fernando garcia-moreno
Group Leader
Dr Fernando García-Moreno studied biological sciences and neurobiology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain). He earned his PhD at Cajal Institute and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain, working on the development of the neocortex with Prof. Juan de Carlos. In 2009, he joined the group of Prof. Zoltán Molnár at the University of Oxford, as a postdoc first and as junior group leader later. He investigated the evolutionary origin of the neocortex. Since 2016, he is an Ikerbasque Research Associate, and settled his group in Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience. His lab now focuses on the evolution of vertebrate brain development.
tatiana gallego-flores
Postdoctoral fellow
Tatiana started her scientific career in 2011 in the laboratory of Dr. Juan Botas at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Texas), working as a research assistant with Drosophila as an animal model for neurodegenerative diseases. Later she completed her PhD in neuroscience, focusing on the evolution of the vertebrate nervous system using the lizard Pogona vitticeps as a model organism in Dr. Gilles Laurent's group at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research (Frankfurt).
Since 2023, she has been part of the research group led by Dr. Garcia-Moreno's at the Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience, where she develops her career as a postdoctoral researcher supported by EMBO and a MSCA postdoctoral fellowships. She is focused on studying the developmental trends that led to the diversification of the thalamus in vertebrates.
sara jimenez
Postdoctoral fellow
Dr. Sara Jiménez holds a background in Biological Sciences and Neuroscience, having pursued her studies and obtained a master's degree in Neuroscience at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). During her time at the university, she successfully completed her PhD under the guidance of Dr. Nerea Moreno. Her doctoral research revolved around the evolutionary examination of the pallial region, involving a comparative analysis of the developmental and adult brains among various amniote and anamniote species.In 2023, Dr. Jiménez embarked on her postdoctoral journey, joining the research group led by Dr. Fernando García-Moreno at the Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience. Her postdoctoral position is supported by the IKUR initiative. Her current research endeavors primarily focus on the temporal regulation of neuronal fate and the cell cycle, and their significant roles in the evolution of vertebrate brains.
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rodrigo senovilla-ganzo
Predoctoral researcher
Rodrigo Senovilla-Ganzo studied Biochemistry at the University of Barcelona (UB), performing his internship in the group of Evolution of endocine regulations at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (Paris, France). Later, he began a master's degree in Neuroscience at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) with internships at the Institute for Biomedical Research (Madrid, Spain), working on thyroid hormones and the development of the auditory system. In 2020, he began his doctorate at Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience under the supervision of Dr. Fernando García-Moreno. His main interests are to discover the diversity of neural stem cells in the development of the vertebrate brain and the evolutionarily conserved neurogenic mechanisms of these cells.
raquel rayo-morales
Predoctoral researcher
Raquel Rayo-Morales studied Biology at the University of Granada (UGR). She then pursued a master’s degree in Physiology and Neuroscience at the University of Sevilla (US), where she first became involved in evolutionary studies in the Psychobiology lab under the supervision of Cosme Salas, using goldfish as an animal model. Afterward, she returned to UGR for three years, contributing to an interdisciplinary project on bioactive compounds that affect eating behavior, working with both human and animal models. In early 2024, she joined García-Moreno’s group as a research assistant, where her primary research interest is exploring the evolutionary history of the basal ganglia in amniotes.
Current students
Masters students
Aitor Ordeñana-Manso (2023/24)
We are growing! We look for researchers at any stage of their careers.If you want to join us, please contact us and we´ll explain to you the current options
former members
- Erise Pérez Pascual (UPV/EHU 2022/23)
- Eneritz Rueda-Alaña PhD (2018/22)
- Elena Andreu Rubert (UPV/EHU 2020/21)
- Alba María Diego Martín (UPV/EHU 2020/21)
- Macarena Erviti-Lara (UPV/EHU 2018/19)
- Rosana Patricia Reyes-Pinto (Universidad de Chile)
- Artemida Ftara (UPV/EHU 2017/18)