Samantha Leigh

Samantha Leigh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at California State University Dominguez Hills. Her academic journey includes a B.S. from Coastal Carolina University, a Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine, and a Postdoc at California State University Fullerton.

Her research focuses on animal physiology, particularly how marine organisms adapt their digestive strategies and feeding mechanisms to varying ecosystem fluxes. She has conducted groundbreaking work on seagrass digestion in bonnethead sharks, microplastic impacts on marine species, and the functional morphology of spiral intestines in sharks. Her lab employs anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology to explore these questions.

Her recent publications highlight biomimetic applications of shark spiral intestines, transgenerational dietary adaptation in zebrafish, and microbiome dynamics in omnivorous sharks. These works span biomechanics, marine ecology, and nutritional physiology, with a strong emphasis on 3D modeling, flow dynamics, and microbial interactions.

Dr. Leigh has received numerous scientific awards, including the NSF GRFP, Save Our Seas Foundation Grant, and multiple SICB Best Talk Awards. She actively mentors graduate and undergraduate students, several of whom have won research awards. Her lab also collaborates with institutions like Friday Harbor Labs and NOAA.

She is deeply committed to science outreach and education, having co-organized the UCI Climate Solutions Summit, contributed to SciGirls, and led Shark Camp programs. Her teaching includes Animal Physiology, Principles of Biology, and Human Physiology courses.