Santiago Herrera Álvarez

My name is Santiago (most people call me Santi), and I’m from Colombia. I grew up in Bogotá, close to the Andean mountains, where I fell in love with nature. I did my undergraduate studies in Biology and Microbiology, and have a master's in Biological Sciences from Universidad de los Andes.

Currently, I’m a Ph.D. student in Joe Thornton’s lab at the University of Chicago.

| sherrera2@uchicago.edu

| Twitter URL

My Research interests

I'm broadly interested in the molecular mechanisms underlying phenotypic diversity and evolution. My research revolves around evolutionary genetics and biochemistry, experimental evolution, phylogenetics and molecular evolution.

Currently, I'm studying the molecular mechanisms of gene regulatory evolution. Specifically, I'm building a complete genotype-phenotype (GP) map of an ancestral protein, by measuring the interaction between a transcription factor and the set of possible DNA binding elements.

By assaying a library of all possible genotypes at the protein’s interface for their ability to bind all possible DNA elements, I will be able to generate an exhaustive GP map that precisely describes the forms of variation accessible to a defined molecular system.

With this, I hope to shed some insights into a core question in evolutionary biology: how does a biological system’s genetic potential to produce phenotypic variation affect evolutionary processes?

I have also worked in other projects related to the genetic mechanisms of the evolution to toxin resistance in diverse animals, and the evolution of gigantism in the capybara, the world's largest rodent. These have been amazing experiences that had allowed me to learn and delve into organismal biology, comparative genomics, and functional biology.

I would describe my general approach to evolutionary biology as being driven by passion and curiosity, and always keen to explore the possible connections that exist between different sub-fields of evolutionary biology.

This is a graphic summary of my research



My hobbies

  • I'm an amateur landscape photographer. You can check some of my photos here!

  • I love hikking mountains, especially the beautiful Andean mountains! Here are some of my favorite:

Top left: Volcán Cotopaxi, Ecuador; top right: Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Colombia; bottom: A panoramic view of the mountains in the "Coffee region" of Colombia. © Santiago Herrera-Álvarez


  • In Chicago, I have found a new passion: taking pictures of Lake Michigan.
© Santiago Herrera-Álvarez