Catherine S. McFadden

Professor Catherine S. McFadden is Professor of Biology at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, where she maintains an active research program focused on marine organisms with emphasis on coral evolution. Her work bridges molecular biology, phylogenetics, and marine ecology within the Department of Biology.

Her educational background includes a B.S. from Yale University, Ph.D. from the University of Washington, postdoctoral research at UC Davis, and a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship at Port Erin Marine Laboratory. Career progression shows Assistant Professor to Associate Professor to current Professor status at Harvey Mudd, with additional research affiliations at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and University College Dublin.

Research centers on evolutionary relationships in marine organisms, particularly cnidarian octocorals. Her lab employs molecular techniques to investigate phylogenetic relationships across octocoral taxa, species boundaries in Alcyoniidae, and hybridization consequences in Alcyonium. The NSF-funded Anthozoan UCEs Project utilizes genomic data for constructing anthozoan molecular phylogenies. Google Scholar publications reveal consistent focus on coral phylogenomics, biogeography, species delimitation, and invasive species impacts, with recent work expanding into eDNA metabarcoding and mitochondrial genome evolution.

Her advising record includes numerous undergraduate researchers evident from student co-authors on publications. Major grants include NSF-BSF's PurSUiT project on Indo-Pacific octocorals and RUI collaborative research on Anthozoa phylogenomics. Lab work involves both field collection (Red Sea, South China Sea, Caribbean) and genomic analysis, with notable contributions to coral type specimen re-examination and trait database development.

Professor McFadden maintains active coral collections including co-discovered species Thrombophyton trachydermum and Thrombophyton coronatum, with ongoing research addressing climate change impacts, invasive species threats, and evolutionary adaptations in coral systems.