Curious Nature: How a Spanish Student Became a Bird Beak Researcher

Carmen Sánchez Moreno arrived at the University of Arizona as a freshman in August 2022. By October, she was already working in a research lab. Today, she's conducting groundbreaking research on how cells organize to form bird beaks. 

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Carmen Sánchez Moreno was a curious child. Growing up in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a Spanish town just outside of Madrid, she used to ask her grandfather everything and anything. “It makes so much sense that I wanted to do research,” she reflects. “Research is asking questions and being curious.”

In high school, discussions with her teacher about the adaptations of organisms to their ever-changing environments led to many follow-up questions and the realization she wanted to pursue biology as a profession. She looked into various US universities that promised good research opportunities for undergraduate students and settled on Tucson. In August 2022 she packed her bags and flew across the ocean to begin her studies. Losing no time at all, in October of her freshman year she was already part of a research lab.

Carmen has been working in the Badyaev Lab ever since. The main scope of her research is understanding how homogeneous fields of cells are able to organize into complex structures. What are the rules that organize this uniform field of cells to form specific and diverse structures? She specifically focuses on bird beaks and how during development these cells can form functional bird beaks, while also allowing for diversity in this structure. “It's this balance between precision and diversity that I'm very interested in,” Carmen says.

For someone so involved with research, what else does she do in her free time? “I do like to read a lot. There’s always a book I haven’t gotten to, and if I feel uninspired, I pick it up to maybe get some new ideas.” She also plays soccer with friends and enjoys watching performances by UA’s dance program as well as going dancing herself.

Once Carmen gets her teeth into a problem, she perseveres: “If something bugs me and doesn’t make sense – even if it is just an issue with a program – I set myself a goal; I have to fix it!” This determination has paved her the way to presentations at international conferences in Canada and Spain. It will also be useful to finish the Accelerated Master’s Program in the MCB department, which she describes as “a wonderful experience”.

Where does she think she’ll go once she has her master’s degree? For her PhD and beyond, Carmen does not restrict herself geographically, she is considering the best avenue for her research: “I am going to focus more on what I get to do instead of where I get to do it.” Incorporating theoretical and evolutionary developmental biology would be her ideal, but one thing is certain: “I definitely will keep doing research because that is what I really like doing.” 

Congratulations, Carmen!