Mandë Holford, PhD
Dr. Mandë Holford is a Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Malacology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. Her lab studies venoms and venomous animals as agents of molecular change and medicinal innovations. Specifically, Dr. Holford is interested in how venoms direct the evolution of organisms and how they can improve human lives. Her research demonstrates the scientific path from mollusks to medicine, examining how venoms evolved over time in marine mollusks—including snails, squids, octopuses, and cuttlefish—and how this evolutionary knowledge serves as a roadmap for discovering and characterizing peptide natural products with therapeutic potential. She is particularly interested in using venoms to study rapidly evolving genes and developing invertebrate venom gland model systems that can be genetically manipulated to advance discoveries in gene expression and physiological function. Her work combines scientific research, education, and diplomacy to understand the extraordinary marine biodiversity on our planet and transform this knowledge for the benefit of human and planetary health. Furthermore, Dr. Holford co-founded Killer Snails, LLC, an award-winning EdTech company that uses tabletop, digital, and XR games about nature as a conduit to advance scientific learning in K-12 classrooms.
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