When did you know you wanted to become a scientist?

I have always been curious about how scientists decide to dedicate their lives to understanding our fascinating world. What drives their motivations? Where do their passions come from? Here, I share my own story.

I grew up in the beautiful city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, nestled at 2,100 meters above sea level in the Highlands of southern Mexico, in the state of Chiapas. The familiar landscapes of my childhood were dominated by pine-oak forests, with patches of cloud forest draped over the peaks of the highest mountains.

Then, when I was 12, my father moved our family to a tropical village in the middle of a rainforest for his new job. This experience lasted only a year, but it changed my life forever. Suddenly, I was surrounded by an explosion of biodiversity—brilliantly colored flowers and birds, strange plants with mesmerizing leaf shapes, and an entirely new world of scents and flavors. In my free time, my friends and I explored the area, following the course of a vast river that cut through the village. We encountered snakes, felt the thrill of risky adventures, and marveled at the life teeming around us. It was then that I knew—I wanted to dedicate my life to studying the natural world. Back in the city, I became convinced that I wanted to be a biologist. And when I learned that one could earn the highest academic degree in biology—a doctorate—I set my sights on that goal.

At 17, I was admitted to study biology at the Universidad Veracruzana, a 12-hour journey from my hometown and family. The five years I spent there (yes, the program was unnecessarily long!) were incredible. After completing my undergraduate studies, I moved on to pursue my master’s degree at Mexico’s top university—one of the best in Latin America—the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). There, I deepened my passion for plant-insect interactions, focusing on how plants evolve under pollinator-mediated selection. After two years of intense intellectual growth, I was ready to take the next step—to finally pursue the “highest academic degree” I had set my heart on since I was 13.

This time, however, I was also looking for a new life experience. I wanted to leave Mexico and immerse myself in a place with a completely different culture and language. Naturally, I considered mostly English-speaking countries—not because my English was good (quite the opposite!), but simply because it felt like the most accessible option. Still, I was open to wherever the right opportunity might take me. After completing my master’s, I had the chance to present my research at my first international conference in Italy. It was a New Phytologist Trust meeting, bringing together leading scientists in plant-pollinator interactions from around the world—a perfect place to explore PhD opportunities. Long story short, shortly after this meeting, I received an offer to do my PhD in Switzerland. I had to Google where exactly that country was located, as, to be honest, I wasn’t very familiar with it! The rest is history—written in papers. 🙂

I have had the great opportunity to work with inspiring people from around the world. Thanks to these collaborations—past and future—I am contributing to science with impactful research. I have a wide range of interests, so feel free to get in touch!

In the foto: me birdwatching in the famous El Triunfo cloud forest in southern Mexico during my bachelor’s years.