As an invertebrate zoologist who specializes on a phylum of unusual and occasionally gargantuan marine species, a phylum known as nemerteans or commonly, ribbon worms because of their shape, I spend my research time collecting, documenting and describing marine biodiversity. Being a specialist on marine worms is not nearly as gross as it sounds, despite the fact one species is able to attain a length of 30 meters. The most fun part of my research is discovering and naming new species, especially the longest ones, and it seems that I will not run out of species to describe for a very long time; almost every place I have sampled yields at least 3-5x more new species than those already named and known to science. Nevertheless, ribbon worms are understudied despite their ubiquity in all marine biotopes. Basic natural history is also poorly known; for instance, knowledge about what ribbon worms feed upon or how they reproduce is largely lacking yet, they appear to be strictly carnivorous, have few predators and may structure their communities to a significant degree. Because many species are cryptic and require a little poking around in the intertidal to be found, they remain largely unknown to the general public and science.

Consider how different a worm is to a sea urchin or a sponge or even a human; I find the myriad of ways in which to be an animal fascinating and in my research I try to understand the evolutionary history of worms through comparative study of DNA sequences, anatomy and development. Understanding the evolutionary history of a group of organisms requires knowledge of many different fields within biology. So when it comes to teaching, I truly enjoy leading students through a diversity of courses ranging from invertebrate zoology, to development, physiology, molecular evolution and ecology, all of which in turn informs my research. Introducing my students to the field of biology through the lens of evolution is one of the most important components of my profession, and I enjoy it.