Selene Fernandez Valverde

Dr. Selene Fernandez Valverde is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney. She is a genomic scientist and bioinformatician with a focus on long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and their role in gene regulatory landscape evolution across eukaryotes.

• BSc in Genomic Sciences, National Autonomous University of Mexico (2007)
• PhD, University of Queensland (2013), studying small RNAs with Prof. John Mattick

Her research explores the evolutionary dynamics of lncRNAs in plants and animals, using bioinformatic tools to predict functions. She investigates how lncRNAs contribute to food production, human disease, and gene regulation in crops and metazoans.

The 15 most recent articles highlight her work on lncRNA evolution across species, genomic approaches to functional validation, and bioinformatics applications. Key themes include Arabidopsis thaliana lncRNAs, X-chromosome dosage compensation in reptiles, and comparative genomics of gene clusters.

• Gender Equality Award, International Union of Immunological Societies (2019)
• International Rising Talents Fellowship, L’Oréal-UNESCO (2018)
• L’Oréal-UNESCO-CONACYT Fellowship (2016)

She has mentored 19 students and postdocs, including Irving Jair García (PhD) and Gabriel Martinez (MSc). Her grants include a Newton Advanced Fellowship (2018, £105,500) for studying lncRNA and chromatin structure in plants.

Dr. Valverde leads the RegRNALab, which employs bioinformatic and genomic data to study gene regulatory mechanisms. She co-founded Mas Ciencia por Mexico and Mexican Network of Bioinformatics, and is part of the Homeward Bound climate leadership program (#TeamHB8).