I am an integrative biologist with a special interest in Hummingbird Ecology. These iconic animals provide the unique opportunity of studying the limits of physiological performance and cognition in vertebrates. My doctoral dissertation (Universidad de Chile) focused on this theme which I complemented during my postdoc at UC Davis (2010) where I studied environmental endocrinology, and in particular hormones related to stress response. Currently, I teach for the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and at the University Writing Center. Simultaneously, I study molecular, endocrine and behavioral responses to environmental variability in wild birds. In this context, my ultimate research question is how and if animals will be able to adapt to the increasing number of unpredictable climatic events and other human driven perturbations. My research focuses on free-living animals which was recognized in the 2023 Field Biology Award Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation.