Mand\u00eb Holford, a scientist specializing in marine mollusks, investigates how their venom operates with precise effectiveness. She recalls being astonished as a graduate student by a video showing a snail using venom to capture a fish. This experience inspired her to merge chemistry and biology to study venom\u2019s potential medicinal uses.<\/p>\n
Holford, now a professor and curator at Harvard, focuses her research on venomous sea snails and cephalopods. She aims to transform their toxins into medicines for human diseases. “These are nature-based drug factories,” Holford said, highlighting their evolutionary history of over 500 million years.<\/p>\n
Holford’s early interest in natural history began at the American Museum of Natural History, where her parents often took her as a child. Her academic passion for science took root later, when a chemistry course at the City University of New York sparked her interest. A professor\u2019s offer to work in a lab solidified her fascination with chemistry.<\/p>\n
During her Ph.D. at Rockefeller University, Holford became interested in the connection between peptides and natural history. A lecture by Baldomero Olivera on cone snail venom introduced her to the field. She later joined his lab, conducting research in places like Panama and Papua New Guinea.<\/p>\n
Holford studied Terebridae, known as auger snails, which were relatively unknown in venom science. Her research used DNA to map their family tree and identify species with venom glands. These snails use a proboscis to inject venom into prey.<\/p>\n
Venom, an evolutionary development from over 500 million years ago, started with Cnidarians like jellyfish. Holford explores whether comb jellies may have evolved venom even earlier. Venom transitions predator-prey dynamics from physical to biochemical, with some genes repurposed into weapons.<\/p>\n
Venomous creatures, including cone snails and octopuses, have independently evolved in various lineages. Holford describes venoms as diverse and adaptive, with around 15% of all species on Earth being venomous.<\/p>\n
Holford’s research, dubbed \u201cmollusks to medicine,\u201d seeks to harness venom peptides for medical use. These peptides, like Tv1 from a terebrid snail, show potential in treating conditions like liver cancer. Her team has patented this discovery, and research continues.<\/p>\n
Currently, seven FDA-approved drugs have origins in venom, including Ziconotide from cone snail venom and Ozempic from Gila monster venom. Holford refers to venoms as “nature\u2019s drug factory,” emphasizing their potential if understood properly.<\/p>\n