carried out by microorganisms that remain invisible to the naked eye. I studied Biology at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM, México), where a project focused on the genetic diversity of freshwater bacteria, isolating and characterizing strains with different metabolic capabilities sparked my interest in microbial diversity.

I worked in molecular microbiology and synthetic biology at CINVESTAV-IPN, México, where I constructed genetic circuits using plasmids and a yeast as a model system to produce proteins for basic research. I then completed a Master’s degree in Marine Sciences at the Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology (UNAM, México), focusing on the distribution of nitrogen-fixing symbiotic cyanobacteria in the Mexican Pacific Ocean. This project combined oceanographic sampling, molecular methods and bioinformatic analyses. Together, these experiences shaped my research interests in marine microbial ecology, microbial symbioses and their role in oceanic biogeochemical cycles.

I am currently a PhD student at the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), where my research focuses on the diversity, biogeography and evolution of UCYN-A, a marine nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium that has evolved into a nitrogen-fixing organelle or nitroplast in symbiosis with unicellular eukaryotic algae. My PhD integrates molecular and bioinformatic approaches to investigate the genomic diversity of UCYN-A and its hosts, as well as the evolutionary processes underlying the emergence of the first known nitrogen-fixing organelle in eukaryotic cells.