SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

Instagram:

Research Description

Prof. Shana Goffredi is the current Chair of the Biology Department. Her research focuses on the cooperative interactions between invertebrates and bacteria that have significantly contributed to biodiversity on our planet by generating new forms (ex. animal organs and tissues), new metabolisms, and even new evolutionary lineages. She investigates the molecular ecology and biochemistry of symbiotic systems, and how the environment influences their functioning. Prof. Goffredi’s primary source of funding comes from the National Science Foundation.

Shana considers herself an explorer at heart and is committed to uncovering the unique diversity of life on Earth. For 25 years, she has been travelling to the deep ocean, using submersibles, to study cooperative partnerships between bacteria and marine invertebrates. Prof. Goffredi has been involved in the discovery and description of some of the most iconic deep-sea animals to date, including giant deep-sea tubeworms and the yeti crab. She was the recipient of the 2023 Graham L. Sterling Memorial Award for distinguished teaching, service, and professional achievement.

In her research lab, students will experience :

• The full scientific process; from sample collection to data generation to manuscript writing, and everything in between.
• A community that embraces all forms of what it means to be a scientist
• Improved problem solving skills
• Creativity and independence to synthesize lab results, field observations, and prior literature into a tangible story

Courses

Select Publications

(*) Denotes SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ undergraduate authors

Dal Bó B*, Guo Y, Mayr M, Pereira O, Levin L, Orphan V, and SK Goffredi. (2025). Methane-powered sea spiders: Diverse, epibiotic methanotrophs serve as a source of nutrition for deep-sea methane seep Sericosura. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 122 (26) e2501422122. 

Siehl R*, Vyhnal K* and SK Goffredi. (2024) Friendly Fungi: Tropical Insect Families Form Partnerships with Intracellular Fungi Related to Pathogens. iScience 27, 110674. 

Goffredi SK, Panossian B, Brzechffa C*, Field N*, King C, Moggioli G, Rouse GW, Martín-Durán JM, Henry. (2023). A dynamic epibiont community associated with the bone-eating polychaete genus Osedax. mBio. 14(4), e03140-22. 

Goffredi SK, Hildreth R*, deRogatis J.*, Appy R. (2023). Vampire Vibrios: Persistent, internal associations with blood-feeding marine invertebrates. Frontiers in Microbiology.13.DOI:.

Goffredi, S.K., C. Motooka*, D.A. Fike, L.C. Gusmão, E. Tilic, G.W. Rouse, and E. Rodríguez (2021). Mixotrophic chemosynthesis in a deep-sea anemone from hydrothermal vents in the Pescadero Basin, Gulf of California. BMC Biology 19(8). DOI:10.1186/s12915-020-00921-1.See also Behind the Paper ().

Goffredi, S.K., E. Tilic, S.W. Mullin, K.S. Dawson, A. Keller, R.W. Lee, F. Wu, L.A. Levin, G.W. Rouse, E.E. Cordes, V.J. Orphan. (2020). Methanotrophic bacterial symbionts fuel dense populations of deep-sea feather duster worms (Sabellida, Annelida) and extend the spatial influence of methane seepage. Science Advances 6:14, eaay8562

Goffredi, S.K., S. Johnson, V. Tunnicliffe, D. Caress, D. Clague, E. Escobar, L. Lundsten, J.B. Paduan, G. Rouse, D.L. Salcedo, L.A. Soto, R. Spelz-Madero, R. Zierenberg, R. Vrijenhoek (2017). Hydrothermal vent fields discovered in the Gulf of California reveal the role of habitat in augmenting regional diversity. Proc Royal Society B. 284: 20170817. DOI:10.1098/rspb.2017.0817.

Aronson, H.S.*, A.J. Zellmer, Goffredi, S.K. (2017). The specific and exclusive microbiome of the deep-sea bone-eating snail, Rubyspira osteovora. FEMS Microbiology Ecology. 93(3): fiw250. Awarded Editor’s Choice article for Issue 93.3.

Bistolas, K.I.S.*, R. Sakamoto*, J.A.M. Fernandes, Goffredi, S.K. (2014). Symbiont polyphyly, co-evolution, and necessity in pentatomid stinkbugs from Costa Rica. Frontiers in Microbiology. 5:349 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2014.00349.

Goffredi S.K., A.H. Kantor*, W.T. Woodside* (2011). Aquatic microbial habitats within a neotropical rainforest: bromeliads and pH-associated trends in bacterial diversity. Microbial Ecology, 61: 529-542.