Fernando García Moreno Awarded a Leonardo Grant by the BBVA Foundation
Dr. García-Moreno, Ikerbasque researcher at ACHUCARRO, has been selected as one of the recipients of the 2025 edition of the prestigious Leonardo Grants awarded by the BBVA Foundation.
Since 2014, the BBVA Foundation’s Leonardo Grants have supported projects led by professionals aged between 30 and 45, with the aim of propelling their careers at a pivotal stage of development.
Fernando García Moreno currently holds the position of Ikerbasque Research Associate Professor at ACHUCARRO and serves as Principal Investigator of the Laboratory of Brain Development and Evolution. His research focuses on uncovering the developmental and evolutionary mechanisms that have driven the diversification of vertebrate brains, with particular emphasis on circuits linked to complex cognitive abilities.
The project funded by the Leonardo Grant, titled “PARRoT: Unraveling the Cellular Foundations of Intelligence in Parrots” aims to create the first cellular and molecular atlas of the parrot brain. These birds are renowned for their remarkable intelligence, vocal learning abilities, and social complexity. The project will examine the diversity of neuronal types in key brain regions of parrots and compare their circuits with those of other birds and mammals. The goal is to determine whether their advanced cognitive capabilities have evolved through convergent cellular mechanisms or through lineage-specific adaptations.
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