Assistant professor of biology Mackenzie Gerringer is immersed in discovering how deep-sea creatures survive and thrive in harsh environments. She has every intention of finding the answers alongside her Geneseo students.
“I fell in love with the mystery of deep-sea habitats and was struck by how little we understand about them,” she told Geneseo Scene. “That sense of discovery kept me exploring deeper and deeper, all the way to the bottom.”
In 2017, Mackenzie and her colleagues discovered a new species—the deepest living fish—in the Mariana Trench. But her exploration to understand species new and old never stops. She earned her doctorate in marine biology and is an animal physiologist specializing in animal life histories, feeding mechanisms and high-pressure adaptations.
At Geneseo, she helps students venture to the sea, collect samples and bring them back to the hill to observe and analyze. When a new species is discovered, students need considerable resources and funding to gather the evidence to publish their findings.
From DNA sequencing to 3D data processing, Mackenzie’s Geneseo lab is the opportunity of a lifetime. And for Mackenzie, it’s all about students “finding a connection to the oceans and deep-sea habitats that make them feel a link with and responsibility for these vital and amazing ecosystems on our planet.”
Creating experiences for our students means giving them the opportunity to seek out the unknown. Even the depths of the oceans won’t hold back future generations from their great exploration.
“It’s an unusual opportunity to potentially play a part in discovering new species of fish.”
~ Brett Woodworth ’22
