Postdoctoral Fellow
Email: kf032@uark.edu
University of Arkansas
Department of Biological Sciences
Ferritor Hall, Room 221
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Education
Cinvestav-IPN, Mexico City, Mexico. PhD in Developmental Biology/Evolution. 2022.
Thesis: Regulation of Vestigial selector gene and its role in evolution of wing size allometry in Drosophila species
Cinvestav-IPN, Mexico City, Mexico. M.Sc. Immunology. 2017.
Thesis: Evaluation of use of dendritic cells to detect autoreactive T lymphocytes in healthy seronegative relatives of patients with Diabetes Mellitus type 1.
Universidad Distrital Francisco Jose de Caldas, Bogota, Colombia. BS in Biology. 2015.
Thesis: Development of protocols for proper use of TETRAS peptide sintetizer and nanoUPLC Q-Tof equipment
Publications
Farfán-Pira, K.J., Martínez-Cuevas, T.I., Evans, T.A., Nahmad, M. (2023) A cis-regulatory sequence of the selector gene vestigial drives the evolution of wing scaling in Drosophila species. Journal of Experimental Biology 226(10), jeb244692. doi. 10.1242/jeb.244692.
Farfán-Pira, K. J., Martínez-Cuevas, T. I., Reyes, R., Evans, T.A., and Nahmad, M. (2022). The vestigial Quadrant Enhancer is dispensable for pattern formation and development of the Drosophila wing. microPublication BIOLOGY. 10.17912/micropub.biology.000585. doi. 10.17912/micropub.biology.000585
Kumar, N., Huizar, F. J., Farfán-Pira, K. J., Brodskiy, P. A., Soundarrajan, D.K., Nahmad, M., and Zartman, J. (2022). MAPPER: An Open-Source, High-Dimensional Image Analysis Pipeline Unmasks Differential Regulation of Drosophila Wing Features. Frontiers in Genetics. 13:869719. doi. 10.3389/fgene.2022.869719.
Torres-Cifuentes, D. M., Antonio-Campos, A., Farfán-Pira, K. J., Sánchez-Cordero, V., Rivas, N., and Alejandre-Aguilar, R. (2022). Heteroduplex Assay of cytochrome b expanding the toolbox for the identification of triatomine (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) vectors of Chagas disease. Journal of Vector Ecology, Vol. 47, no.2. doi. 10.52707/1081-1710-47.2.235
Salas, J. J., Peláez, R., Farfán-Pira, K. J. Huertas, D., Arias, L., and Moncada, B. (2014). Líquenes del Páramo Las Delicias. The field Museum. Guide # 557
Awards
Travelling Fellowship DEVTF210555 The company of Biologists 2021
Scientific Outreach
Participated in “Insect Fest”, which is a festival (one-day event) lead by the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology of University of Arkansas, that promotes in around ~3,000 people, the knowledge of value and importance of insects and arthropods. Taught in station about mimicry, camouflage and features of vision in butterflies.
Presented the work entitled “Vestigial patterning provides insights into the evolutionary diversity of insect wing size” while attending the 3rd Biennial meeting of the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology, in University of Miami, Florida.
Organized and conceptualized workshops called “Talleres de Ciencia para Jovenes” from “Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México”, focused in Developmental Biology using active learning to engage and promote the interest for investigation, scientific knowledge and creativity in high school students.
Developed and organized science projects to include citizens in the care and maintenance of wetlands, project that was sponsored by “Alcaldía Local de Suba” in Bogotá, Colombia. The main purpose was enrolled the citizens to obtain scientific knowledge through learning sessions about phytoplankton and zooplankton in wetlands. This approach allowed that some of the participants lead independent environmental initiatives.
Participated in citizen-science projects approach with Maloka Interactive Museum in Bogotá, Colombia, which is a non-profit organization that promotes the science, technology and innovation to enrich the civic culture. Taught as a museum guide areas as paleontology and biology.
Professional Affiliations
Mexican Society of Developmental Biology
Society of Developmental Biology
Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology
Mexican Society of Bioinformatic