Postdoctoral Fellow 2002-2003. Laboratory of Dr. William Jeffery. University of Maryland at College Park.

Ph.D. 1997. New York University, New York, NY (Biology).
B.S. 1992. National University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City (Biology with honors).

2006-present. Associate Professor of Biology, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY.

2005-2006. Associate Professor of Biology. Shenandoah University, Winchester, Virginia.

2003-2005. Assistant Professor of Biology, Shenandoah University, Winchester, Virginia

1997-2003. Associate Professor of Biology, Center for Research on the Biosphere Reserve at Sierra de Huautla, Morelos State University, Morelos, Mexico

2001, 2004. Visiting Researcher, Laboratory of Dr. Gonzalo Giribet, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University

2001. Visiting Researcher, Laboratory of Dr. Randall T. Schuh, Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History

Caving, mountain climbing, white water rafting, and most outdoor activities.

1. Espinasa, L., Socci, K., McCaffery, S., and Cahill, A. (2012) A New Species of Anelpistina (Nicoeltiidae: Zygentoma) from Sumidero Canyon National Park, in Chiapas, Mexico. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 114(3): 285-292.

2. Espinasa, L., Pape, R. B., Henneberry, A. and Kinnear, C. (2012) A New Species of Nicoletiidae (Insecta: Zygentoma) from Kartchner Caverns State Park, Arizona. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 74( 1): 82–89.

3. Espinasa, L., Dunfee, M., Lettieri, C. and Walker, J. (2011) Cosmopolitan Dispersion in a Parthenogenetic Insect (Nicoletia phytophila; Zygentoma): Human Facilitated or Much Older? Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 124( 4): 310-317.

4. Espinasa, L., Furst, S., Allen, T., and Slay M.E. 2010. A new genus of the subfamily Cubacubaninae (Insecta: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) from caves in south-central and southwestern USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 72(3): 161–168.

5. Espinasa, L., Henneberry, A., and Turner., T. (2009) Cenozoic colonization of the Lesser Antilles by Nicoletiid insects (Zygentoma, “Apterygota”) and a new species of Anelpistina from Mustique Island. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 122(4): 449-459.

6. Espinasa, L. and Boyko, Y. (2009) A new troglobitic species of Anelpistina (Hexapoda: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) from northern Mexico. Texas and Mexico Memorial Museum Speleological Monographs, 7. Studies on the cave and endogean fauna of North America 5: 79-86.

7. Espinasa, L., and Giribet, G. (2009) Living in the dark—species delimitation based on combined molecular and morphological evidence in the nicoletiid genus Texoreddellia Wygodzinsky, 1973 (Hexapoda: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae). Texas and Mexico. Memorial Museum Speleological Monographs, 7. Studies on the cave and endogean fauna of North America 5:  87-110.

8. Espinasa, L. and Vuong, N. H. (2008) A new troglobitic species of Anelpistina (Hexapoda: Zygenyoma: Nicoletiidae) from Yextla cave, Guerrero, México. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 121(3): 382-390.

9. Espinasa, L. and Vuong, N. H. (2008) A new species of cave adapted Nicoletiid (Zygentoma: Insecta) from the tenth deepest cave in the world. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 70(2): 73-77.

10. Espinasa, M. and Espinasa, L. (2008) Losing Sight of Regressive Evolution. Evolution: Education and Outreach 1(4): 509–516

11. Espinasa, L. and Cappuccio, E. (2008) New genus allocation for the cavernicole Nicoletiids (Insecta: Zygentoma) of Aruba and description of their previously unknown males. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 110(2): 292–299.

12. Luis Espinasa, Casey Flick, Gonzalo Giribet (2007) Phylogeny of the American silverfish Cubacubaninae (Hexapoda: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae): a combined approach using morphology and five molecular loci
Cladistics 23 (1): 22–40.

13. Espinasa, L. and Jeffery, W. R. (2006) Conservation of retinal circadian rhythms during cavefish eye degeneration. Evolution and Development 8(1): 16-22.

14. Espinasa, L. and Fisher, A. (2006) A cavernicole species of the genus Anelpistina (Insecta: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) from San Sebastian cave, Oaxaca, Mexico. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 108(3): 655-660.

15. Espinasa, L. and Rishmawi I. J. (2005) A new species of the genus Cubacubana  (Insecta: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) from a cave in Hidalgo, Mexico. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 118(4): 802-807.

16. Espinasa, L. and Espinasa, M. (2005) Why do cave fish lose their eyes? Natural History. 114(5):44-49.

17. Espinasa, L., Yamamoto, Y. and  Jeffery, W. R. (2005) Non-optical releasers for aggressive behavior in blind and blinded Astyanax (Teleostei, Characidae) Behavioural Processes.70(2): 144-148.

18. Espinasa, L. (2005) A new species of the genus Anelpistina (Insecta: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) from Peru. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 118(2): 337-345.

19. Espinasa, L. (2005) A new genus of the subfamily Cubacubaninae (Insecta: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) from Veracruz, Mexico Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 107(3): 510-516.

20. Espinasa, L. and Burnham, B. (2004) Revision of the genus Squamigera (Insecta: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) with description of two new species. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 117(4): 582-593.

21. Yamamoto, Y., Espinasa, L., Stock, D. W. & Jeffery, W. R. (2003) Development and evolution of craniofacial patterning is mediated by eye-dependent and -independent processes in the cavefish Astyanax.
Evolution & Development 5(5):435-446.

22. Espinasa, L. and  Jeffery, W. R. (2003) A troglomorphic sculpin (Pisces: Cottidae) population: Geography, morphology and conservation status. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies. 65(2):93-100.

23. Espinasa, L. and Baker Alpheis, M. (2003) A new cavernicole species of the genus Anelpistina (Insecta: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) from the Guánica subtropical dry forest, Puerto Rico. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 116(2):503-508

24. Espinasa, L. and Baker Alpheis, M. (2001) A new species of the genus Anelpistina (Insecta: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) from the Biosphere Reserve Sierra de Huautla. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 114(2):489-496.

25. Espinasa, L. and Borowsky, R. (2001) Origins and relationship of cave populations of the blind Mexican tetra, Astyanax fasciatus, in the Sierra de El Abra. Environmental Biology of Fishes 62:233-237.

26. Espinasa, L., Rivas-Manzano, P. and Espinosa Pérez, H. (2001)  A new blind cave fish population of genus Astyanax: Geography, Morphology and Behavior. Environmental Biology of Fishes. 62:339-344.

27. Espinasa, L. and Borowsky, R. (2000) Eyed cave fish in a karst window. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 62(3):180-183.

28. Espinasa, L. (2000) A new species of the genus Cubacubana (Insecta: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) from a Mexican cave, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 113(1):218-223.

29. Espinasa, L. (1999) A new species of the genus Prosthecina (Insecta: Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae), Pedobiologia 101:1-13.

30. Espinasa, L. (1999) A new genus of the subfamily Cubacubaninae (Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) from a Mexican cave, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 112(1):52-58.

31. Espinasa, L. (1999) Two new species of the genus Anelpistina (Zygentoma:Nicoletiidae) from Mexican caves, with redescription of the genus, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 112(1):59-69.

32. Espinasa, L. and Borowsky, R. (1998) Evolutionary Divergence of AP-PCR (RAPD) patterns, Molecular Biology and Evolution 15(4):408-414.

33. Espinasa, L. (1991) Descripción de una nueva especie del género Cubacubana (Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) y registro del género para América Continental, Folia Entomológica Mexicana 82:5-16.

34. Solis-Weiss, V. and Espinasa, L. (1991) Lycastilla Cavernicola, a new fresh water nereid from an inland Mexican cave (Polychaeta: Nereididae: Namanereidinae), Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 104(3):631-639.

My primary area of specialization is evolutionary biology using cave organisms as model systems. I am currently conducting research in two broad areas; one involves the evolution of complex characters such as circadian rhythms and blindness in the teleost fish, Astyanax mexicanus, and the second concerns the phylogeography of cave-dwelling Nicoletiids (Insecta: Zygentoma) using sequence data from nuclear and mitochondrial genes.