News & Events
Upcoming...
Our group will be represented at the Colombian Symposium on Developmental Biology, taking place in Cali, Colombia. Natalia will give a keynote lecture, joining several former members of our group who will also contribute to the meeting.
Held in the vibrant city of Cali, this symposium will bring together researchers interested in developmental biology and evo-devo, creating a unique space to exchange ideas, share discoveries, and celebrate the diversity of approaches that help us understand how organisms develop and evolve. We look forward to reconnecting with colleagues and friends in this exciting scientific gathering!. Learn more here.
Upcoming...
We are pleased to announce our participation in the VIII Colombian Symposium on Evolutionary Biology, which will take place on July 23–25, 2026, at Universidad de La Salle in Bogotá, Colombia. Natalia will deliver a keynote lecture, sharing insights from her research in evolutionary developmental biology. This event will be a great opportunity to exchange ideas and connect with the evolutionary biology community. Learn more here.
Jul 2026
Our lab is moving to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina!
We're excited to share that our lab is beginning a new chapter at Duke University. More details about this transition and our new home will be shared soon. Stay tuned!
Apr 2026
During April and May, Dr. Laura Evangelina García, a member of the Plant Evolutionary Genomics Group at the Institute of Agricultural Biology of Mendoza, carried out a research internship in our laboratory!
The objective of the internship was to become familiar with evo-devo techniques for plant studies, focusing on the holoparasitic plant Prosopanche americana, which grows in Mendoza, Argentina. During her stay, Dr. García worked intensively in the laboratory performing experimental procedures and molecular analyses related to evo-devo studies, and she also had the opportunity to explore our campus and meet Tito, the titi monkey mascot of the
Universidad de Antioquia
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Apr 2026
Valentina Botero successfully defended her Master's thesis, "Identification of Candidate Genes for Carpel and Ovule Development in the Atypical Flowers of Loranthaceae," earning the distinction of cum laude!
Congratulations to Valentina on this outstanding achievement! We wish her all the best in the next stage of her scientific career.
Feb 2026
Joan Díaz defended his undergraduate thesis, "Expresión espacio-temporal de genes candidatos en la separación de verticilios florales fértiles en Epidendrum fimbriatum (Orchidaceae)." We congratulate him on this important milestone and wish him all the best in his next steps as a Biologist!
Oct 2025
Santiago Perez Ospina visited the New York Botanical Garden under a short visit fellowship. He performed In situ hybridization for FRUITFULL and SHATTERPROOF homologs in Cestrum nocturnum as part of his undergraduate dissertation.
Sep 2025
Laura Puerta graduated with honors from the Universidad de Sucre!. Her undergraduate dissertation "Characterization of the SG4 R2R3- MYB transcription factors and their potential repressor activity on anthocyanin synthesis in perianth bearing Piperales" was awarded meritorious thesis recognition.
Aug 2025
We are thrilled to announce that Natalia has been awarded the prestigious title of Corresponding Member of the Botanical Society of America (BSA)—one of the highest recognitions granted to scientists working outside the United States. This honor is reserved for exceptional researchers who have made outstanding and lasting contributions to plant science.
This distinction not only celebrates Natalia’s achievements, but also highlights her influence as a leader in botanical research on a global scale. Congratulations, Natalia! Your passion, hard work, and scientific vision continue to inspire us all. We are incredibly proud of you!
Jun 2025
Andrea Ramirez defended her masters "The flowering integrator genes AGL24, SVP, and SOC1 in holoparasitic plants of the Apodanthaceae family". Right after her graduation she moved to Frankfurt (Germany) to start her PhD on the Evolution of Tillandsia (Bromeliaceae) under the supervision of Dr Stefan Wanke. We wish you the best!
May 2025
Natalia Pabon Mora received the very prestigious LASDB 2025 Young Investigator Award. She received the award at the SBD-ISDB-LASDB joint meeting in Puerto Rico. Congrats!
May 2025
Natalia was awarded "best teacher" in the faculty of science of the Universidad de Antioquia. Super exciting for sure! Click here if you wanna know more
Mar 2025
Estefania Elejalde visited Cristina Ferrándiz lab (IBMCP, Universitat Politécnica de Valencia) as part of the EvoFruland project. She was working on standardizing In situ hybridization for Cestrum nocturnum, a Solanaceae species bearing fleshy fruits phylogenetically nested within predominantly dry dehiscent fruited taxa. Cestrum represents an independent evolution of fleshy fruits in the commercial Solanaceae.
Jul 2024
A total of six active group members attended the XX International Botanical Congress in Madrid (Spain) where we presented our research and engaged in discussions on groundbreaking advancements in botany and evo-devo. We also organized a simposium titled: "EVOLUTION OF KEY INNOVATIONS IN LAND PLANTS REVEALED THROUGH THE LENS OF EVODEVO"... Venga!
Diana Marcela Valencia defended her undergraduate thesis "Caracterización fenotípica de la coloración floral y evolución de los genes promotores y represores relacionados con la biosíntesis de antocianinas en Epidendrum fimbriatum (Orchidaceae)" . We wish her all the best in her next steps as a Biologist! Wrapping up her publication soon!
Jan 2024
Jan 2024
Bye Laura! We are sad that you are leaving back to Universidad de Sucre (Sincelejo) but are very proud of your results during your time here in Medellín. For her bachelors degree Laura cloned out and tested the expression pof MYB R2R3 genes from Subgroup 4 in Aristolochia fimbriata. These genes are important for negatively downregulating anthocyanins. Laura has the most interesting results which will be submitted for puiblication soon.
Jan 2024
We have confirmed participation in the LASDB 2024 meeting! https://meetings.embo.org/event/24-dev-bio. Thanks for inviting us. We are looking forward to interact with the Latin American community in March 2024.
Dec 2023
We welcome Luis Fernando and Santiago to our Plant Evo- Devo lab. Luis Fernando will be identifying floral MADS box genes in Dalea cuatrecasasii. Santiago will be assessing the role of FUL-like genes in Cestrum nocturnum, a Solanaceae with fleshy fruits outside subfamily Solanoideae. Checkout the link of undergraduate students for more info.
Dec 2023
Angie Daniela Gonzalez defended her PhD dissertation (Cum Laude) on genes involved in embryonic patterning and maintenance of primary meristems in the highly reduced endo-holoparasitic plant Pilostyles boyacensis (Apodanthaceae). Congrats Dr Angie! Stay tuned for her publications.
Nov 2023
A sample from our invited speakers. Amazing researchers in Colombia and Colombians (Dr Ricardo Mallarino, Princeton University; and Dr Anyi Mazo-Vargas, Duke University) that have suceeded at setting up their labs abroad. Our friends Chris Amemiya (UC La Merced), Maria Angela Nieto (Instituto de Neurociencias UMH), Cristina Ferrandiz and Francisco Madueño (IBMCP, Universitat Politécnica de Valencia) also joined the meeting with their fantastic research. Thank you ICETEX!
Nov 2023
The II Colombian Developmental Biology Congress was held by the Evo Devo and the GRC groups at Universidad de Antioquia. We had over 100 attendants and wonderful conferences in animal and plant development. Next Congress will be in 2026 in Cali!
Nov 2023
Nov 2023- Courses (CRISPR and genomics/transcriptomics) associated with the II Colombian Developmental Biology Congress were well attended. We thank the professors who taught these courses for free! Congrats to all the participants!
Oct 2023
Drs. Cristina Ferrandiz and Francisco Madueño from the IBMCP, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia visited our lab. Thanks to EvoFruLand https://evofruland.eu/ they shared a wonderful time with our faculty and students at UdeA. Stay tuned for the 63623529 new projects we have discussed. Finally, Cris & Paco come back anytime!
