Samantha Leigh

B.S. Coastal Carolina University
Ph.D. University of California, Irvine
Postdoc California State University Fullerton

Office SCI 220
Tel (310) 243-3408
Email sleigh@csudh.edu

Research Interest

I am an animal physiologist interested in how organisms acquire energy based on their specified feeding mechanisms and digestive strategies. My research uses a blend of anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology to answer questions about digestive performance in response to varying ecosystem fluxes, mainly in marine organisms.

 Recent projects include:

1) Understanding the mechanisms involved with the digestion and assimilation of seagrass in the bonnethead shark

2) Investigating how the ingestion of microplastics by important marine food web foundation species impacts their physiological processes

3) A phylogenetic and functional analysis of the morphology of the spiral intestine in sharks

Courses

Bio 122: Principles of Biology II
Bio 312: Animal Physiology
Bio 491: Seminar in Biological and Biomedical Research

Additional Information

Personal Website: samanthacleigh.weebly.com