I am a developmental biologist studying the molecular regulation of pancreas and liver organogenesis. I received a bachelor and Master’s degree in Biological Sciences from the National University of Mexico, and a PhD degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Uruguay. I did my postdoctoral training at the Max Planck Institute in Göttingen (Germany) in the laboratory of Peter Gruss, a well-known field leader. Subsequently, I moved to the USA and started my new independent lab at St. Jude Children's Hospital (Memphis) where I worked until 2015. Currently, I am Associate Professor of the Department of Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg Medical School.

My laboratory uses genetically modified mouse models, in combination with conventional and cutting-edge technologies, to study how the complex architecture of the mammalian pancreas and liver is established during development, and how is disrupted and repaired after injury. We also use mouse models to sudy mechanisms that promote tumor formation and metastasis in the pancreas, processes that help re-establishing zonation in the injured liver, and mechanisms that regulate the plasticity of mature pancreatic cells.