Mark Siddall
Mark Siddall is known as “the leech guy,” though he has focused on the evolutionary biology of a wide range of parasites. He has led expeditions around the world, most recently including South Sudan, Cambodia, and the Lower Amazon of Brazil. His work in the Sackler Institute of Comparative Genomics at AMNH ranges from sequencing whole genomes of bloodsuckers like bed bugs and leeches, to examining the DNA leftover in their guts as a measure of animal diversity in protected tropical forests. Siddall is Curator of the Annelida, Mollusca Collections at the American Museum of Natural History, Principal Investigator at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, and Professor at the Richard Gilder Graduate School. In addition to over 160 peer reviewed publications, he is author of the whimsical book Poison: Sinister species with deadly consequences. Siddall is a committed science communicator making frequent public program appearances at the Museum, at venues around New York City and through the Entertainment Exchange of the National Academy of Sciences. He is curator of the Irma and Paul Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life at AMNH and other exhibitions including The Power of Poison, Life at the Limits, Picturing Science, and Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease. Siddall received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1994, is a recipient of the Henry Baldwin Ward Medal from the American Society of Parasitologists and is a Resident Fellow of the Explorers Club.
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