Research at the Neotropical Toxins Lab focuses on studying the evolution and ecology of venomous and poisonous animals, including their toxins. Our goal is to uncover the patterns and processes underlying organismal and molecular diversification in these animals, especially within relatively understudied areas of the megadiverse Neotropical region (e.g., the Andes and the Galápagos islands) in the context of these topics.

Together with our collaborators, we use toxic animals to address questions centered on 1) identifying the patterns and processes shaping their diversification across the Neotropics, 2) understanding the evolutionary ecology of toxin-mediated interactions, and 3) exploring the remarkable toxinological diversity of these organisms. In this context, we collect and analyze genomic, proteomic, transcriptomic, and toxicological data to reconstruct the evolutionary histories of populations and species, contribute to the conservation of threatened taxa, and investigate the causes and consequences of the structural and functional diversity of toxins present in these fascinating organisms.

The lab is part of the Laboratorio de Venómica y Toxinología Aplicada at Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, located in Tena in the Ecuadorian Amazon.