Dr. Nandadevi Cortes-Rodriguez, Assistant Professor in Biology, Ithaca College
I am particularly interested in the role that past or present geographic barriers play in the evolutionary history of species, emphasizing their phylogeography, genomics and conservation. Recently I have incorporated geographic variation in songs to understand the behavior of species that [are] separated by geographical barriers.
I grew up in Mexico and I was very fortunate and privileged in that my dad was a high school professor and wanted his daughters to have a good education. He was also a mountain climber, and we spent a lot of time around nature, hiking, climbing, and camping. Those experiences allowed us to enjoy the world outside the busy city. He enrolled us in the private school he was working at the time, it was a bilingual school where my sister and I learned English [when] we were 5 years old. Learning English at [an early age] opened many doors when I was in college because I was able to easily read novel research papers and attend conferences that were abroad. It was at a conference where I met my former PhD advisor who invited me to perform laboratory work for my master’s at his lab at UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), where I was able to attend their lab meetings and seminars.
I think, like many people, I wanted to study everything. For as long as I remember I wanted to study physics, I was good at math, and I read a book on “relativity for kids” and the idea of studying the Theory of Relativity was my goal during middle school and high school. I really liked physics and math; however, things changed when I was in my last year of high school, and I think it was my AP biology that shook my world. There was something about genetics research that fascinated me and from that moment forward I decided I was going to be a biologist. I applied to college to be a biology major. It was the combination of being outside in the field collecting specimens and inside in the lab.
I have always been very shy. I was a good student, but I was one of the kids who would sit in the classroom and do the work quietly. However, I would suggest they talk to their advisor from school (high school or college) and ask about their research. Usually, professors can give them an idea of what brought them to their research and sometimes they can invite you to their lab. Even though I was shy, I reached out to a professor, and she let me work in her genetics lab, working with Fruit flies. However, I did not really like being in that lab. I met with the professor and told her I would be leaving the lab. I finished my work and stopped working there. I reached out to another professor who was setting up her lab in ornithology population genetics research. She had an opening and offered it to me, and I felt like that was the place I belonged. I started working with hummingbird DNA and evolutionary relationships between different populations in Mexico and Central America and she became my undergraduate and master's thesis adviser. My advice would be to reach out and not stay in a lab where you are not enjoying the research or the professor's personality.
I had a very traditional pathway into Academia; however, I did take a “gap year” where I went to France to teach Spanish to French high school students. That experience made me realize I liked teaching and got a job teaching at a middle school when I came back to Mexico. I completed a master's, PhD, and postdoctoral research before applying to be an Assistant Professor. This year I will be applying for tenure so I can become an Associate Professor.
Even though my line of work, biology, is mostly female lead, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t gender inequalities. When it comes to doing field research, many advisors prefer taking males instead of females. One advice I would give is to not be discouraged by what some male professors may say about female students doing fieldwork. I remember it took me a couple of years and asking many times to be included in some of the field trips that were organized by my lab back in college. Once I got the opportunity, I made the most of it, even though I wasn’t very experienced in doing fieldwork I worked hard and proved that I was good at it. My advice would be to not give up and be persistent if that is something you would like to do, in the end, it is better to have tried and not like it than never to try because of what others think.
When I was a student and a postdoc at the Smithsonian, my favorite part was holding a pipette and doing molecular work; however, now my favorite part is interacting with students, whether [it] is teaching or mentoring students in my research lab. I enjoy it when they can ask questions and answer them with their research. I try to make a safe space and community for my lab students, where they can be who they are and express what they have in their minds. I always make them feel welcome, enjoy their success, and try giving them advice when they come to me for help. Many things are rough about being a professor, but the students I have had have made my time at the College a wonderful experience.
I think one of my role models was Marie Curie, she was not only a woman in science but got two Nobel prizes. My other role model was my cousin who went to Med School in Mexico but had the opportunity to study cancer research in Houston, TX. One time, my family accompanied my dad to run the Houston marathon and we met my cousin to have pizza. I was 12 at the time and I remember thinking, this is what I want to do when I grow up, I want to study abroad, I was fascinated by the stories and working in another country became my main goal. I didn’t know what I was going to study, but I remembered I wanted to have the experience of studying abroad.
I am particularly interested in the role that past or present geographic barriers play in the evolutionary history of species, emphasizing their phylogeography, genomics and conservation. Recently I have incorporated geographic variation in songs to understand the behavior of species that [are] separated by geographical barriers.
I grew up in Mexico and I was very fortunate and privileged in that my dad was a high school professor and wanted his daughters to have a good education. He was also a mountain climber, and we spent a lot of time around nature, hiking, climbing, and camping. Those experiences allowed us to enjoy the world outside the busy city. He enrolled us in the private school he was working at the time, it was a bilingual school where my sister and I learned English [when] we were 5 years old. Learning English at [an early age] opened many doors when I was in college because I was able to easily read novel research papers and attend conferences that were abroad. It was at a conference where I met my former PhD advisor who invited me to perform laboratory work for my master’s at his lab at UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), where I was able to attend their lab meetings and seminars.
I think, like many people, I wanted to study everything. For as long as I remember I wanted to study physics, I was good at math, and I read a book on “relativity for kids” and the idea of studying the Theory of Relativity was my goal during middle school and high school. I really liked physics and math; however, things changed when I was in my last year of high school, and I think it was my AP biology that shook my world. There was something about genetics research that fascinated me and from that moment forward I decided I was going to be a biologist. I applied to college to be a biology major. It was the combination of being outside in the field collecting specimens and inside in the lab.
I have always been very shy. I was a good student, but I was one of the kids who would sit in the classroom and do the work quietly. However, I would suggest they talk to their advisor from school (high school or college) and ask about their research. Usually, professors can give them an idea of what brought them to their research and sometimes they can invite you to their lab. Even though I was shy, I reached out to a professor, and she let me work in her genetics lab, working with Fruit flies. However, I did not really like being in that lab. I met with the professor and told her I would be leaving the lab. I finished my work and stopped working there. I reached out to another professor who was setting up her lab in ornithology population genetics research. She had an opening and offered it to me, and I felt like that was the place I belonged. I started working with hummingbird DNA and evolutionary relationships between different populations in Mexico and Central America and she became my undergraduate and master's thesis adviser. My advice would be to reach out and not stay in a lab where you are not enjoying the research or the professor's personality.
I had a very traditional pathway into Academia; however, I did take a “gap year” where I went to France to teach Spanish to French high school students. That experience made me realize I liked teaching and got a job teaching at a middle school when I came back to Mexico. I completed a master's, PhD, and postdoctoral research before applying to be an Assistant Professor. This year I will be applying for tenure so I can become an Associate Professor.
Even though my line of work, biology, is mostly female lead, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t gender inequalities. When it comes to doing field research, many advisors prefer taking males instead of females. One advice I would give is to not be discouraged by what some male professors may say about female students doing fieldwork. I remember it took me a couple of years and asking many times to be included in some of the field trips that were organized by my lab back in college. Once I got the opportunity, I made the most of it, even though I wasn’t very experienced in doing fieldwork I worked hard and proved that I was good at it. My advice would be to not give up and be persistent if that is something you would like to do, in the end, it is better to have tried and not like it than never to try because of what others think.
When I was a student and a postdoc at the Smithsonian, my favorite part was holding a pipette and doing molecular work; however, now my favorite part is interacting with students, whether [it] is teaching or mentoring students in my research lab. I enjoy it when they can ask questions and answer them with their research. I try to make a safe space and community for my lab students, where they can be who they are and express what they have in their minds. I always make them feel welcome, enjoy their success, and try giving them advice when they come to me for help. Many things are rough about being a professor, but the students I have had have made my time at the College a wonderful experience.
I think one of my role models was Marie Curie, she was not only a woman in science but got two Nobel prizes. My other role model was my cousin who went to Med School in Mexico but had the opportunity to study cancer research in Houston, TX. One time, my family accompanied my dad to run the Houston marathon and we met my cousin to have pizza. I was 12 at the time and I remember thinking, this is what I want to do when I grow up, I want to study abroad, I was fascinated by the stories and working in another country became my main goal. I didn’t know what I was going to study, but I remembered I wanted to have the experience of studying abroad.
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