As the Geoinformatician at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, I support scientific staff and students with processing, management and knowledge transfer of geodata. I support ongoing research, generate spatial visualizations, and develop geospatial analysis workflows.
I use my expertise to access, analyze, visualize and integrate multiple sources of information, including LIDAR data, weather and bird radar data, and GPS tracking data (UvA-BiTS). My research activities include data management, analysis/interpretation and visualization using SQL, R, ArcGIS or any other computational tool that best solves the problem.
I enjoy working on interdisciplinary, collaborative projects with multiple partners from across academia, industry, government and consulting. I have extensive experience in project management, technical writing and facilitating communication amongst stakeholders and collaborators, especially for large, technical projects. My work also includes fostering a collaborative work environment for researchers and students by ensuring that knowledge and skills are being communicated and shared efficiently.
Work History
As a Research Assistant at IBED from 2018-2019 I worked on the Eemshaven Showcase project, a feasibility study designed to investigate spatial and temporal dynamics of bird migration around the Eemshaven wind park using meteorological radar data, improve knowledge about collision-induced mortality of migrating birds, and explore the use of temporary shutdowns to mitigate bird mortality. From 2015-2017 I was a Research Fellow in the Clinical Informatics & Health Outcomes Research Group at University of Surrey, UK, where I supported the Integrate study, a real-world implementation of one-health and big data concepts which focused on innovative, rapid gastroenteritis surveillance based on UK primary care data. From 2010-2014 I was a Research Assistant at IBED in animal movement and also supported education and research activities at UvA’s GIS Studio. Prior to that, I worked for over ten years in environmental consulting in the United States and Venezuela on projects that gave me extensive experience with field work and kick-started my interest in data collection, management, and analysis using GIS and environmental databases.
Education
I earned a master's degree in environmental biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, USA and a bachelor's degree in environmental science and biology from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.