Short biography
Over the past fifteen years, I have applied primate genomics to study human evolution, with direct relevance for conservation genomics. In 2023, my team helped generate reference genomes for half of the world’s primate species, creating a foundational resource for biodiversity research, medical genetics, and evolutionary biology. Building on earlier discoveries of human-specific structural variation and great-ape genomic diversity, my laboratory has developed new approaches to interpret the functional impact of regulatory changes across humans and other apes. I have authored more than 230 peer-reviewed papers supported by ERC and NIH funding, and have served the community through leadership roles such as Director of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC) and founder of the Barcelona Zoo Cryozoo. I am a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Spain, and have received the Premi Ciutat de Barcelona (2024) and the Ramon y Cajal Medal (2025).
Icrea Call
