I am a physical anthropologist specialised in anthropological genetics and evolutionary ecology. My research interests are centred in the study of the effects of subsistence systems and social structures in human biology, employing quantitative methods from population genetics, demography and multivariate statistics, in combination with qualitative data obtained through extended fieldwork.

I have researched the microevolutive effects of transhumant milking agropastoralism among the Agricultural Communities of the Coquimbo Region in Chile, focusing on a combined scenario of hostile environmental conditions, paramount importance of milking pastoralism in herder’s livelihood, and the complex regional history of admixture. These factors result in an ideal model to test costs and benefits of carrying genes allowing lactose digestion.

Currently I am researching the effects of emigration and the changes in social norms of succession and inheritance of commoners’ rights in the Agricultural Communities of the Coquimbo Region in Chile (Fondecyt Iniciación N° 11160402). Since commoners’ rights, surnames and genes are transferred to descendants in analogue fashions, this research can combine genetic, genealogic, and ethnographic data to reconstruct possible histories of changes in systems of succession and inheritance, with the aim of quantify probabilities of different scenarios using Bayesian statistics and phylogenetic comparative methods.