Martindale Lab News

Martindale Lab Publishes Paper in the Journal Molecular Biology and Evolution

The Martindale lab published a new paper entitled “Evidence for an early cadherin-catenin network in ctenophores” in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Studying the Effects of the Microbiome on the Life-Cycle of the Floridian Local, Upside-Down Jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana

The project was led by former Loesgen Lab Postdoc Dr. Federica Montesanto and supported by Dr. Mark McCauley, in collaboration with the Martindale Lab (Cody Miner, Bailey Steinworth, Dr. Mark Martindale).

Uniting Researchers: Martindale Lab Cassiopea Crew Participates in Workshop at the Asamushi Research Center for Marine Biology in Japan

The goal of this program is to unite researchers with diverse skill sets from around the globe to help understand changes in the marine environment.

Bailey-Niblett Family Endowment Helps Fund Trip to the Pan American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology Biennial Meeting

This meeting was my first as a graduate student at Whitney Laboratory and gave me a chance to start presenting my projects in a professional setting.

Welcome Whitney Summer Interns Emilia Cayelli and Mia Mitchell

Emilia Cayelli joins the Martindale Lab, Mia Mitchell joins the Osborne Lab.

Whitney Lab Announces 2025 Center for Biological Imaging and Discovery Fellowships

Congratulations to Raul Chavarria and Sue Xu for being named the Whitney Laboratory Center for Biological Imaging and Discovery (CBID) 2025 Fellows.

Instrumental to Science - Martindale Lab

This series, 'Instrumental to Science', gives a sampling of these 'high' and 'low' technologies that help Whitney biologists tease apart some of the most basic questions in biology research.

Martindale Lab Welcomes Dr. Claire Gabe

Please welcome Dr. Claire Gabe to the Whitney Lab! She joins the lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate.

Martindale Lab Paper Reveals Insights into Ctenophore Development

To study this protein in the ctenophore species Mnemiopsis leidyi, Lucas Guttieres, Mayline Goëb and Mark Martindale with their collaborators at the University of Miami generated an antibody specifically targeting β-catenin in M. leidyi.

Cup o’ Joe: The Road Trip Episode - to Whitney Laboratory!

Join University of Florida Interim Provost Joe Glover, Ph.D., on a frigid road trip to the beach to see what’s happening at the Whitney Lab!

Person in front of scientific poster, ctenophore image

Lucas Guttieres Recipient of the Cynthia A. Melnick Memorial Fund Award

Lucas' research is focused on the ancestral role of the protein ß-catenin in the metazoan evolution as viewed through the lens of embryogenesis in the ctenophore species Mnemiopsis leidyi.

Bailey Steinworth Defends her PhD with Flying Colors!

Dr. Steinworth became interested in the biology of animals that have alternative methods of generating adult body plans. She chose to study the “upside down jellyfish” Cassiopea, an animal that can develop into a polyp from a fertilized egg OR from an asexual bud generated from an existing polyp.

Person standing next to scientific poster

Bailey-Niblett Family Endowment Helps Fund Trip to Cell and Developmental Biology Conference

The Bailey-Niblett Family Endowment recently helped fund Lucas Guttieres' trip to the conference “From Cells to Organism: When Cell Biology Meets Development” in Paris, France.

Martindale Lab welcomes Carrie Foelber Holmes

She will be supporting Dr. Martindale’s lab as a research technician, studying biomineralization with Nematostella vectensis sp. as hosts.

Martindale Lab Awarded $1M National Science Foundation Grant

A big Whitney shout-out to the for their recent $1M National Science Foundation three year grant to develop the “upside-down” jellyfish Cassiopea Xamachana as a new experimental model system for understanding a variety of interesting phenomena including photosymbiosis, innate immunity, and the environmental induction of novel cell types.

Martindale Lab welcomes Charlotte Kahn

Charlotte will be doing a post-baccalaureate in the Martindale Lab to study the phagocytic process in Cassiopea sp. with Cody Miner.

Whitney Researchers reveal secrets of a Ctenophore-Eating Ctenophore

Within the phylum Ctenophora (comb jellies), a lineage called Beroe underwent a major evolutionary change when it lost its tentacles and instead resorted to exclusively eating other ctenophores. To date, we have very little knowledge of the genomic changes that accompanied that major morphological and lifestyle transition.

Group of people on beach with water in background, two holding awards

Bailey Steinworth Awarded Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation at International Cassiopea Meeting

Congratulations to Martindale Lab Graduate Student Bailey Steinworth who was awarded Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation at the 7th annual International Cassiopea Meeting held May 10-12, 2024 in Key Largo, Florida.

Dr. Dorothy G. Mitchell of the Martindale Lab Defends her Ph.D.!

Dorothy’s dissertation is entitled, “Assessing the transcriptomic response to injury and the onset of regeneration in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi’ and is the culmination of years of hard work in the Martindale Lab here at Whitney on one of Dorothy’s favorite animals, the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi.

UF News Article: New Technique May Help Scientists Stave Off Coral Reef Collapse

In a first for helping coral polyps respond to these threats, UF scientists at Whitney Laboratory have recreated the first stage of the coral skeleton creation process in a common, squishy sea anemone. The technique transforms this soft-bodied creature into the perfect lab model for researching coral skeletons and developing ways to bolster coral polyps in a changing climate.

Two juvenile ctenophores of the species Mnemiopsis leidyi

Ctenophores deploy a rapid injury response dating back to the last common animal ancestor

Congratulations to Whitney researchers Dorothy Mitchell, Dr. Allison Edgar, Julia Ramon Mateu, Dr. Joseph Ryan and Dr. Mark Martindale who published a paper titled "The ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi deploys a rapid injury response dating back to the last common animal ancestor" in Communications Biology.

Dr. Barbara Anne Battelle Excellence in Scientific Communication Fall Awards

Congratulations to the fall semester recipients of the Dr. Barbara Anne Battelle Excellence in Scientific Communication Award - Lauren Kunselman, Seaver Lab (Graduate Student Winner) and Dr. Federica Scucchia, Martindale Lab (Postdoctoral Research Associate Winner)

Martindale Lab Welcomes Mayline Goëb

Please welcome Mayline Goëb to the Whitney Laboratory! Mayline Goëb is a visiting research scholar in the Martindale Lab and will be study adherens junctions in ctenophores at the Whitney Lab.

Art of Nautilus and Octopus by Brent Foster

Brent Foster Wins Art Awards at the Node - BSDB's Virtual Art Exhibition

The exhibit showcased the variety of interests and artistic talents among the developmental biology community.

A genetically engineered anemone produces a coral protein (red) that is concentrating calcium (blue)

Martindale Lab Biomineralization work covered by Science

Reefs are vibrant, living structures laid down over time by tiny tentacled animals. But how exactly corals construct the crystals that become the reefs’ craggy rocks—a process known as biomineralization—has long been a mystery. Now, researchers have finally made a breakthrough.

Dr. Mark Martindale Visits the Academia Sinica in Taipei, named ACC member for ICOB

The Academia is the national PhD training research institute that consistently ranks in the Reuters top 20 “Most Innovative International Research Institutions” in life and physical sciences. Martindale was invited to be a member of the Academic Advisory Committee (ACC) for the Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology (ICOB).

Dr. Cez Borba leans in for a closer look at a comb jelly on a computer screen

UF Explore - When the right microscope doesn’t exist, these optical innovators invent it

Whitney Laboratory Postdoc Dr. Cez Borba, Graduate Student Dorothy Mitchell and other scientists are using groundbreaking microscopes developed by optical engineer and neurobiologist Dr. James Strother to explore questions like how tissues recover from injury and how nerve cells are wired together.

The tentacle of a one week old sea anemone expressing a coral biomineralizing protein (red) that was injected in its fertilized egg

Whitney Scientists and Collaborators Awarded National Science Foundation Grant to understand fundamental aspects of biomineralization

"We hope to uncover universal rules that cells use to control their microenvironmental 'reaction spaces' and regulate the biomineralization process across animals," says Martindale. “From this knowledge we hope to generate biominerals new to man.”

Cassiopea polyp undergoing asexual budding, photo credit: Bailey Steinworth

Beyond the Birds and the Bees - Brent Foster Publishes article in The Node

Brent spoke with Whitney Lab graduate student Bailey Steinworth about her “basic” biology research at the lab with the upside-down jellyfish, Cassiopea.

Developing stinging cells (magenta and aqua) in a larva of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis

Tweaking a single gene can remind cells of their ancestral roots

In an effort to understand how genes can drive the evolution of new cell types, UF Whitney Laboratory biologists have inactivated a gene from the starlet sea anemone and recreated an ancient cell type that is not normally found in this animal. Congratulations to former Whitney scientist Dr. Leslie Babonis (currently an Assistant Professor at Cornell University), Dr. Camille Enjolras, Brent Foster, Dr. Fredrik Hugosson, Dr. Joseph Ryan, Dr. Mark Martindale and colleagues who recently published in Nature Communications, "Single-cell atavism reveals an ancient mechanism of cell type diversification in a sea anemone".

Cover of Genome Biology and Evolution Publication

Graduate Student Bailey Steinworth Publishes Paper with Cover Image

Congratulations to Bailey Steinworth, graduate student in the Martindale Lab, for her publication and making the cover of Genome Biology and Evolution.

Lucas Guttieres Receives UF Grinter Fellowship

Congratulations to Lucas Guttieres, graduate student in the Martindale Lab, for receiving a University of Florida Grinter Fellowship!

Paper Published in PNAS Reveals How New Cell Type Can Arise

Congratulations to Dr. Leslie Babonis, Dr. Camile Enjolras, Dr. Joseph Ryan and Dr. Mark Q. Martindale for their contributions to a recent paper entitled, "A novel regulatory gene promotes novel cell fate by suppressing ancestral fate in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis" published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Figure 1. Breviolum minutum infect and are maintained within sea anemones kept in dark

Dr. Newkirk and Dr. Martindale Publish New Paper investigating the relationship between corals and algae with genetic approach

Congratulations to Dr. Casandra Newkirk and Dr. Mark Q. Martindale for their contributions to a recent paper entitled, "Cnidarian-Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis establishment is independent of photosynthesis" published in the journal Current Biology.

Appearance of reproductive cydippids’ gonads and progeny

Dr. Allison Edgar and Coauthors publish paper with new insights on the ctenophore life cycle

Congratulations to Dr. Allison Edgar who published a paper with Dr. Mark Martindale and coauthors in the Proceedings in the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) - "Ctenophores are direct developers that reproduce continuously beginning very early after hatching."

James Strother, Joseph Ryan, Mark Martindale

Dr. Joseph Ryan, Dr. Mark Martindale, and Dr. James Strother Named Allen Distinguished Investigators!

This grant will allow researchers to better understand the brains and nervous systems of animals and humans by studying gelatinous ocean comb jellies, sea creatures that can lead us to insights about how brains began. This is the first time the foundation has awarded the grant to the University of Florida!

St. Augustine Record Article - Rare blue button jellyfish washing up on St. Johns County beaches

Whitney Laboratory Director Dr. Mark Martindale talks with the St. Augustine Record about Porpita porpita or blue buttons, a colony of hydrozoan polyps that were recently appearing on St. John's County beaches.

I can see clearly now: unexpected benefits of Rain-X discovered by Whitney Lab scientists

Palm Coast Observer Article - Whitney Laboratory Martindale Lab graduate student Dorothy Mitchell made a discovery while trying to take pictures of comb jellies with a microscope.

Automotive Product Preserves Ctenophores for Study - Martindale Lab Discovery Published in Frontiers in Zoology

Congratulations to Dorothy Mitchell, Dr. Allison Edgar and Dr. Mark Q. Martindale who recently published a paper in Frontiers in Zoology entitled ‘Improved histological fixation of gelatinous marine invertebrates'. They discovered that the commercial product used to treat automotive glass allows for thorough tissue fixation and morphological preservation of ctenophore and other delicate specimens.

Martindale Lab Publishes Paper in Genes

Congratulations to Dr. Allison Edgar, Dorothy Mitchell and Dr. Mark Q. Martindale who recently published a paper in Genes entitled ‘Whole-Body Regeneration in the Lobate Ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi’.

Brent Foster Publishes article in the Palm Coast Observer about Dr. Allison Edgar's Ctenophore research

Combing through science with comb jellies, at Whitney Laboratory - Allison Edgar, a post-doc at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, is researching the life cycle and regeneration abilities of these simple animals, also known as sea walnuts.