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{{Short description|Canadian biologist (born 1966)}}
{{Short description|Canadian biologist}}
{{Orphan|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Mark Siddall
| image = MarkLemur.jpg
| image_size = 200
| caption = Siddall in Madagascar, 2020
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1966|11|22}}
| birth_place = [[Toronto]], Canada
| known_for =
| children = 2
| field = {{flatlist|
* [[Genomics]]
* [[biodiversity]]
* [[science communication]]}}
}}
'''Mark E. Siddall''' is a Canadian invertebrate zoologist, data scientist and infectious disease expert.<ref name=":4">{{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>


'''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"/>
Siddall's research has focused on the [[Biodiversity|diversity]] and [[evolutionary biology]] of a wide range of [[Parasitism|parasites]], and he is the author of ''Poison: Sinister Species with Deadly Consequences''. He has curated of the Irma and Paul Milstein Family [[Milstein Hall of Ocean Life|Hall of Ocean Life]] and other exhibitions. Siddall received his Ph.D. from the [[University of Toronto]] in 1994, is a recipient of the [[The Duke of Edinburgh's Award|Duke of Edinburgh's Award]], 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 and Bob Murphy at the [[University of Toronto]] in 1988, 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>


==Research==
==Career==
Siddall has worked and published on parasitic and other animals, including leeches<ref>{{Cite news|last=Zimmer|first=Carl|date=2006-02-07|title=His Subject: Highly Evolved and Exquisitely Thirsty|language=en-US|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><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gorman|first=James|date=2012-06-25|title=Falling in Love May Take a Lifetime of Research|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/26/science/for-scientists-falling-in-love-is-a-lifetime-of-research.html|access-date=2021-04-13|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Blum|first=Deborah|date=2014-07-31|title=A Toxic Menagerie|url=https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/31/a-toxic-menagerie/|access-date=2021-04-13|website=Well}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Flegenheimer|first=Matt|date=2014-08-01|title=A Night of Dinosaurs and Stargazing (No Children Allowed)|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/nyregion/a-night-of-dinosaurs-and-stargazing-no-kids-allowed.html|access-date=2021-04-13|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Dean|first=Cornelia|date=2015-09-07|title=The Tardigrade: Practically Invisible, Indestructible 'Water Bears'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/science/the-tardigrade-water-bear.html|access-date=2021-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Ray|first=C. Claiborne|date=2017-05-22|title=A Taste for Poison in Warmer Climates?|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/science/venom-tropical-climates.html|access-date=2021-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Barron|first=James|date=2018-09-02|title=It's the Biggest Oyster Found in New York in 100 Years. And It Has Stories to Tell|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/02/nyregion/biggest-oyster-new-york-city-harbor.html|access-date=2021-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gorman|first=James|date=2019-10-28|title=Meet the Bloodsuckers|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/science/vampires-blood-leeches.html|access-date=2021-04-13|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Jr|first=Ralph Gardner|date=2014-03-19|title=At Natural History Museum, the Lowdown on Leeches|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304017604579447522401565520.html|access-date=2021-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2014-09-05|title=Leech Expert Mark Siddall's Tech Essentials|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/leech-expert-mark-siddalls-tech-essentials-1409932179|access-date=2021-04-13|issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Hsu|first=Michael|date=2015-07-10|title=Best Bets for Avoiding Mosquitoes, Bees, Ants and Leeches|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/best-bets-for-avoiding-mosquitoes-bees-ants-and-leeches-1436557571|access-date=2021-04-13|issn=0099-9660}}</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|language=en}}</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|language=en}}</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|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kolbert|first=Elizabeth|title=Old Bugs|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/30/old-bugs|access-date=2021-04-13|website=The New Yorker|language=en-us}}</ref>


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>
==Exhibitions==
===Picturing Science===
More than 20 sets of striking large-format prints, showcasing advanced imaging technologies used by scientists at AMNH (e.g., CT, SEM, fluorescence, histology) and revealing once-hidden, intricate details of both natural phenomena and cultural artifacts. One of the longest running exhibitions ever mounted by the museum, and one that includes research from all divisions of science. The video produced for YouTube garnered the museum's first and only Webby award.<ref>{{Cite web|title=And The Webby Winner Is: Picturing Science|url=https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/news-posts/and-the-webby-winner-is-picturing-science|url-status=live}}</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>
===Power of Poison===
Explores poison's paradoxical roles in nature, human health and history, literature, and myth. From toxic species that live in a remote Colombian forest, where poisons are just one of many tools in organisms’ struggles to survive, to familiar tales of illness, enchantment, or death by poison—a feature of countless fairytales, myths, and legends from around the world. History's most intriguing poisoning cases, many of which remain puzzling today, lead into a live presentation about a real-world poisoning case and key advances in toxicology, the science of detecting poison and the use of poisons in medicine. NYTimes critic Ed Rothstien wrote of Siddall's efforts: “deft curatorial alchemy... one of the most theatrical exhibitions the museum has mounted.”<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last=Rothstein|first=Edward|date=2013-11-14|title=A Touch of the Toxic, for Good or Ill|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/arts/design/the-power-of-poison-at-american-museum-of-natural-history.html|access-date=2021-04-12|issn=0362-4331}}</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>
=== Life at the Limits / Nature's Superheroes===
This exhibition reveals the diverse and sometimes jaw-dropping strategies animals and plants use to reproduce, find food, sense the world around them, and thrive in inhospitable habitats. Over billions of years, living things have evolved from simple cells into an awe-inspiring array of life forms—a spectacle of behaviors, specialized parts, and exacting skills. Some species are familiar. But others are so amazing that they test the limits of our imagination. Life-size and larger-than-life models, live animals, videos, and interactive exhibits highlight a variety of 'superpowers' across the tree of life


In 2016, Siddall, [[Jonathan Eisen]], and others were involved in the Twitter controversy #ParsimonyGate.<ref name=":0"/>
=== Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease===
A collaboration with the Carter Center, this exhibition highlights the scientific and social innovations that are ridding the world of ancient afflictions with a focus on several global efforts that have been able to contain, eliminate, or eradicate disease. Chief among these is the 30-year campaign that may soon eradicate Guinea worm disease, positioning it to become only the second human disease ever eradicated, after smallpox. The exhibition also highlights the ongoing programs to eliminate polio and prospects for more localized elimination of river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, and malaria. American Museum of Natural History; [[London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine|London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine]];<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-05-16|title=Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease {{!}} London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine {{!}} LSHTM|url=https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/2016/02/countdown-to-zero-defeating-disease|access-date=2021-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516202957/https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/2016/02/countdown-to-zero-defeating-disease|archive-date=2016-05-16}}</ref> The Carter Center;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease|url=https://www.cartercenter.org/news/upcoming_events/promo/countdown-to-zero.html|access-date=2021-04-12|website=www.cartercenter.org}}</ref> Crown Prince's Court – Abu Dhabi;<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-10-16|title=Sheikh Hamed opens Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease global exhibition in Abu Dhabi|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/sheikh-hamed-opens-countdown-to-zero-defeating-disease-global-exhibition-in-abu-dhabi-1.667564|access-date=2021-04-12|website=The National|language=en}}</ref> [[Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation|The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Countdown to Zero|url=https://www.discovergates.org/exhibit/countdown-to-zero/|access-date=2021-04-12|website=Gates Discovery Center|language=en-US}}</ref>


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" />
==Career==


==Research==
After completing his PhD in 1994, Siddall started a postdoc at the [[Virginia Institute of Marine Science]] under the supervision of Eugene Burreson. Though Burreson is a noted marine leech systematist, their collaborations concerned protozoon parasites of [[oyster]]s including "dermo" (''[[Perkinsus marinus]]'') and "MSX" (''[[Haplosporidium nelsoni]]'' and other economically important species in the parasitic phylum Haplosporidia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C33&q=siddall+burreson+haplosporidia+perkinsus&btnG=|title=Google Scholar results for Siddall Burreson Haplosporidia Perkinsus|via=Scholar.Google.com|accessdate=2021-04-09}}</ref> That research demonstrated that MSX began wiping out the Atlantic oysters in the [[Chesapeake Bay]] and elsewhere as a result of the introduction of oysters from Asia.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/aquatic-living-resources/article/abs/review-of-recent-information-on-the-haplosporidia-with-special-reference-to-haplosporidium-nelsoni-msx-disease/6E905320DA708A506DEDCF3B8CF61FE8|title = A review of recent information on the Haplosporidia, with special reference to Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX disease)|author= Burreson, E.M.|date=2004}}</ref> His phylogenetic work showing that ''Perkinsus marinus'' is a [[dinoflagellate]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Reece|first1=K. S.|last2=Siddall|first2=M. E.|last3=Burreson|first3=E. M.|last4=Graves|first4=J. E.|date=1997-06-XX|title=Phylogenetic analysis of Perkinsus based on actin gene sequences|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9194820/|journal=The Journal of Parasitology|volume=83|issue=3|pages=417–423|doi=10.2307/3284403|jstor=3284403|issn=0022-3395|pmid=9194820}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Siddall|first1=M. E.|last2=Reece|first2=K. S.|last3=Graves|first3=J. E.|last4=Burreson|first4=E. M.|date=1997-08-XX|title='Total evidence' refutes the inclusion of Perkinsus species in the phylum Apicomplexa|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10190172/|journal=Parasitology|volume=115 ( Pt 2)|issue=2|pages=165–176|doi=10.1017/s0031182097001157|issn=0031-1820|pmid=10190172}}</ref> overturned environmental monitoring methods.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bushek|first1=David|last2=Dungan|first2=Christopher F.|last3=Lewitus|first3=Alan J.|date=2002-01-XX|title=Serological affinities of the oyster pathogen Perkinsus marinus (Apicomplexa) with some dinoflagellates (Dinophyceae)|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11908893/|journal=The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology|volume=49|issue=1|pages=11–16|doi=10.1111/j.1550-7408.2002.tb00333.x|issn=1066-5234|pmid=11908893|s2cid=3196812}}</ref> At [[College of William & Mary|The College of William and Mary]] Siddall began working on a solution to the long-standing problem of correlating ordinal fossil age ([[Stratigraphy|stratigraphic]]) data to bifurcating tree structures in a manner that was not biased by the shape of the tree.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4523848|title=Abstract of Papers. Fifty-Seventh Annual Meeting, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology|date=1997|issue=3|jstor=4523848|journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|volume=17|pages=A1–A93}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1096-0031.1998.tb00333.x|title=Stratigraphic Fit to Phylogenies: A Proposed Solution|author=Mark Siddall|date=1998|doi=10.1111/j.1096-0031.1998.tb00333.x|hdl=2027.42/73634|s2cid=85089134|via=Cladistics|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Subsequently, Siddall was a Michigan Society of Fellow 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> at the University of Michigan where he worked closely with [[Arnold G. Kluge|Arnold Kluge]] taking on Jessica Light (now faculty at [[Texas A&M University|TAMU]]) as an undergraduate intern. It was as a Michigan Society Fellow that Siddall that Siddall drew heavily on [[Karl Popper]] in formulating an urgent critique of maximum likelihood for the inference of phylogenies.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Siddall|first1=Mark E.|last2=Kluge|first2=Arnold G.|date=1997|title=Probabilism and Phylogenetic Inference|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1096-0031.1997.tb00322.x|journal=Cladistics|language=en|volume=13|issue=4|pages=313–336|doi=10.1111/j.1096-0031.1997.tb00322.x|issn=1096-0031|hdl=2027.42/71951|s2cid=13569003|hdl-access=free}}</ref> It was also during this period in which Siddall contributed to understanding the coevolutionary history of [[HIV]] coevolution.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mindell|first1=David P.|last2=Shultz|first2=Jeffrey W.|last3=Ewald|first3=Paul W.|date=1995|title=The AIDS Pandemic Is New, But Is HIV New?|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2413484|journal=Systematic Biology|volume=44|issue=1|pages=77–92|doi=10.2307/2413484|jstor=2413484|issn=1063-5157}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Siddall|first=Mark E.|date=1997|title=The AIDS Pandemic is New, but is HIV Not New?|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1096-0031.1997.tb00319.x|journal=Cladistics|language=en|volume=13|issue=3|pages=267–273|doi=10.1111/j.1096-0031.1997.tb00319.x|issn=1096-0031|hdl=2027.42/71967|s2cid=221576029|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Siddall was hired at the [[American Museum of Natural History]] in July, 1999<ref name="auto1" /> and served there as a curator until September, 2020. The first researcher he sponsored in his new role was [[Susan Perkins (scientist)|Susan Perkins]] in order to allow her to achieve a major contribution to understanding the evolution of malaria parasites.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Perkins|first1=Susan L.|last2=Schall|first2=JosJ|date=October 2002|title=A MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY OF MALARIAL PARASITES RECOVERED FROM CYTOCHROME b GENE SEQUENCES|url=https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-parasitology/volume-88/issue-5/0022-3395(2002)088[0972:AMPOMP]2.0.CO;2/A-MOLECULAR-PHYLOGENY-OF-MALARIAL-PARASITES-RECOVERED-FROM-CYTOCHROME-b/10.1645/0022-3395(2002)088[0972:AMPOMP]2.0.CO;2.full|journal=Journal of Parasitology|volume=88|issue=5|pages=972–978|doi=10.1645/0022-3395(2002)088[0972:AMPOMP]2.0.CO;2|issn=0022-3395}}</ref> Siddall took her on as his first postdoctoral scholar, supported her hire at the University of Colorado, and encouraged her to apply to the microbiology curatorship at the [[American Museum of Natural History]]. His other post-doctoral scholars include Kirsten Jensen who is Senior Curator, Professor and Associate Chair of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eeb.ku.edu/kirsten-jensen|title=Kirsten Jensen|author=KU.edu}}</ref> who worked with Siddall on tapeworms, Kenneth Macdonald at the Smithsonian<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kenneth-Macdonald-Iii|title=Kenneth Macdonald III|author=SI.edu}}</ref> who worked with Siddall on amphipods, and Maite Aguado Molina now at the University of Göttingen<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1nteWmwAAAAJ&hl=en|title=Aguado Molina, Maria Teresa|via=ScholarGoogle.com}}</ref> who worked with Siddall on polychaetes.

Siddall took over stewardship of the museum's summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program in 2000 shepherding it through two decades of uninterrupted [[National Science Foundation]] grant funding. The program saw the mentorship of more than 200 undergraduates in biodiversity and evolutionary biology research, 52% under grant DBI-1358465 were recruited from academic institutions where research opportunities in [[Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics|STEM]] are limited.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Siddall|first=Mark|date=2019-08-28|title=REU SITE: Systematics, Evolution and Conservation for the 21st Century|url=https://marksiddall.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/siddallnsfreu8.28.2019.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1999, Siddall outlined the trajectory of and strategies for retention of women in biological sciences.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Siddall|first=Mark E.|date=1999-02-19|title=Women in Biological Sciences|url=https://science.sciencemag.org/content/283/5405/1115.4|journal=Science|language=en|volume=283|issue=5405|pages=1115d–1115|doi=10.1126/science.283.5405.1115d|s2cid=176888511|issn=0036-8075}}</ref> Under his direction, the REU program achieved a representation of women (71%) and minorities (31%) that matched the proportions of those applying.<ref name=":0" /> Fully 39% of the interns he admitted into the program are in [[Academic tenure|tenure track]] faculty positions among whom women represent 67%.<ref name=":0" /> His former interns include [[Lauren Esposito]] at the [[California Academy of Sciences]] and [[Anna J. Phillips]] at the [[Smithsonian Institution]].

When Siddall asked to remove his name from a paper with falsified data in May 2020, the graduate student responsible for the errors immediately filed a sexual assault complaint.<ref name="Jacobs">{{cite news|last=Jacobs|first=Julia|date=2020-10-02|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><ref name = "Siddall2Jacobs"/> Siddall denied that anything of a sexual nature took place, and he was cleared of charges in the complaint, but the [[American Museum of Natural History]] let him go in September 2020 even though the graduate student was not under his supervision.<ref name = "Siddall2Jacobs">{{cite web|url=https://marksiddall.net/reply_to_jacobs/|title=Response to New York Times Inquiry – September 23, 2020 |publisher=Internet Archive|date=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222211028/https://marksiddall.net/reply_to_jacobs/ |accessdate=2021-02-22|archive-date=2021-02-22 }}</ref> (The AMNH's graduate school roster does not indicate any graduate student having being under his academic supervision either in the museum's own Richard Gilder Graduate School Comparative Biology program or in its Collaborative Program at partnering universities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnh.org/research/richard-gilder-graduate-school/meet-our-phd-students|title=Meet Our PhD Students|publisher=Internet Archive|date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303060700/https://www.amnh.org/research/richard-gilder-graduate-school/meet-our-phd-students|accessdate=2020-03-03|archive-date=2020-03-03}}</ref>) Siddall also publicly disagreed with the lesser harassment findings but, chose to not appeal the decision to due to mounting legal costs. There had been no prior sexual harassment complaint against Siddall.<ref name = "Siddall2Jacobs"/>


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>
== Awards ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Awarded by
|-
|1984
|Duke of Edinburg Award
|Prince Philip
|-
|1994
|Ramsay Wright Award
|Department of Zoology, University of Toronto
|-
|1995
|Clark P. Read Award
|American Society of Parasitologists
|-
|1996
|Fellow
|Michigan Society of Fellows
|-
|1998
|Sokol Award
|University of Michigan
|-
|2002
|Henry Baldwin Ward Medal
|American Society of Parasitologists
|-
|2003
|AGEP/MAGNET Mentoring Award
|City University of New York
|-
|2016
|Soothsayer Award
|National Academy of Sciences
|-
|}


== References ==
== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Siddall, Mark}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian biologists]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian biologists]]
[[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:1966 births]]
[[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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