Sofía Marques

Sofía Marques is part of the Agronomy research group in the Engineering Department at the Catholic University of Uruguay. Her research experience has focused on the biology and management of weeds in agricultural systems, integrating tools from agronomy, ecology, and molecular biology. She is particularly interested in understanding the genetic and physiological mechanisms underlying how weeds adapt to different environments and management practices, as well as their evolution in response to selection pressures such as herbicide use. Her doctoral work focused on identifying genomic regions that determine sex in Cirsium arvense, a thistle species of major importance in North America, and on characterizing the site of action of hormonal herbicides.

Sofía Marques graduated as an Agronomist from the Faculty of Agronomy at the University of the Republic in 2015. From 2016 to 2019, she worked at the National Seed Institute (INASE) as a trade technician and certification technician. During those years, she observed some of the challenges faced by producers, including herbicide resistance, and decided to continue her training on the subject by pursuing a master’s degree at the Faculty of Agronomy with a scholarship at the National Institute of Agricultural Research, La Estanzuela. There, she carried out one of the first nationwide surveys on herbicide resistance. After obtaining her Master’s degree in 2021, she continued her line of research at Colorado State University, where she earned her Ph.D. in 2025. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering.