Yoamel Milián-García

Dr. Milián-García is a Research Associate at the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, supported by the Mitacs Elevate Fellowship. As a member of Hanner & Adamowicz's Lab, he collaborates with Ecological and Regulatory Solutions Inc. (Ecoreg) to enhance environmental effects monitoring in freshwater ecosystems. His previous collaborations with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) focused on molecular protocol validation for invasive alien species detection. His research interests span Conservation Genetics and Genomics, biosurveillance of invasive alien species, and more. He is an active member of The Conservation Genetics Network in Latin America (ReGeneC) and an IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) member of the Crocodile Specialist Group. He has also held positions at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics in the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), the University of Havana, Cuba, and the University of British Columbia, Canada.

Dr. Milián-García has over 15 years of experience in applying cutting-edge technologies to aquatic ecosystem research, including the management of collaborative projects with the University of Guelph, the University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus (UBCO), the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), CFIA's Plant Health business line, CFIA's Animal Health business line, and Parks Canada. His previous collaborations with the CFIA on optimizing and validating eDNA metabarcoding protocols for the biosurveillance of invasive alien species (IAS) set the basis for applying the specific methods and protocols proposed in further collaborative projects. The standardized protocols for IAS detection using eDNA and collections fluids have proven effective and innovative, earning Dr. Milián-García the 2024 Innovation Award from the Invasive Species Centre. Dr. Milián-García has used various DNA molecular tools for species identification, metagenomics, metabarcoding, genomic characterization, and biosurveillance, with results already available in over 30 peer-reviewed papers. In 2021, he also received the College of Biological Science Post-Doctoral Fellow Mentoring Award at the University of Guelph.