Dr. Javier obtained his B.Sc. in Geology from the National University of Colombia, a M.Sc. in Biology from the Université de Montréal, and a Ph.D. in Systematics & Evolution from the University of Alberta, supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Canada Graduate Scholarship and an Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship. Since then, Javier has completed Postdoctoral Fellowships at Yale University (2018–2020), supported by an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship (Canada), and at Harvard University as an NSF-funded Postdoctoral Fellow (2020–2022). Currently (2023–present), Javier is a Senior Research Associate and the Curator of non-insect arthropods at the University of Cambridge Museum of Zoology, as well as a Research Associate at Harvard University and, most recently, as an Honorary Member of the Colombian Geological Survey and scientific advisor on Invertebrate Paleontology.
Javier’s research program seeks to elucidate how novel forms and functions originate and change through time, integrating biological, geological, and paleontological information, with particular focus on invertebrates. His work has largely resulted from leading and participating in international fieldwork excursions—from weeks to several months at a time—in harsh and remote areas of the tropics (e.g., high Andes, jungles of Ecuador, the Panama Canal, deserts in northern Colombia, the Great Barrier Reef and tropical Indo-Pacific), paired with intensive museum collection-based work and active laboratory studies. He has authored and co-authored more than 60 scientific articles and book chapters, including collaborations with > 300 colleagues, has described more than 40 new taxa to date, and has been actively engaged in outreach, education, public engagement, and science communication.
Selected Publications
Luque, J., Bustos, J., Páez-Reyes, M., Beltrán-Triviño, A., Rodríguez, A., Delgado, A., Sánchez, J.M., Caraballo, J. & López-Horgue, M. (2025) The Early Cretaceous–Late Cretaceous (Albian–Cenomanian) transition in Putumayo, Colombia: a biostratigraphic and carbon isotope stratigraphic correlation for northwestern South America. Palaeoworld 34: 100869 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2024.05.011
Luque, J. & Gerken, S. (2024) A beautifully preserved comma shrimp (Pancrustacea: Peracarida), from the Plio-Pleistocene of Japan and the fossil record of crown Cumacea. Invertebrate Biology e12440. https://doi.org/10.1111/ivb.12440
Antoine, P.-O…, Luque, J., et al. (2024) A Late Pleistocene coastal ecosystem in French Guiana was hyperdiverse relative to today. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121(14): e2311597121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2311597121