Jasmin J. Camacho, Ph.D.

Jasmin Camacho is an evolutionary biologist and physiologist, and incoming Assistant Professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. She studies how metabolic systems remain functional under extreme nutritional stress, integrating ecology, evolution, development, and physiology. Her research focuses on metabolic resilience in mammals, using bats as a model to uncover how tissues maintain performance when metabolism is ramped up. In particular, her work on nectar-feeding bats examines how skeletal muscle rewires insulin signaling and energy metabolism to tolerate sustained high blood glucose while preserving function. This research aims to identify general principles of metabolic flexibility with relevance to diabetes, aging, and physiology across species.

Dr. Camacho began her academic training in California, growing up in Salinas, where early exposure to agricultural systems and structural inequities shaped her perspective on science and access to education. She attended UC Davis, a hispanic-serving institute, where she developed an interest in the developmental mechanisms of animal diversity. She pursued a Ph.D. in to study evolutionary developmental biology, completing her Ph.D. at Harvard University, where she studied craniofacial and skeletal diversity in mammals (bats). Following her Ph.D., she established her independent research as an National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.

Dr. Camacho’s work has been recognized with several honors, including the STAT Wunderkind (STATNews), emerging innovator in biology (UC Berk), (rising leader in evo devo by pan-am-evodevo), AND physiological genomics (by American Physiological Society- Integrative Physiology of Exercise) , the BWF early career award, the HHMI HGF faculty transition award, and the NSF postdoc fellowship in biology. Her work and perspectives have been highlighted in presitgous outlets, such as NPR and the New york times…

including being named a STAT Wunderkind by STAT News, an Emerging Innovator in Biology by University of California, Berkeley, and a Rising Leader in evolutionary developmental biology by Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology. She has also been recognized in physiological genomics by the American Physiological Society. Her research has been supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Early Career Award, the HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program Faculty Transition Award, and a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology. Her work and perspectives have been featured in outlets such as NPR and The New York Times.

Dr. Camacho’s upbringing in a low-income, underserved community in Salinas, California, informs her commitment to broadening participation in science. As a first-generation Chicana and Indigenous scholar, she is dedicated to mentorship, community engagement, and creating pathways for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Through programs in the United States and the Caribbean, she integrates research with training opportunities, emphasizing access, representation, and the development of inclusive scientific communities.