My research focuses in the use of novel genetic and genomic technology to respond evolutionary biology questions related to the history of different organism groups. I am an expert in wetlab techniques including library prep for NGS, and also in the bioinformatics applied to NGS data and analyses. As once my PhD supervison, Prof. Niklas Wahlberg, said about me, I am an expert in weird DNA! Right now I am primarily focused in applying Museomics aprroaches to the study of phylogenomics of Drosophiliday family. And at the same time I maintain many collaborations in a diverse set of research lines; I collaborate in eDNA technique development and application, in studying fish taxonomy, in conservation and population genomics of endangered killifishes, studying the genomic signs of host preferences in mosquitoes using a GWAS approach, phylogenomics and diversification of Lepidoptera, and phylogenomics of hydrophilids among other collaborations.

I am a world citizen who was born in Iran and, after living in several other countries, ended up in Spain, where I obtained my BSc and MSc, both from the Complutense University of Madrid. Early on I started doing research by collaborating with the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department on different projects, but mainly working on marine fish genetics and phylogeny. Collaborating with researchers from the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid, I first focused on the population genetics of an endangered Spanish killifish, Aphanius iberus, studying different wild and captive populations. Then this collaboration continued with a project on freshwater fishes of Iran, where I organized many expeditions to study and sample the fauna there. For my MSc, I studied a cyprinid genus from Middle East, Capoeta, working on the phylogenetics and phylogeography of the genus mainly in Iran. Working in the museum allowed me to learn from other research lines and gain experience from a wide range of different approaches to studying various evolutionary processes in different organisms. My academic interests include evolutionary questions in different branches such as entomology, ichthyology, anthropology and others.

Apart from the academic world, I am also a photographer and a traveller, who is interested in philosophy, languages, and different cultures and societies. I speak Persian, French, Spanish, and English, and want to learn many more. Reading a good book, fishing, going into nature, sailing, bungee jumping, diving and road-trips are among things I really enjoy.