Education
The Rockefeller University – PhD Student 2016-Present
Advisor: Dr. Erich Jarvis
Vanderbilt University – B.A. Neuroscience, Minor in History of Art, 2016
Honors Thesis: Changes in Cortical Wiring in a Mouse Model of Autism
Advisor: Dr. Vivien Casagrande
University of St Andrews – Fall semester, 2014
Interacting with Neural Circuits, CAJAL Advanced Neuroscience Training Programme
Champalimaud Institute for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal – Summer 2019
Publications
Papers and Preprints
Vasiliki Stoumpu, César D. M. Vargas, Peter F. Schade, Theodoros Giannakopoulos, Erich D. Jarvis. (2021). Analysis of Mouse Vocal Communication (Amvoc): A deep, unsupervised method for rapid detection, analysis, and classification of ultrasonic vocalizations. bioRxiv. Published online August 13, 2021:2021.08.13.456283.
Mayu Frank, Nathalie E Blachere, Salina Parveen, Ezgi Hacisuleyman, John Fak, Joseph M Luna, Eleftherios Michailidis, Samara Wright, Pamela Stark, Ann H Campbell, Ashley Foo, Thomas P Sakmar, Virginia Huffman, Marissa Bergh, Audrey Goldfarb, Andrew Mansisidor, Agata L Patriotis, Karl H Palmquist, Nicolas Poulton, Rachel Leicher, César D Vargas, Irene Duba, Arlene Hurley, Joseph P Colagreco, Nicole Pagane, Dana E Orange, Kevin Mora, Jennifer L Rakeman, Randal C Fowler, Helen Fernandes, Michelle F Lamendola-Essel, Nick Didkovsky, Leopolda Silvera, Joseph Masci, Machelle Allen, Charles M Rice, Robert B Darnell. (2021). DRUL for school: Opening Pre-K with safe, simple, sensitive saliva testing for SARS-CoV-2. PLOS ONE. 2021;16(6):e0252949.
Textbook Chapters
Jose E. Marin, Andres H. Belmont, César D. M. Vargas, Jessica Salazar, Henderson Jones, Phillip Gibson, and Monica Delgado. (2013). Atoms, Elements, Molecules, and Ions. General Chemistry by Exploration: 46-48.
Awards and Funding
Pilot Grant, Kavli Neural Systems Institute, Rockefeller University, 2019
Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study, HHMI, 2018
College of Arts and Science Undergraduate Travel Award, Vanderbilt University, 2015
Talks and Presentations
Society for Neuroscience, 2021 – Poster
Agravat, R. A., Vargas, C. D. M,J arvis, E. D. Connectivity and Neuroanatomy of the Orofacial Motor Cortex and the Laryngeal Motor Cortex for Vocal Modulation in Mice
Society for Neuroscience, 2021 – Poster
Vargas, C. D. M, Waidmann, E. N., Jarvis, E. D. Stimulation of Mouse Primary Motor Cortex Activates Intrinsic and Extrinsic Vocal Muscles
High-Risk, High-Reward Research Symposium, NIH, June, 2021 – Poster
Vargas, C. D. M, Waidmann, E. N., Jarvis, E. D. Assessing the Functional Representation of Vocal Musculature in the Motor Cortex of Mice
Junior Scientist Workshop on Mechanistic Cognitive Neuroscience, HHMI, December, 2020 – Poster
Vargas, C. D. M, Waidmann, E. N., Jarvis, E. D. Functional Representation of Vocal Musculature in the
Motor Cortex of Mice
Neuromatch 3.0, October, 2020 – Talk
Functional Representation of Vocal Musculature in the Motor Cortex of Mice
Keizen Lecture, Comparative Bioscience Center, Rockefeller University, April, 2019 – Talk
Society for Neuroscience, 2016 – Poster
Krueger Fister* , J., Vargas* , C. D. M., Mavity-Hudson, J. A., Robson, M. J., Veenstra-Vanderweele, J., Wallace, M. T., Blakely, R. D., and Casagrande, V. A. (2016)
Changes in thalamocortical projection patterns in a mouse model of autism. Society for Neuroscienc, Program No. 30.10/C8. *authors contributed equally
Society for Neuroscience, 2015 – Poster
Vargas, C.D.M., Mavity-Hudson, J., Robosn, M., Veenstra-VanderWeele, J., Wallace, M.,
Blakely, R., Casagrande, V. (2015) Changes in Cortical Wiring in a Mouse Model of Autism. Society for Neuroscience, Program No.490.17/E18.
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day, September, 2015 – Poster
Bio
I am bilingual, binational, and bicultural. I grew up in Mexico City, Mexico, and then in El Paso, TX. I count myself lucky to have grown up surrounded by people who look and sound like me; surrounded by people who eat like me; and surrounded by people who see the world in a similar lens to me. I was never considered an outsider. It's this experience, with an awareness of how many people with my background have the outsider experience, that I am a passionate and unapologetic supporter of Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Justice initiatives as well as the Black Lives Matter organization and movement. It is by the very definition and existence of terms like "underrepresented minority" that we know the systems we work in, as they exist, are not doing enough.
I am committed to doing the best science I am capable of
&
I am committed to ensuring any one who desires it can do the best science they are capable of