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Aurea Cortés-Palomec is a senior lecturer in the Biology department at Fort Lewis College. She joined the college in 2009 and has been working as an adjunct until 2017 when she joined the Biology Department as a full time lecturer. Prior to joining Fort Lewis, Dr. Cortés-Palomec was a postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Ecological Genetics at the Center for Ecosystem Studies of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where she performed research in plant conservation genetics and worked in graduate student research advising.
Dr. Cortés-Palomec’s research has primarily focused on endangered species, ranging from epiphytic orchids to long-lived trees to understand their population genetics in order to prioritize certain populations for conservation. Additionally she is interested in mixed reproductive systems in violets (Genus Viola) and how these systems affect genetic variation and subsequent evolution.
Dr. Cortés-Palomec is a member of the Botanical Society of America and the Colorado Native Plant Society.