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{{Short description|Canadian biologist}}
{{Short description|Canadian biologist}}


'''Mark E. Siddall''' is a Canadian biologist and former curator<ref name="auto">{{cite news|last=Jacobs |first=Julia|date=October 2, 2020|title=Museum Fires Curator Who It Says Sexually Harassed Student Researcher |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/arts/mark-siddall-sexual-harassment.html|work=New york Times}}</ref> at the [[American Museum of Natural History]]. Siddall has studied the [[evolutionary biology|evolution]] and [[systematics]] of blood parasites and [[leech]]es, and systematic theory<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Siddall |first1=Mark |last2=Kluge |first2=Arnold |title=Probabilism and phylogenetic inference. |journal=Cladistics |date=December 1997 |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=313–336 |doi=10.1006/clad.1997.0046|hdl=2027.42/71951 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} Siddall was hired as an assistant curator at the [[American Museum of Natural History]] in July, 1999<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/826ba0e832e279739fb0691b74b947f6/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=41450 |title=INTRODUCTION OF PRESIDENT MARK E. SIDDALL |website=ProQuest}}</ref> and worked there as a curator until September, 2020, when he was terminated for allegedly having violated the museum's policy prohibiting sexual relationships between staff and mentees. Siddall denied the claim.<ref name="auto"/>
'''Mark E. Siddall''' is a [[Canadians|Canadian]]<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://search.proquest.com/openview/826ba0e832e279739fb0691b74b947f6/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=41450|title=INTRODUCTION OF PRESIDENT MARK E. SIDDALL - ProQuest|website=search.proquest.com}}</ref> invertebrate zoologist and infectious disease expert<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/disease-dangers-pandemic-influenza-ebola-2017-5|title=Disease experts reveal their biggest worries about the next pandemic|date=2021-03-12}}</ref>.

Siddall's research has focused on the diversity and evolutionary biology of a wide range of parasites, from single-celled microbes to leeches. He has led expeditions throughout the world, most recently including South Sudan, Cambodia and the Lower Amazon of Brazil. His work ranges from sequencing the whole genome of bed bugs uncovering hemotoxic venom compounds in blood feeding animals, to leveraging iDNA as a measure of endangered animal diversity in protected tropical forests<ref name = "ECintro">{{cite web|url=https://www.explorers.org/events/detail/public_lecture_series_with_mark_siddall|title=Public Lecture Series with Mark Siddall - The Bloodsucker Proxy: Terrestrial Leeches and Revolutionary New Techniques For Genetic Forest Sampling|author=The Explorers Club|date=2018-04-30}}</ref>. In addition to over 160 peer reviewed publications<ref name = "SiddallScholar">{{cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=e3xDoBMAAAAJ&hl=en|title= Google Scholar Profile for Mark Siddall|date=|accessdate=2021-03-12}}</ref>, he is author of the whimsical<ref name = "ECintro"/> book “Poison: Sinister species with deadly consequences”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Poison/4PVBmQEACAAJ?hl=en |title=Poison: Sinister Species with Deadly Consequences - Mark Siddall - Google Books |publisher=Google.com |date= |accessdate=2021-03-12}}</ref>.
Siddall is a committed science communicator making frequent public program appearances, at venues around New York City and more widely; even garnering recognition from the Entertainment Exchange of the National Academy of Sciences<ref name = "ECintro"/>. He has curated of the Irma and Paul Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life and other exhibitions including The Power of Poison, Life at the Limits: Stories of Amazing Species, Picturing Science, Undersea Oasis and Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease<ref name = "ECintro"/> in collaboration with President [[Jimmy_Carter]]. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1994, is a recipient of the Henry Baldwin Ward Medal from the American Society of Parasitologists and is a Fellow of The Explorers Club<ref name = "ECintro"/>.




==Education==
==Education==

Siddall completed a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Immunology, a Masters <ref>{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/uoftmagazine/docs/winter14/62|title=U of T Magazine &#124; Winter 2014|website=Issuu}}</ref> and PhD in Parasitology<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldsciencefestival.com/participants/mark_siddall/ |title=Mark Siddall |publisher=World Science Festival |date= |accessdate=2021-03-12}}</ref> under the supervision of Sherwin S. Desser at the [[University of Toronto]] in 1998, 1991 and 1994, respectively.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/44810235|author=Siddall, Mark E.|title=Presidential Address: Reinvention and Resolve|year=2016|journal=The Journal of Parasitology|volume=102|issue=6|pages=566–571|doi=10.1645/16-113|jstor=44810235|pmid=27626125|s2cid=11802614}}</ref>
Siddall completed a Masters<ref>{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/uoftmagazine/docs/winter14/62|title=U of T Magazine &#124; Winter 2014|website=Issuu|date=10 December 2013 }}</ref> and PhD<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldsciencefestival.com/participants/mark_siddall/ |title=Mark Siddall |publisher=World Science Festival |date= |access-date=2021-03-12}}</ref> under the supervision of Sherwin S. Desser at the [[University of Toronto]] in 1991 and 1994, respectively.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Siddall, Mark E.|title=Presidential Address: Reinvention and Resolve|year=2016|journal=The Journal of Parasitology |volume=102|issue=6|pages=566–571 |doi=10.1645/16-113|jstor=44810235|pmid=27626125|s2cid=11802614}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==


After completing his PhD, Siddall completed a postdoc at the [[Virginia Institute of Marine Science]]. Subsequently, he was a fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows from 1996 - 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lsa.umich.edu/herbarium/news-events/all-events.detail.html/37412-6534097.html|title=All Events &#124; U-M LSA University of Michigan Herbarium|website=lsa.umich.edu}}</ref> Siddall was hired as an assistant curator at the [[American Museum of Natural History]] in July, 1999<ref name="auto1" /> and served there as a curator until September, 2020.
After completing his PhD, Siddall completed a postdoc at the [[Virginia Institute of Marine Science]].<ref name="auto2"/> Subsequently, he was a fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows from 1996-1999.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lsa.umich.edu/herbarium/news-events/all-events.detail.html/37412-6534097.html|title=All Events &#124; U-M LSA University of Michigan Herbarium|website=lsa.umich.edu}}</ref> He also acted as treasurer of the [[Willi Hennig Society]], publisher of the journal ''[[Cladistics (journal)|Cladistics]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine|title=Twitter Nerd-Fight Reveals a Long, Bizarre Scientific Feud |magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/02/twitter-nerd-fight-reveals-a-long-bizarre-scientific-feud/|access-date=2021-06-26|issn=1059-1028}}</ref>


Siddall has worked and published on parasitic and other animals, including leeches,<ref name=Zimmer>{{Cite news|last=Zimmer|first=Carl|date=2006-02-07|title=His Subject: Highly Evolved and Exquisitely Thirsty |work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/science/his-subject-highly-evolved-and-exquisitely-thirsty.html|access-date=2021-04-13|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> jellyfish,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Yong|first=Ed|date=2016-08-22|title=A Tiny Jellyfish Relative Just Shut Down Yellowstone River|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/08/the-parasite-that-just-shut-down-a-montana-river-has-an-unbelievable-origin/496817/|access-date=2021-04-13|website=The Atlantic}}</ref> guinea worms,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Palmer|first=Brian|date=2015-03-10|title=We're on the Verge of the Greatest Public Health Triumph of the 21st Century|url=https://slate.com/technology/2015/03/guinea-worm-eradication-nylon-filters-and-caring-about-others-bring-a-public-health-victory.html|access-date=2021-04-13|website=Slate Magazine}}</ref> and bed bugs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Borel|first=Brooke|date=2016-02-02 |title=Bed bug genome shows how gnarly these creatures really are|url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/2/10891676/bed-bug-genome-sequencing-findings-nature-communications|access-date=2021-04-13|website=The Verge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kolbert|first=Elizabeth|title=Old Bugs|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/30/old-bugs|access-date=2021-04-13|magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref>
The[[American Museum of Natural History]] let him go in September 2020 after an outside law firm, Kaplan Hecker & Fink<ref name = "Jacobs">{{cite news|last=Jacobs|first=Julia|date=October 2, 2020|title=Museum Fires Curator Who It Says Sexually Harassed Student Researcher|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/arts/mark-siddall-sexual-harassment.html|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> led by Roberta Kaplan (co-founder of the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/style/media-men-list-lawsuit.html|title=Time’s Up Co-Founder to Represent Media Men List Creator|publisher=New York Times|date=|accessdate=2018-10-16}}</ref>, provided the museum with a determination that he had sexually harassed and bullied a graduate student. As part of the investigation, which occurred when the [[American Museum of Natural History]] was seeking to fill a $120 million budget gap<ref>{{cite news|last=Jacobs|first=Julia|date=2020-05-06 web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/arts/design/natural-history-layoffs-virus.html|title=Natural History Museum Slashing Staff With Layoffs and Furloughs|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>, he was cited for violating a museum policy that prohibits sexual relationships between staff and mentees under their academic supervision<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnh.org/content/download/56829/914521/file/RGGS%20Handbook%20for%20Students%20and%20Faculty%20on%20Academic%20and%20Conduct%20Policies%20and%20Procedures%20January%202017.pdf |title=Richard Gilder Graduate School Handbook for Students and Faculty on Academic and Conduct Policies and Procedures|publisher=AMNH.org|date= |accessdate=2021-02-22}}</ref>. Siddall denied that the graduate student was ever under his supervision<ref name = "Siddall2Jacobs"/>. The AMNH graduate school roster from that time period does not indicate any student being under his academic supervision<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303060700/https://www.amnh.org/research/richard-gilder-graduate-school/meet-our-phd-students|title=Meet Our PhD Students|publisher=Internet Archive|date= |accessdate=2020-03-03}}</ref>.


He is author of the science book ''Poison: Sinister Species with Deadly Consequences''.<ref name="Siddall2014">{{cite book|author=Mark Siddall|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4PVBmQEACAAJ|title=Poison: Sinister Species with Deadly Consequences|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Incorporated|year=2014|isbn=978-1-4549-0764-0}}</ref>
Siddall has denied that anything of a sexual nature ever took place<ref name = "Siddall2Jacobs">{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222211028/https://marksiddall.net/reply_to_jacobs/|title=Response to New York Times Inquiry – September 23, 2020 |publisher=Internet Archive|date=|accessdate=2021-02-22}}</ref>. Worried about data-fabrication in a paper they were coauthoring, Siddall asked to remove his name from the paper on 22 May 2020<ref name = "Jacobs"/><ref name = "Siddall2Jacobs"/>. Within days of that request<ref name = "Siddall2Jacobs"/> the graduate student filed a sexual assault complaint that was not upheld in the investigation<ref name = "Jacobs"/>.


In 2016, Siddall, [[Jonathan Eisen]], and others were involved in the Twitter controversy #ParsimonyGate.<ref name=":0"/>
Siddall also publicly disagreed with the lesser harassment findings that led to his dismissal, however, he chose to not appeal the decision to protect his family and due to legal costs<ref name = "Jacobs"/><ref name = "Siddall2Jacobs"/>. The Museum responded with termination even though there is no record of a prior sexual harassment complaint against Siddall<ref name = "Siddall2Jacobs"/>. The New York Times noted that in 2017, Dr. Siddall and Dr. Susan Perkins had filed competing work-related complaints against each other<ref name = "Jacobs"/><ref name = "Siddall2Jacobs"/> while Perkins was in the position of power (Chair of the Faculty Senate<ref>{{cite web|url=https://policy.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/page-assets/documents/faculty-staff/10.pdf|title=Resolution To Appoint Susan Perkins with Immediate Tenure |publisher=CUNY.edu|date= |accessdate=2019-11-25}}</ref>). The museum found that Dr. Siddall had not violated any of the institution's policies, and exonerated him in full. Dr. Perkins admitted that the museum concluded "nothing wrong had happened"<ref name = "Jacobs"/>.

The [[American Museum of Natural History]] fired Siddall in September 2020 for alleged [[sexual harassment]], citing museum policy that prohibits sexual relationships between staff and mentees under their academic supervision.<ref name="auto" /> An outside law firm representing the museum's interests found that Siddall had "engaged in verbal, written, and physical conduct of a sexual nature that had the effect of unreasonably interfering with your academic performance."<ref name="auto" /> Siddall denied that any sexual encounter ever took place, and claimed he was fired because "he had found a serious error" in a paper.<ref name="auto" />


==Research==
==Research==


Siddall studies [[phylogenetics]] and evolution.<ref name=Zimmer/> Siddall has been described as "a staunch supporter of [[Maximum parsimony (phylogenetics)|parsimony]] and a harsh critic of maximum likelihood approaches”, although "having mellowed a bit on that".<ref name="auto2">{{Cite journal|title=Society Business|author1=Burreson, Eugene M.|author2=Siddall, Mark E.|author3=Connors, Vincent A.|year=2002 |journal=The Journal of Parasitology|volume=88 |issue=6|pages=1053–1070|doi=10.1645/0022-3395(2002)088[1053:IOMESA]2.0.CO;2|jstor=3285473|pmid=12537094 |s2cid=44766356 }}</ref>
Siddall studies [[phylogenetics]] and evolution.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/science/his-subject-highly-evolved-and-exquisitely-thirsty.html|title=His Subject: Highly Evolved and Exquisitely Thirsty (Published 2006)|first=Carl|last=Zimmer|date=February 7, 2006|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> He began his career publishing on blood parasites.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1550-7408.1990.tb01257.x|title=Gametogenesis and Sporogonic Development of Haemogregarina balli (Apicomplexa: Adeleina: Haemogregarinidae) in the Leech Placobdella ornata|first1=Mark E.|last1=Siddall|first2=Sherwin S.|last2=Desser|date=November 3, 1990|journal=The Journal of Protozoology|volume=37|issue=6|pages=511–520|via=Wiley Online Library|doi=10.1111/j.1550-7408.1990.tb01257.x}}</ref> He has published extensively on [[leech]] [[systematics]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00017378|title=Leeches (Oligochaeta?: Euhirudinea), their phylogeny and the evolution of life-history strategies|first1=Mark E.|last1=Siddall|first2=Eugene M.|last2=Burreson|date=October 1, 1996|journal=Hydrobiologia|volume=334|issue=1|pages=277–285|via=Springer Link|doi=10.1007/BF00017378|s2cid=21736028}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790397904553|title=Phylogeny of Leeches (Hirudinea) Based on Mitochondrial CytochromecOxidase Subunit I|first1=Mark E.|last1=Siddall|first2=Eugene M.|last2=Burreson|date=February 1, 1998|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=9|issue=1|pages=156–162|via=ScienceDirect|doi=10.1006/mpev.1997.0455|pmid=9479704}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/messages/downloadsexceeded.html|title=Download Limit Exceeded|website=citeseerx.ist.psu.edu}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
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[[Category:20th-century Canadian biologists]]
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[[Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Evolutionary biologists]]
[[Category:Canadian evolutionary biologists]]
[[Category:21st-century biologists]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian biologists]]
[[Category:University of Toronto alumni]]
[[Category:University of Toronto alumni]]
[[Category:People associated with the American Museum of Natural History]]
[[Category:People associated with the American Museum of Natural History]]
[[Category:Phylogenetics]]
[[Category:Phylogenetics researchers]]
[[Category:Parasitology]]
[[Category:Canadian parasitologists]]
[[Category:Presidents of the American Society of Parasitologists]]

Latest revision as of 09:17, 7 April 2024

Mark E. Siddall is a Canadian biologist and former curator[1] at the American Museum of Natural History. Siddall has studied the evolution and systematics of blood parasites and leeches, and systematic theory[2].[citation needed] Siddall was hired as an assistant curator at the American Museum of Natural History in July, 1999[3] and worked there as a curator until September, 2020, when he was terminated for allegedly having violated the museum's policy prohibiting sexual relationships between staff and mentees. Siddall denied the claim.[1]

Education[edit]

Siddall completed a Masters[4] and PhD[5] under the supervision of Sherwin S. Desser at the University of Toronto in 1991 and 1994, respectively.[6]

Career[edit]

After completing his PhD, Siddall completed a postdoc at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.[7] Subsequently, he was a fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows from 1996-1999.[8] He also acted as treasurer of the Willi Hennig Society, publisher of the journal Cladistics.[9]

Siddall has worked and published on parasitic and other animals, including leeches,[10] jellyfish,[11] guinea worms,[12] and bed bugs.[13][14]

He is author of the science book Poison: Sinister Species with Deadly Consequences.[15]

In 2016, Siddall, Jonathan Eisen, and others were involved in the Twitter controversy #ParsimonyGate.[9]

The American Museum of Natural History fired Siddall in September 2020 for alleged sexual harassment, citing museum policy that prohibits sexual relationships between staff and mentees under their academic supervision.[1] An outside law firm representing the museum's interests found that Siddall had "engaged in verbal, written, and physical conduct of a sexual nature that had the effect of unreasonably interfering with your academic performance."[1] Siddall denied that any sexual encounter ever took place, and claimed he was fired because "he had found a serious error" in a paper.[1]

Research[edit]

Siddall studies phylogenetics and evolution.[10] Siddall has been described as "a staunch supporter of parsimony and a harsh critic of maximum likelihood approaches”, although "having mellowed a bit on that".[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Jacobs, Julia (October 2, 2020). "Museum Fires Curator Who It Says Sexually Harassed Student Researcher". New york Times.
  2. ^ Siddall, Mark; Kluge, Arnold (December 1997). "Probabilism and phylogenetic inference". Cladistics. 13 (4): 313–336. doi:10.1006/clad.1997.0046. hdl:2027.42/71951.
  3. ^ "INTRODUCTION OF PRESIDENT MARK E. SIDDALL". ProQuest.
  4. ^ "U of T Magazine | Winter 2014". Issuu. 10 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Mark Siddall". World Science Festival. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  6. ^ Siddall, Mark E. (2016). "Presidential Address: Reinvention and Resolve". The Journal of Parasitology. 102 (6): 566–571. doi:10.1645/16-113. JSTOR 44810235. PMID 27626125. S2CID 11802614.
  7. ^ a b Burreson, Eugene M.; Siddall, Mark E.; Connors, Vincent A. (2002). "Society Business". The Journal of Parasitology. 88 (6): 1053–1070. doi:10.1645/0022-3395(2002)088[1053:IOMESA]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 3285473. PMID 12537094. S2CID 44766356.
  8. ^ "All Events | U-M LSA University of Michigan Herbarium". lsa.umich.edu.
  9. ^ a b "Twitter Nerd-Fight Reveals a Long, Bizarre Scientific Feud". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  10. ^ a b Zimmer, Carl (2006-02-07). "His Subject: Highly Evolved and Exquisitely Thirsty". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  11. ^ Yong, Ed (2016-08-22). "A Tiny Jellyfish Relative Just Shut Down Yellowstone River". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  12. ^ Palmer, Brian (2015-03-10). "We're on the Verge of the Greatest Public Health Triumph of the 21st Century". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  13. ^ Borel, Brooke (2016-02-02). "Bed bug genome shows how gnarly these creatures really are". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  14. ^ Kolbert, Elizabeth. "Old Bugs". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  15. ^ Mark Siddall (2014). Poison: Sinister Species with Deadly Consequences. Sterling Publishing Company, Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-4549-0764-0.
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