Ximena Velez-Zuazo

Ximena Velez-Zuazo is the Marine Director of the Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment Program (BMAP) and a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, and holds a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico. Previously, she obtained a Master’s degree in Tropical Biology and a B.Sc. in Biology-Ecology from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Peru. Her work has focused on molecular ecology and genetic conservation studies of threatened marine species in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Prior to her work with BMAP, Ximena completed a postdoctoral fellowship focused on understanding the adaptive response of invasive lionfish, integrating genomics and bioinformatics tools. Within BMAP, her work focuses on understanding the dynamics and future trajectories of marine communities that have colonized new mega-infrastructures. She uses this information to identify best practices in the design and operation of marine infrastructure and to promote biodiversity conservation. In particular, she is interested in the integration of traditional strategies, tools, and methods with emerging technologies to optimize the collection, systematization, access, and analysis of long-term scientific data. Since 2017, she is a member of the Executive Committee of the Smithsonian Tenebaum Marine Observatory Network.