Dr. Faulkner is a professor of marine biology at Scripps researching marine natural product chemistry.
Sponges are the most primitive multicellular animals.
Ascidians are filter-feeding marine animals that permanently attach themselves to rocks, sponges, or other surfaces. Lacking physical means of protection, many soft-bodied invertebrates like sponges and ascidians use chemical defenses to ward off predators or encroaching species. The protective compounds they produce sometimes can be used to combat diseases in humans. Because we usually find sponges and ascidians living in colonies, we can collect samples weighing about a kilogram and leave the rest for continued growth. We freeze the samples immediately and bring them back to Scripps.