I have a BSc in Forestry Engineering, a MSc in Environmental Sciences, and a PhD in Advanced Forest Research by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). During these studies I was granted several prizes due to my outstanding performance (e.g., Extraordinary Doctorate Award, Best Academic Record of the MSc Promotion, Second Best Academic Record of the BSc Promotion). I complemented my training by performing two post-doctoral research stays at University of Utah (UoU; USA, 5 years, 2016-2021) and California State University Bakersfield (CSUB; USA, 1 year, 2014), two 3-month stays as part of my PhD training program at University of Edinburgh (UK) and Pepperdine University (USA), and a stay at the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (Ethiopia) as part of an international cooperation and development project (1 month). These stays have enabled me to gain a wide array of skills and build a network of international collaborators.

My main research interest is understanding how biotic and abiotic stresses affect forests to guide forest management and conservation. I started my research career studying conifer intraspecific diversity and working towards the conservation of forest genetic resources. I joined the Spanish Elm Breeding and Conservation Program (SEBCP) and studied the effect of Dutch elm disease (DED) on Spanish forests. I participated in the team that obtained seven Ulmus minor clones resistant to DED that are now used as Forest Reproduction Material. My experience at the SEBCP led me to focus my PhD thesis on the ecology of the European white elm (U. laevis) in the Iberian Peninsula, studying the species genetic diversity, reproductive biology, dispersal capacity, and ecophysiology. My thesis helped establish that U. laevis is a native species in the Iberian Peninsula (it was previously thought to be an invasive alien) and guided the policies for U. laevis conservation.

During my postdoc at CSUB, I studied the relationship between plant hydraulic traits and drought-induced mortality of woody species. I also evaluated and improved methodologies for measuring plant hydraulic traits. During my UoU postdoc and as a Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Individual Fellow I worked on developing, testing, and applying a model that predicts plant responses to environmental variables from key plant hydraulic traits. The model performed better at predicting tree drought responses than other models and can be used to evaluate the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems. The algorithms we developed have been included in Land Surface Models. As a Ramón y Cajal Fellow, I intend to follow this research line, improving the model for it to be able to be applied at larger scales, represent more complex forest communities, better predict forest mortality, and to incorporate the effect of pathogens on the vascular system of plants.

I enjoy teaching and mentoring students. I currently teach Management of Protected Areas and Forestry Production at UPM. I have also taught Plant Physiology at UoU, Introductory Plant Biology at CSUB, and Plant Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory at UPM. I have trained students and technicians in all the labs I have worked. I have supervised students research projects (one Final Degree Project and one MSc thesis at UPM), and currently, I am supervising one MSc and one BSc student at UPM. I have the accreditation for Profesor Contratado Doctor by ANECA.

My research has produced 43 papers in SCI journals, 4 scientific articles in non-indexed journals, 1 book chapter, and 5 science dissemination articles. According to the Web of Science (17/01/2023) my papers have been highly cited (1383 total citations) and I have an H-index of 21. As a leader in my field, I have: organized 2 sessions and 1 workshop at international conferences (American Geophysical Union, Ecological Society of America); been a discussion leader at a Gordon Research Seminar, given 2 invited talks at international conferences (Ecological Society of America); contributed to 42 national and international conferences; and given 4 invited seminars at prestigious USA universities (Pepperdine University, Reed College, Washington State University). I am very active reviewing scientific manuscripts for SCI journals, and I am an Editorial Review Board member for Tree Physiology.

I gained experience in leading and managing research projects, through my Marie Curie Fellowship and being the Principal Investigator of a non-competitive research contract funded by Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Vivienda y Agricultura de la Comunidad de Madrid. In addition, I have participated in seven competitive projects funded by National Science Foundation, US Department of Agriculture, European Commission and Spanish Ministry of Science, and ten non-competitive contracts funded by national and regional administrations. Recently, I obtained the Investigador I3 accreditation by the Spanish Ministry of Universities.