Mary Margaret Hagedorn (born September 12, 1954) is a US
marine biologist
Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others th ...
specialised in
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
who has developed a conservation program for coral species, using the principles of
cryobiology
Cryobiology is the branch of biology that studies the effects of low temperatures on living things within Earth's cryosphere or in science. The word cryobiology is derived from the Greek words κρῧος ryos "cold", βίος ios "life", and λό ...
, the study of cellular systems under cold conditions, and
cryopreservation
Cryo-preservation or cryo-conservation is a process where Organism, organisms, organelles, cell (biology), cells, Biological tissue, tissues, extracellular matrix, Organ (anatomy), organs, or any other biological constructs susceptible to damage ...
, the freezing of sperm and embryos.
Life
Mary Hagedorn grew up in
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, where she developed an interest in oceans and sea life.
From then on, Hagedorn knew she wanted a job in aquatic species research. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees in
Biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
from
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
, and she earned her Ph.D. in
Marine Biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies s ...
from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California at San Diego.
Upon graduation, Hagedorn studied fish physiology.
After a trip to the
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
left two of her colleagues dead, Hagedorn reached a turning point in her career. She decided to stop studying electric fish and focus her physiological efforts on coral, which were impacted by the
warming of the oceans.
References
Further reading
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External links
Official Curriculum Vitae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagedorn, Mary
1954 births
Living people
American marine biologists
American physiologists
Great Barrier Reef
American women physiologists
Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni
Scripps Institution of Oceanography alumni
American women scientists
Biologists from Connecticut