Paola Lahuatte

Researcher

Paola Lahuatte first came to CDF in 2013 as a volunteer on the Philornis Project. She then did her undergraduate thesis on developing a breeding method for Philornis downsi. This thesis was awarded the best research in favor of conservation by the Central University of Ecuador. She graduated in 2014 and the following year she collaborated as an intern with Dr. George Heimpel at the University of Minnesota on studies to find a natural enemy for Philornis downsi.

Since 2015, she has been part of the team at CDF working as a researcher on the Philornis project and administrator of the Philornis rearing laboratory.

In 2022 she completed her master's degree with honors at the Institute of Biotechnology and Applied Ecology (INBIOTECA) at the Universidad Veracruzana (Mexico). Her thesis focused on determining the reproductive biology of Philornis downsi. Currently, she is studying for a doctorate at the same university on the factors that affect the mating of Philornis downsi, a topic that is very important to find control methods for this highly invasive fly.