Mark L. Siegal PhD

Mark L. Siegal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems Biology. Dr. Siegal studies how complex biological traits evolve, by studying the gene networks that underlie the development of these traits. His work integrates experimental and computational approaches, and ranges from investigations of sexual development in fruit flies to analyses of microscopic differences in the shapes of yeast cells.

Mark work is supported by a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2007–2012), and by research grants from the National Institutes of Health (2010–2014) and United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (2010–2013). Dr. Siegal’s work has appeared in top journals, including Nature, Development and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. His 2003 Nature paper on complex gene networks was lauded in 2009 as an “Evolutionary Gem”, one of “15 examples published by Nature over the past decade or so to illustrate the breadth, depth and power of evolutionary thinking.”

In 2009, Dr. Siegal was honored with both the Golden Dozen Award for undergraduate teaching and the Graduate School of Arts and Science Outstanding Faculty Award. He has also been named a National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences. Dr. Siegal teaches Applied Genomics, a course for graduate students and advanced undergraduates. The course provides an intensive, hands-on introduction to computational analysis of large-scale biological data sets. He also teaches Genomes and Diversity, a course for undergraduate non-science majors offered as part of NYU’s Morse Academic Plan (MAP). The MAP course explores how the study of genes is revolutionizing our understanding of the natural world.