Isabel Sanmartín - Biography#

Isabel Sanmartín obtained her PhD (1998) from University Complutense of Madrid. She moved to Uppsala University (Sweden), first as postdoc and Marie Curie Fellow (1999 - 2003), and later as Assistant Professor (2003-2006). In 2007, she returned to Spain as “Ramon y Cajal” Fellow, and since 2008 is Senior Research Scientist at Real Jardín Botánico (CSIC), where she also held the position of Director of Communication and Education (2018-2022). She is currently RJB Director of Science. She works on the fields of biogeography and evolutionary biology. Her classical multispecies studies yielded key insights into broad-scale patterns of diversification, such as the effect of directional dispersal in shaping animal and plant distributions, or the role of environment and geography on patterns of biotic assembly. She pioneer the development of novel mathematical methods for the study of processes underlying the distribution of biodiversity over space and time. Her current research integrates genomics and biogeographic models with the fossil record and paleoclimate evidence to understand the link between climate change, geographic range shifts, and extinction, using Bayesian inference and deep learning methods.

She has published over 100 research articles in top specialized journals such as Systematic Biology, Evolution, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Ecology Letters, as well as interdisciplinary journals PNAS, Nature Communications, Science. Her contributions have significantly impacted the field, garnering over 11,700 citations, with some included in Web of Science Highly-Cited Papers (1% in Ecology and Evolution). They are cited in classic textbooks (Biogeography, Sinauer; Biogeography, Wiley; Historical Biogeography, Cambridge Univ. Press), and popular science books (The Monkey’s Voyage). She is actively involved in overseeing research programs for both private and public funding entities, and acted as a scientific advisor for state research agencies in Spain and Denmark. An integral aspect of her research involves mentoring emerging scientists, several of whom have gone on to achieve success in their scientific careers, including ERC awardees. She is member of the Spanish Association for Women in Science and Technology, and was recently appointed member of ANR TULIP-Graduate School Advisory Board.