Biology of Marine Systems Faculty

Through a variety of laboratory, field, and model based studies Harvard faculty and students investigate unique aspects of the biology of marine organisms, and explore their relationships with the chemical and physical environment of the ocean, from the surface to the deep ocean floor and its sedimentary layers. These organisms are uniquely interesting in their own right, and research in recent decades has demonstrated the significance of marine organisms, from the smallest microbes to the largest mammals, in Earth’s biogeochemical cycles.

OEB's programs in this area include ecology and physiological genomics, biogeography, and systematics as well as fluid dynamics of life in the marine environments. Organisms and habitats studied include microbial populations in deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities, plankton in oceanic and coastal waters, invertebrates in coastal and near-shore bottom habitats, and wide ranging marine vertebrates.

Mandë Holford
Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Curator of Malacology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology
Accepting Graduate Students for the 2027-2028 Academic Year
Mande Holford, smiling, with long dark hair and blue and white patterned tops, in front of dark background

George V. Lauder
Henry Bryant Bigelow Professor of Ichthyology
Curator of Ichthyology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology
Not Accepting Graduate Students for the 2027-2028 Academic Year
George Lauder with short gray hair wearing glasses and a plaid shirt in front of grey background