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Svetlana Maslakova is an academic expert in biodiversity, systematics, embryology, and larval biology of marine invertebrates.  As a world expert on marine ribbon worms (phylum Nemertea) Maslakova conducted biodiversity research in the North and South Pacific, North Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, as well as the Adriatic, Caribbean, Arabian, White, and Red Seas, the Sea of Japan, and the Gulf of Oman,  and has uncovered hundreds of new species. Nemerteans play important roles as predators in marine ecosystems, and some impact commercial fisheries. Nemertean worms use diverse neurotoxins to subdue their prey and deter predation, and these compounds have biomedical application in the design of drugs for treating cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. At least one globally distributed species of ribbon worms, recently reported by Maslakova and colleagues from Northern California contains enough tetrodotoxin to kill a human, if consumed. Maslakova’s research on embryonic development and larval biology of ribbon worms has revealed novel larval types and elucidated their development, evolution, and unique ways of making a living in the plankton. 

Recent Media:
‘We don't even know what we're losing’: UO researcher’s discovery of new ocean worms highlights risk to ocean biodiversity (KGW, Sept. 6, 2024)
College student discovers 11 new species of predatory worms in Bodega Bay (Bay Nature, Aug. 8, 2024)
Ten remarkable marine species of 2023 (The Ocean Decade, March 19, 2023) 
Ten remarkable new marine species from 2023: The Bifrost Nemertean (LifeWatch, March 19, 2023)
Descubierto el peligroso gusano de neon (The Conversation, October 22, 2023)
Baby biodiversity: “Pythons of the Sea” study highlights marine biodiversity underestimates (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, April 28, 2022)
Tiny marine larvae survive by turning carnivorous, study finds (Around the O, March 4, 2022)