Principal Investigator

Andrés Moreno Estrada

Andrés Moreno Estrada

I am a medical doctor and population geneticist whose work integrates genomics, evolution, and precision medicine. Our group focuses on human evolution, adaptation, and population history, alongside the biomedical implications of genetic diversity in underserved populations across the Americas and the Pacific.

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Laboratory Manager

Flor Montes de Oca

Flor Montes de Oca

I am the Lab Manager at the Moreno Lab, where I oversee coordination, operations, and the day-to-day functioning of the lab to support research and collaborative projects. I bring over 20 years of experience in project management, institutional coordination, and international cooperation, with a strong background in human rights, gender, and public policy. I hold a Master’s in Human Rights, a specialization in Gender and Law, and undergraduate degrees in Law and International Relations, with previous roles at institutions including the CNDH, Inmujeres, and Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Postdoctoral Fellows

Carmina Barberena-Jonas

My current project in MorenoLab involves the analysis of identity-by-descent genomic segments to determine the population structure of Mexico and their implications in biomedical traits using the data from the Mexican BioBank (MXB). I’m developing the tool MexVar to explore and query the MXB biomedical data. I am also involved in other projects such as the Oceanian Genome Variation Project and LatinCells.

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Edder Daniel Bustos Diaz

I have a scientific interest in multiple things, but the PacBio and Illumina of it (pun intended) is that I am passionate about everything sequencing related, IT infrastructure and running experiments. I am currently working on the Latin Pangenome project, managing data and working with assemblies. I am in charge of Kexol, our HPC cluster, some of the lab's websites and general IT/wet lab stuff, working alongside Flor, the lab manager, to make sure that bits and tips are working as intended.

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José Antonio Corona-Gomez (Josian)

I lead Bioinformatics Research for LatinCells, an international initiative funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. LatinCells aims to map single-cell gene expression diversity across Indigenous and underrepresented populations in Latin America. My current research focuses on the analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing data from Latin American communities. I study how genetic background, particularly Native American ancestry influences immune cell composition and gene expression patterns.

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Diego Hartasánchez

I am a physicist-turned-evolutionary biologist with a PhD from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and postdoctoral experience across France and Switzerland. My research spans evolutionary modeling, comparative genomics, and computer simulations, covering topics from recombination evolution to flower morphogenesis to structural variation in clownfish. Now back in my home city, I join the Human Evolutionary Population Genomics Group, where I will contribute to understanding the evolutionary history and diversity of Latin American populations.

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Marisol Naydú Espitia Fajardo

I am a biologist with a Master's and Doctorate in Biological Sciences from Universidad del Valle, Colombia, specializing in population genetics and human genomic diversity. My research has focused on genetic diversity and population structure in Colombian indigenous communities, exploring their demographic dynamics and evolutionary relationships with other Amerindian populations. Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Moreno's lab, where I apply bioinformatics and genomic tools — including whole genome analysis and demographic inference — to study human diversity across Latin America, with a commitment to representing historically underrepresented populations.

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Consuelo Dayzú Quinto Cortés

I am human population genomicist with a PhD in Genetics from the University of Arizona. I have always been passionate about human history, population genetics, and programming. I am currently the project manager of the project ‘A Latin American pangenome for mapping structural variation of medical relevance in underrepresented indigenous ancestries’, funded by the Wellcome Trust Institute.

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Camila Tamburrini

I am a bioanthropologist graduated from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. During my PhD, I investigated genetic variation among ancient hunter-gatherer populations that inhabited central Patagonia during the Holocene, always approaching the associated communities with respect for their cultural and spiritual heritage. From the early stages of my career, I have had a keen interest in forensic genetics. I believe that methodological advancements in ancient DNA research hold significant potential for application in the forensic field. I am passionate about furthering my academic training at the intersection of these two disciplines.

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PhD Students

Maria Fernanda Elias Navarro

I am a biologist interested in the evolution of species and population genomics. During my PhD, I have been primarily working with ancient DNA. My research brings together paleogenomics and archaeology to explore the histories of past populations through ancient DNA recovered from skeletal remains, with a particular focus on Teotihuacan, one of the most influential political, economic, and cultural centers of ancient Mesoamerica. By investigating genetic affinities, biological sex, and kinship, I aim to better understand social organization, mobility, and population diversity, contributing to a deeper reconstruction of Mexico’s past.

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Aarón E. Jaime

I'm a first year PhD student interested in computational human genomics. During my master's I contributed bioinformatically to map an immune atlas using single-cell transcriptomics (LatinCells). However, I have also been involved in microbiome and science outreach projects. Since 2023. I’ve been an active member of RSG-México (ISCB), a platform that brings people closer to computational biology, enabling them to use it as a tool for work and communication. Currently, my research focuses on describing novel ageing-associated DNA methylation patterns in Latin American populations using long-read sequencing kinetics (LatinGenomes).

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Ram González Buenfil

I am a computational biologist with a strong interest in genetics and evolution. My research focuses on understanding how natural selection has shaped human populations from Latin America and Oceania. I work at the intersection of population genomics, evolutionary theory, anthropology, and data science, with a particular emphasis on genetic diversity, admixture, and local adaptation.

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Santiago Medina

I am a computational biologist with a degree in Agro-genomic Sciences at UNAM. My research passion lies in evolutionary genetics, with a focus on understanding population history and migration dynamics in Indigenous populations from Mexico.

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Daniela Orozco

I am currently finishing my PhD in ancient DNA research. I studied Genomic Sciences at UNAM, where I first developed my long-standing fascination with evolution. My current project focuses on Cañada de la Virgen, an archaeological site in Mexico, where I study the genetic history of elite individuals buried there. In the lab, I love turning complex data into clear stories through maps and plots—data visualization is definitely my happy place.

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Octavio Zambada Moreno

I am a genomic biotechnologist interested in transcriptomics, gene regulation, and systems biology, integrating both bioinformatics and wet-lab approaches. For my PhD project, I study immune cell variation in Indigenous Latin American populations by combining single-cell transcriptomics, population genomics, and computational modeling.

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Masters Students

Yuberlis González Ipuana

I am a Colombian biologist and proudly a Wayuu indigenous woman from the Upper Guajira region. I graduated from the University of Magdalena and am currently completing my Master of Science degree in Biology at the University of Valle. My work focuses on population genetics and the study of diversity and genetic kinship among indigenous peoples of Colombia, with the aim of contributing to the recognition of our biological and cultural diversity.

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Ricardo Rodríguez Ojeda

I specialize in computational biology and human population genomics. My research focuses on admixture processes in Mexico, aiming to understand the genetic complexity of Mexican populations by analyzing genomic data to explore demographic history, migration patterns, and the genetic impact of colonization that have shaped contemporary Mexican genetics.

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Data Scientist

Viankail Cedillo Castelán

I work on developing interactive Shiny applications and an AI-powered virtual assistant to explore population-genetic data, with a particular interest in underrepresented populations. I really enjoy data visualization, UX-oriented design, and finding ways to translate advanced computational methods into tools that researchers and clinicians can actually use.

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Collaborators