Shana Goffredi
She/Her
I am queer and I am an explorer and educator.//
I am a Professor of Biology at Occidental College. I consider myself an explorer at heart and am committed to uncovering the unique diversity of life on Earth. I grew up in Colorado and was instilled with a love of nature, from snails to worms to freshwater fish by my parents. I moved to California just after high school to attend the Univ. of San Diego, and have lived there ever since. I got my Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology from UC Santa Barbara and then did a post-doc at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Through all of these experiences I have been lucky to be involved in the discovery and description of some amazing deep-sea animals, including giant deep-sea tubeworms and the iconic yeti crab. These enigmatic symbioses have significantly contributed to biodiversity on our planet by generating new forms (ex. animal organs and tissues), new metabolisms, and even new evolutionary lineages, and I’m absolutely lucky to be studying these systems and sharing them with college students at a small liberal arts college! I absolutely love the merger of my passions with my professional life.