Jose Antonio
Godoy López

I was trained as a researcher in the area of Plant Molecular Biology during my PhD thesis at the IRNA-CSIC and my postdoctoral work at the University of Berkeley, USA. In 1997 I took the opportunity to apply my expertise in molecular genetics to the fields of Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, topics that have always fascinated me, by joining the Doñana Biological Station (CSIC) to create and coordinate the Molecular Ecology Laboratory, first as Técnico Especialista, and later as a Científico Titular (2001) and finally as Investigador Científico (since 2009). My early stages at EBD allowed me to collaborate with many researchers and to build a solid background on Molecular Ecology, Population Genetics and Evolutionary Biology. I like to think that my contribution was critical for the widespread adoption of molecular and genetic approaches at EBD. The central axis of my research has been the inference of demographic and evolutionary processes from the patterns of genetic variation in natural populations, by using molecular markers, population genetics and phylogenetic inference. My studies cover a wide range of scales – from species to individuals – and topics – phylogeography, diversity and genetic structure, gene flow and dispersion. I have developed methods which have been widely adopted for the genetic identification of the source of seeds and for the monitoring of vertebrate populations with non-invasive samples. I have also used museum and paleontological materials to add a temporal dimension to the analyses of genetic diversity in endangered species. I have studied some of the most emblematic representatives of the threatened Iberian fauna, such as the bearded vulture, the Iberian imperial eagle, the Dupont´s lark and the Iberian lynx. This latter species has become my main study model to investigate how demographic declines and isolation affect genetic variation, and how this in turn affects the survival and reproduction of individuals and population viability. I’m currently applying genomic technologies to gain novel insights into these same subjects. As a first step in this direction, I led the Iberian lynx genome project, which generated one of the first reference genomes for endangered species and vertebrate genomes to be fully sequenced in Spain. My research has been mainly funded by a series of “Plan Nacional” grants in which I act as Principal Investigator, and results have been published in highly ranked journals, some publications have been highly cited, and I usually am the corresponding author. Over the years, I have established a solid and productive network of national and international collaborations. The results of my research have contributed notably to the conservation of the lynx and other species through contracts with regional and national conservation agencies, and advisory roles at international, national and regional administrations and institutions. I have also actively participated in publications and international programs aimed at the dissemination of the importance of genetics for conservation, the transfer of knowledge to stakeholders and the promotion of policy changes to preserve genetic diversity. Finally, I have maintained a sustained teaching and training activity in Graduate, Master and doctoral programs. I have supervised nine PhD thesis and I am currently supervising four more. Five ex-PhD students continue in research or academy positions.