Rate My Professor Maria Pia

Miglietta's research specializes in the evolution, genomics, and ecology of Hydrozoa (Cnidaria), leading the Miglietta Lab which examines the genomics of the "immortal jellyfish" Turritopsis dohrnii, jellyfish blooms in the Gulf of Mexico, invasive species, and the evolution, taxonomy, and systematics of Hydrozoa. She was awarded the Montague Center for Teaching Excellence Scholar recognition in 2016. In 2019, she received a National Science Foundation Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) grant totaling $294,725 from September 2019 to August 2021 to investigate cell regeneration and gene sequencing in Turritopsis dohrnii, focusing on its unique ability to revert its life cycle via cell transdifferentiation with potential implications for regenerative medicine. Key publications include "Gelatinous plankton: irregularities rule the world (sometimes)" (Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2008), "Reversing opinions on Dollo's Law" (Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2008), "Cryptic species in time and space: an assessment of cryptic diversity within eight nominal species of Hydrozoa (Cnidaria)" (Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2023), "On the perils of working on nonmodel organisms" (PNAS, 2023), and "Transcriptome Characterization of Reverse Development in Turritopsis dohrnii (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria)" (G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics, 2019). Her contributions advance knowledge of marine biodiversity, evolutionary biology, and ecological dynamics of gelatinous plankton.