I am a research biologist in the field of symbiosis. My experimental work is focused on a common but surprising tripartite beneficial symbiosis in molgulid ascidian tunicates (a group of marine invertebrate chordate animals), bacteria, and the first beneficial apicomplexan (a group of parasitic microbes including Toxoplasma, Plasmodium and other important animal parasites) so far described. I am also working on a book about the biology of symbiosis, Lives of the Infectious and the Infected, for University of Chicago Press. See the experimental work and writing projects pages for a fuller description of my research.
My curriculum vitae includes a list of selected publications, awards, and interviews I’ve done in the popular press.
Mary Beth Saffo, PhD 