I’m a marine biologist with masters in phylogenetics and ecology. My hometown is Bogotá but I’ve also lived several years at the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where I’ve done most of my past research. I’ve been interested in modular colonial organisms, particularly marine invertebrates such as corals, gorgonians and hydroids. My past interests ranged from community/population ecology to phylogenetics of modular organisms. Currently, I am a full-time graduate student (State University of New York at Buffalo) working on my Ph.D. dissertation thesis, which is on the dynamics and evolution of branching pattern in modular organisms. The ultimate goal is to develop a model that explains how branching pattern forms and evolves in modular organisms (gorgonian corals and hydroids as study systems). Branching pattern is a complex system. Despite the recurrence of branching patterns in multiple species and levels of organization, it is unclear how they evolve and form. I have been working in examining the branching ordering during the developmental dynamics of modular organisms. I have observed and experimented with colonies from diverse species in order to find commonality in the growth rules as well as to find meaningful traits and variables for modeling form and branching in modular organisms. Branching in octocoral and hydroid colonies can be characterized as a non-linear and iterative process, which behavior exhibits a great deal of complexity. My goal for attending the complex systems summer school is to get hints and tools for the development of a mathematical model on branching in modular organisms. My other major research interest concerns the evolution of branching pattern using molecular and morphological phylogenies for comparative analysis (traits correlation and heterochrony).

Home page: http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~js15/