The Atacama Region of northern Chile is one of South America’s most extraordinary fossil landscapes, home to sites such as the Bahía Inglesa Formation—a remarkable six-million-year-old deposit of marine vertebrates about ~6 million years old. Studies of these fossils have deepened our understanding of the evolution of marine ecosystem in the southeastern Pacific. However, research and preservation efforts in Atacama have long been limited by scarce local expertise, funding, and infrastructure.
In recent years, several initiatives have driven a gradual but significant transformation of the paleontological community in Atacama. Central to this change is CIAHN Atacama, a public–private organisation that integrates research, heritage conservation, and outreach. Through projects such as the region’s first paleontological assessment, the management of Parque Paleontológico Los Dedos (Chile’s most visited fossil park), and the creation of the country’s first paleontological research center (set to open in 2026), CIAHN has fostered local engagement and capacity building.
In this lecture, Dr Valenzuela Toro will share key experiences from Atacama, illustrating how collaborative approaches can strengthen fossil heritage protection and research. These lessons may resonate with ongoing efforts in Qatar and beyond, fostering mutual learning and inspiring future initiatives.
About the Speaker
Dr Ana Valenzuela Toro is a Chilean paleobiologist at CIAHN Atacama, a public–private research institution in northern Chile, and an Associate Researcher at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. She holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) and Master of Science (MSc) in Biological Sciences from the Universidad de Chile and earned her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 2022, supported by national and international funding agencies.
Her research focuses on the evolution and ecology of marine mammals and ecosystems, integrating fieldwork, museum collections, stable isotope analysis, and comparative morphology. She has authored nearly 30 peer-reviewed publications, many of which have been featured in diverse media outlets.
Beyond her research, Dr Valenzuela Toro is committed to promoting inclusivity in science and education. She has contributed opinion pieces and scientific articles on these topics in Nature, Nature Ecology & Evolution, and Forbes, and has received support from the Clinton Foundation. Dr Valenzuela Toro actively mentors students at both elementary and graduate levels and was recently selected to serve on the Royal Society Publishing Early Career Researcher Advisory Panel, where she aims to strengthen diverse initiatives supporting other scientists in the early stages of their careers. Passionate about science communication, she shares stories of ancient fauna and changing ecosystems across a range of traditional and non-traditional platforms.
