Mitchell Sogin, Ph.D., is an evolutionary biologist and director of the Josephine Bay Paul Center in Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution and senior scientist with the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. His areas of expertise include chemistry, microbiology, industrial microbiology and biochemisty. He is a member of the American Society of Microbiology, Society of Protozoologists, International Society of Evolutionary Protozologists, Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and American Society for Cell Biology. He has published many scholarly articles on his research.

When Sogin arrived in Woods Hole in 1989, he decided to take advantage of the considerable biodiversity in the marine environment of Cape Cod. Prior to moving to Woods Hole, Sogin lived and worked in Colorado where protists (single-celled organisms) and bacteria of medical significance drove much of his research activity. Upon moving to Woods Hole, Sogin's environment was completely changed. He decided to change the focus of his research. "Instead of parasites," he says, "I had unlimited access to marine creatures. Since people always asked about animal origins whenever I spoke about my work, I decided to initiate molecular evolution investigations that focused upon as many simple marine creatures as I could get into the lab."

How did you come to choose your present profession?

During the third year of my undergraduate career I reached the realization that I didn't want to be a Physician. Molecular biology was an emerging field and I had an opportunity to work with microbiologists and physicists who were joining forces to explore questions in evolutionary biology. I was simply in the right place at the right time.

What would you recommend for students wanting to pursue a similar career?

Learn to type, hone your writing skills, and take a programming course.

What do you like best about your profession?

The best part is being surrounded by people who are a lot smarter than I am. They provide an intellectual stimulus. The second best part is the sense of independence and freedom associated with doing what you enjoy most - what ever that might be on a given day.

What web sites and references would you recommend for viewers interested in your work that was featured in The Shape of Life series?

The best are the The Astrobiology Micro*Scope from the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole and the Tree of Life at the University of Arizona.

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