About
Born in the resplendent city of Riobamba and raised in Quito, I lived two decades of my life amongst the amazing Ecuadorian mountainous landscapes. From an early age, I was engrained with understanding the importance of protecting life in all of its forms. Quickly my love for animals, Biology and Ecology grew and eventually led me to Argentina, where I pursued a Bachelor in Genetics.
B.S, M.S & PhD Student.
While pursuing my undergraduate degree at Universidad Nacional de Misiones, I ventured in studying chromosomal features in the elusive Myotis bat genus.
Unsolved questions from this work woke in me a particular interest in Transposable Elements and in their potential to be used as molecular markers to solve intricate phylogenetic relationships in this group.
As part of my Master of Science projects at the Ray Lab, my research on immune response of bats enabled me to infer the evolution of gene families related to antimicrobial peptides in this remarkable group of mammals. Additionally, I laid the groundwork to characterize a specific type of Transposable Element to construct homoplasy-free phylogenies in Chiroptera. Currently, as a PhD student, one of my projects focuses on optimizing this pipeline with the aim of expanding its applicability to other taxa. While my primary research interests revolve around taxonomy, I also explore other adaptive traits that render bats unique among mammals, with metabolism being a key focus.
As a member of the Fundación Oso Andino, my involvement extends beyond Genetics and bat research. I lead projects that seek to study the behavior of large mammals by means of analyzing GPS tracking data. Using novel bioinformatic non-parametric methods, I am looking to understand how Andean bears, Andean foxes and tapirs, make use of their natural habitat and what resources and environmental variables
may have an impact on how they move across their utilization distributions.
Resume
Education
Biology PhD student
Starting 2024
The Ray Laboratory, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, USA.
Master of Science in Biology
2023
The Ray Laboratory, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, USA.
Genetics Bachelor
2020
Universidad Nacional de Misiones, Posadas, Argentina.
Thesis: Cytogenetic and molecular studies in species of the Genus Myotis in Northern Argentina.
Publications
Published
2023
Castellanos, F.X., Moreno-Santillan, D., Hughes, G.M., ..., Corthals, A.P., Ray, D.A. and Dávalos, L.M. The evolution of antimicrobial peptides in Chiroptera. Frontiers in Immunology 14. Online access.
2021
Castellanos, A., Castellanos, F. X., Kays, R. and Brito, J. 2021.
A pilot study on the home range and movement patterns of the Andean Fox Lycalopex culpaeus (Molina, 1782)
in Cotopaxi National Park, Ecuador. Mammalia 86(1), 22-26. Online access.
2019
Sánchez, M.S., Labaroni C.A., Castellanos, F.X. and Baldo, D.J. 2019. Glyphonycteris, O. Thomas, 1896 (Chiroptera:
Phyllostomidae: Glyphonycterinae),
a new genus of bats for Argentina, with commentary on its karyotype. Mastozoología Neotropical,
26(2):420-429. Online access.
Castellanos, A., Castellanos, F.X., and Vallejo, A.F. 2019. Panthera onca In: Brito, J., Camacho, M. A., Romero, V. Vallejo, A. F.
(eds). Mamíferos del Ecuador. Version 2018.0. Zoology Museum, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador.
Online access.
Awards
2023
Bat Biology Foundation Award
Partial award granted to undertake field campaigns in several Reserves and National Parks in Ecuador.
2022
General Fellowships for New and Continuing Graduate Students
Fellowship granted by Texas Tech University covered tuition costs over the summer period plus research funds.
Professional Experience
Bat1K Regional Chair
Present
Bat1K Consortium, USA.
- Regional Chair for Ecuador.
Research collaborator
2021 - Present
The Ray Lab, Texas Tech University, TX, USA.
- RAPID: Collaborative Research: Immunological adaptations in bats to moderate the effect of coronavirus infection
- RoL: FELS: EAGER: Collaborative Research: Genomics of exceptions to scaling of longevity to body size.
2018 - Present
Andean Bear Foundation, Quito, Ecuador.
- Space use, and movement Ecology of large mammals in the Ecuadorian Andes.
Teaching Assistant
2021 - Present
Texas Tech University, TX, USA.
- Biology I. BIOL1403. Fall 2021/2022.
- Biology II. BIOL1404. Spring 2022/2023.
- Genetics. BIOL3416. Summer 2022.
- Genomes and Genome Evolution. BIOL4340. Fall 2023.
Conferences
Oral Presentations
2023
Evolution 2023. Albuquerque, NM, USA. June 2023.
deAMPlifying the Immune Response? Antimicrobial Peptides Evolution in Chiroptera.
Poster Presentations
2022
19thIBCR - 50thNASBR. Austin, TX, USA. August 2022.
Castellanos, F.X., Moreno-Santillán, D., Corthals, A., Martin, K., Moore, M.S., Lim, M., Lama, T.M., Paulat, N., Sipperly, N., Davalos, L.M., Ray, D.A. deAMPlifying the Immune Response: Antimicrobial Peptides Evolution in Chiroptera.
2018
XXXI Argentine Conference of Mastozoology. La Rioja, Argentina.
Castellanos, F.X., Labaroni C.A., Ferro, J.M., Taffarel, A., Baldo, D.J, and Sánchez, M.S. Chromosomal studies in some species of the genus Myotis (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Northern Argentina.
Download the complete pdf version of my CV here.
Skills
My current bioinformatics projects demand some skills on programming languages, I've listed the ones I use and understand the most. I supplement my coding skills with some knowledge on design software since I enjoy preparing or polishing figures for presentations and/or posters.
Contact
Website:
Email:
Email me: xacfran@gmail.com
Location:
Department of Biological Sciences,
Texas Tech University.
2901 Main St, Lubbock, TX 79409