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Marine Biology

The oceans comprise more than 90% of the inhabitable volume on our planet. Within this massive biome, marine invertebrates have evolved and diversified over hundreds of millions of years. The endless number of strange shapes these critters take form, and the modes by which they break biological convention for viable survival strategies is what keeps bringing me back for more.

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My research interests lie in understanding the relationships among these animals and the molecular toolkits which have facilitated their evolution. Particularly, the genetic underpinnings for these organism's self-defense, and how these genes have changed (or remained relatively static) overtime is the primary focus of my PhD.

Deuterostome Toll-like receptor pathway evolution

Ongoing Research

Current scientific understanding of immunity is largely biased to species of biomedical importance. Though these species are invaluable for our current knowledge on the molecular underpinnings of immunity, understanding the evolution of these systems requires far broader taxon sampling. My work focuses on genomes and transcriptomes across deuterostomes to illuminate toll-like receptor pathway evolution, conservation, and innovation. 

Hemichordate immunity

Immunity is a complex dance involving coordinated molecular signals and induced cellular behaviors for the ultimate goal of disposing invading pathogenic agents. Among the three deuterostomes phyla (Hemichordata, Echinodermata, and Chordata), hemichordates remain frequently overlooked. My research focuses on using molecular methods to characterize the innate immunities in acorn-worm hemichordates.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

  • Townsend JP, Tassia MG, Damian-Serrano A, Whelan NV, Halanych KM, Sweeney AM. 2020 A mesopelagic ctenophore representing a new family, with notes on family-level taxonomy in Ctenophora: Vampyroctena delmarvensis gen. nov. sp. nov. (Vampyroctenaidae, fam. nov.). Marine Biodiversity 50 (34)

  • Li Y, Tassia MG, Waits DS, Bogantes VE, David KT, Halanych KM. 2019. Genomic adaptations to chemosymbiosis in the deep-sea seep-dwelling tubeworm Lamellibrachia luymesi. BMC Biology 17 (91)

RECENT PRESENTATIONS

  1. Hemichordates inform the evolution of deuterostome immunity. Tassia MG, Halanych KM. Talk presented to Virtual Evolution 2021.

  2. Fieldwork Aboard the R/V Nathanial B. Palmer. Tassia MG. Invited talk presented to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Friday Seminar Series in February 2021.

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