Work Experience
University of Zurich, Pimiento Research Group, Montpellier - France (remote)
https://www.catalinapimiento.com/
Postdoctoral Scientist
2025 - Present
- Leading the design, analysis, and manuscript preparation for a study on global hotspots of shark and ray functional and phylogenetic biodiversity.
- Utilising advanced methods, including a reinforcement-learning-based conservation prioritisation algorithm developed in Python.
- Conducting a GAP analysis of the global Marine Protected Area network using R to evaluate conservation coverage and effectiveness.
DataSphere Analytics, Montpellier - France (remote)
Data Visualisation Consultant
2024 - Present
- Providing consulting services in data science, data visualisation, and research, delivering actionable insights and impactful results across multidisciplinary projects.
- Developing automated and interactive reports on cyclone-related risks to human facilities for the government of Vanuatu, supporting disaster preparedness and risk management.
- Developed and published data visualisation tutorials for The R Graph Gallery, including guides on R packages (e.g., ggsankey) and professional visualisations such as chord diagrams and Sankey diagrams.
- Conducted advanced analyses of cardiometabolic health markers (University of Santiago, Chile) and genetic networks of Date Palm relationships (IRD & NYU Abu Dhabi) using R packages like igraph and plotly.
- Designed advanced visualisations for Germany’s largest social science survey on discrimination (Citizens for Europe, Germany), with an interactive Shiny app in development.
- Specialise in creating static and interactive network visualisations, leveraging tools like ggplot2, Quarto, and R to uncover complex data patterns.
International Union for the Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group, Montpellier - France (remote)
Scientific coordinator
2023 - 2024
- Coordinated over 60 scientists across diverse institutions to design, write, review and publish Important Shark and Ray Areas factsheets in the Mediterranean and Black Seas and the Western Indian Ocean Regions.
- Successfully led research on shortfalls in the protection of Important Shark and Ray Areas by marine protected areas in the Central and South American Pacific utilising text mining, generalised linear mixed effects models and overlaps analyses.
- Contributed to developing a webmap for workshops as part of the project’s outreach efforts using QGIS and ArcGIS Pro.
Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation (Joint Research Unit), Montpellier - France
PhD student
2020 - 2023
- Designed and executed a PhD research project in macroecology, formulated scientific hypotheses and compiled and analysed a large database spanning 30 years and >100 variables (national datasets biodiversity, climate, land-use and habitat).
- Assembled and managed a multinational team of 15 scientists across three continents.
- Published 3 scientific manuscripts in Rank A journals see my research and my publications.
Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (Center for the Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity), Montpellier - France
Research scientist
2021 - 2022
- Immersed in the dynamic realm of collaborative sciences and intricate data methodologies.
- Developed R end-to-end pipelines to format, clean, and statistically analyse a database (>9 million rows) on relationships between human population growth and protected area establishment in the USA over the last two centuries.
- Active participation in the PARSEC project (PARSEC; https://parsecproject.org).
Institut of Research for the Exploitation of the Sea, Sète - France
Research scientist
2019 - 2020
- Supported the production of a coastal ecological health monitoring network with data cleaning, analysis and reporting.
- Managed the ecological health monitoring network fieldwork campaigns and laboratory work.
- Successfully managed a mixed-method research project, including analyses of benthic biodiversity data, the creation of an ecological trait database, multivariate statistical analyses and inferential generalised models.
- Led the development of a research project with weekly reporting to a team of experts, the hiring and supervision of an MSc student.
National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, Hamilton - New Zealand
Research assistant
2017 - 2019
- Collaborated on research projects, providing assistance with statistical programming.
- Processed and cleaned large databases to ensure data integrity and usability.
- Created data visualisations to effectively communicate complex information.
- Conducted multivariate statistical analyses to uncover patterns and trends.
- Utilised machine learning models for predictions and classification tasks.
- Led the development and writing of scientific manuscripts, contributing to peer-reviewed publications.
- Co-supervised an MSc student on assessing the vulnerability of Marine Protected Areas to land-based impacts.
