I'm Eliana Buenaventura. I was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. I played the oboe during my childhood, but once I entered the amazing world of insects, there was no return back to the music. Although, I still enjoy playing oboe and singing. 

 

As a molecular and morphological phylogeneticist, I am interested in dipteran evolution, life histories of flesh flies (family Sarcophagidae) and in carrion fly communities. I am always looking for exciting projects and opportunities to learn more about data science, phylogenomics and integrative biodiversity discovery and biology of flesh flies.

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Most of my research focuses on the evolution of flesh flies. As a source of phylogenetic data, I have used the morphologies of phallic structures of males of Sarcophaginae. These intricate body parts are known to provide the signal to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of flies of Sarcophaginae, as well as many other insect groups. I have also produced phylogenies through traditional PCR-based molecular studies as well as more modern next-generation sequencing methods using targeted enrichment (Anchored Hybrid Enrichment and Ultraconserved Elements) to produce a robust phylogeny of sarcophagids. Many of my parallel projects, however, are related to faunistic studies of carrion flies of the Neotropical Region. I continue to refine my technical skills in data science, phylogenomics and integrative biodiversity discovery through the inspiration of the fascinating world of flies.

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I obtained my Ph.D. degree at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, with a dissertation entitled "Morphological and Molecular Evolution of flesh flies of Sarcophaginae" under the supervision of Dr. Thomas Pape. My work on flesh flies continued as a Peter-Buck postdoctoral fellow working at Dr. Torsten Dikow's Lab at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, where I carried out research on phylogenetics of Oestroidea flies using next-generation sequencing methods.

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Currently, I am the Scientific Head of the Diptera Collection at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, where I continue working on phylogenomics and biodiversity of Oestroidea flies.