Having previously served at the center in program leadership roles, Mutale now leads the organization with the skills he sharpened during his time at Fordham. Fordham Now talked to him about his work and how he’s applying his education to improve the lives of the poor in his home country.

Can you tell me about the work the center is doing in Zambia? 

It’s a ministry of the Society of Jesus in Zambia that started back in 1988. One of its greatest missions is to ensure that the poor, the marginalized, and those that have no voice in society find their voice in public policy conversations. 

We keep track of living conditions, tracking the cost of commodities, shelter, foods, transport, and so forth. For us, the dignity of a person is enhanced when they have access to these basic commodities. What we find then informs our conversations with policymakers. 

What kinds of policies might you be advocating for based on what you learn? 

One policy we advocate for is affordable food prices. For instance, corn is a staple here. So if we notice the price of corn going up, we’ll look at the whole supply chain, what’s going on before corn becomes a flour. We target those government departments dealing, for instance, with small-scale farmers so they can access farming inputs they need cheaply. 

We also coordinate with institutions that train farmers to give them good capacity to grow crops. We are concerned about climate change and pollution, and we make sure they get training for sustainable agriculture practices, organic farming and so forth. We also encourage the government to provide the means for communities to then store that food so they can consume it themselves.

Finally, our research is used by trade unions so they can negotiate with employers to get a fair wage. Workers in poorer parts of the world can be easily exploited, so we give them power, we give them a voice.

How have you been able to apply what you learned at Fordham to what you’re doing now? 

One of the tools I picked up through my statistical and econometrics training is the ability to simplify data and put it in visual form for different audiences. If I’m speaking to policymakers, to technocrats, or other experts, there is this nice toolbox I came with from Fordham that I can tap into and then communicate.

But Fordham as a Jesuit institution also enhanced my appreciation of human values. In our part of the world, we call them Ubuntu values. In our Catholic Jesuit tradition, those are values that enhance the dignity of a person. And Fordham reminded me of those, through listening to many professors, and the different programs beyond academics that Fordham has. There were outreach programs that encouraged me to engage with poorer members of New York in the Bronx, and outreach programs that went to Mississippi, to Mexico, and South Africa. They enhanced my own faith and my own sense that I need to put the dignity of the human person at the center of everything I’m doing.

Here’s a look at the Class of 2025–by the numbers*.

Fordham will confer bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees upon 3,763 May graduates in fields ranging from anthropology to social work to urban studies. 

Including students who graduated in August 2024 and February 2025 and those who are expected to graduate in August 2025, the University will confer about 5,805 academic degrees in all.

Below are the numbers of May 2025 degree recipients from each of Fordham’s schools.

Degree Recipients by School

Fordham College at Rose Hill                                                                      839

Fordham at Lincoln Center                                                                          522

Gabelli School of Business (graduate)                                                       334

Gabelli School of Business (undergraduate)                                              759

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences                                                       150

Graduate School of Education                                                                     196

Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education                                27

Graduate School of Social Service                                                              323

School of Law                                                                                               530

School of Professional and Continuing Studies (undergraduate)            49

School of Professional and Continuing Studies (graduate)                  34

Number of Veterans/Dependents/Active military graduating: Approximately 80 

*As of April 15

Clerkin serves as the director of climate resilience research and innovation at the International Rescue Committee, an organization that delivers humanitarian aid to people in acute political and economic crises across the globe. Her experiences with JVC, and later with Fordham’s Graduate Program in International Political Economy and Development (IPED), helped solidify her interest in humanitarian work, and ultimately her passion for supporting agricultural communities grappling with the effects of climate change. 

A Finance Major Turned Jesuit Volunteer 

Clerkin graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2010—a couple of years into the Great Recession—with a degree in finance. Rather than entering the dismal job market, she chose to join JVC. She served as a caseworker at a homeless shelter in Hartford, Connecticut, helping people apply for food stamps and housing. It was a “wet shelter,” meaning they didn’t turn away people with criminal histories or active addictions. 

Though she realized direct service work wasn’t for her, the experience was transformative for Clerkin. “It was a big year of growth for me. I learned  a lot of lessons in radical compassion and empathy for populations that often get dismissed and ignored,” she said. 

Fordham’s IPED Program: A Natural Next Step

Next, Clerkin entered the IPED program at Fordham, a natural choice considering her father, grandfather, and uncle all attended the University. 

In keeping with the Jesuit tradition of being “men and women for others,” Fordham has a close connection with JVC: 304 Fordham undergraduates have volunteered with JVC since 1977, and at least one Fordham alum has volunteered every year since, including four who are currently volunteering, the group said. Another 15 students who earned their undergraduate degrees at other universities also joined JVC after earning a graduate degree from Fordham’s IPED program.

A Clinton Foundation Internship

While in IPED, Clerkin was most interested in clean energy programs. But during her first job after graduate school with the Clinton Foundation, she worked on an agricultural project with a small team in Rwanda, Malawi, and Tanzania and “fell in love” with agriculture. 

Even then, Clerkin was hearing from local farmers about shifting weather patterns and changes in crops. “Farmers, especially in countries that are bearing a higher burden of the climate crisis, are the canaries in the mine shaft,” she said. “ The bad part about that analogy is that the canary dies.” 

Building Global Climate Resilience

Clerkin has since turned that experience into a calling. As director of climate resilience at the International Rescue Committee, she helps farmers find strategies to adapt to climate change. One of her current projects in Syria helps farmers test and develop wheat seed varieties that are more drought and heat resistant, which could help mitigate the region’s ongoing famines. 

“ Climate resilience is integral to food systems, especially in rural communities where agriculture is the backbone of the economy,” she said.  “We’re committed to building resilience in these protracted crisis settings that are also bearing the highest burden of the climate crisis.” 

That’s how planting is done in a number of countries around the world including Ethiopia, the focus of graduate student Tierney Kulju’s project. Kulju is studying practices that “have been in use for thousands of years by Indigenous communities, by traditional farmers,” to help foster more sustainable approaches for smallholder farmers and in large-scale agriculture, she said.

As a Fordham graduate student in biology, Kulju is involved in a transatlantic research effort —involving the New York Botanical Garden, Ethiopian scientists, and other institutions—to address interconnected challenges including sustainable growth as well as helping crops withstand the droughts that are more common because of climate change.

New York Botanical Garden Partnership

Kulju got involved because of Fordham’s ties with the botanical garden, which is across the street from the Rose Hill campus. While interning there as an undergraduate, she discovered her interest in intercropping, or planting different crops together. It’s been done for centuries, often by mixing a grain crop that depletes the soil, like wheat, with a legume crop that replenishes the soil with nitrogen or other nutrients.

In collaboration with scientists at Wollo University in Ethiopia, Kulju, FCRH ’24, is helping to show what happens in the soil when two legume crops are planted together. Working at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus and its Louis Calder Center, a biological field station, she’s replicating Ethiopian intercropping in New York soils, hoping to gain insight that helps revitalize the practice in Ethiopia and elsewhere.

“Basically, we know almost nothing about legume-legume mixtures,” said Alex McAlvay, Ph.D., a scientist at the botanical garden who mentored Kulju’s undergraduate research and is sitting on the committee for her thesis, focused on her intercropping research. 

Sustainable Farming with Fava Beans and Peas

Last summer she planted fava beans and field peas in diverse soils at the Calder Center, and today she’s conducting experiments to find out how much nitrogen and carbon they left behind.

Fava beans and field peas, long grown together in Ethiopia, are one of many mixtures that “have often been ignored or dismissed as backwards or primitive,” McAlvay said. “They’re based on millennia of observations and experimentation, so they’re grounded in time-tested traditions.”

The two plants have different root structures that allow them to occupy the same soil at the same time, Kulju said. They each have a way of sheltering and nourishing underground microbes that, in turn, convert nitrogen in the air into a form that’s usable by plants.

Because they leave behind nitrogen in the soil, legume intercropping can be alternated with nitrogen-hungry plants such as wheat and corn to replenish the soil, reducing the need for heavy doses of artificial fertilizers that wind up running off the land and polluting the water supply, Kulju said.

The healthier soils fostered by intercropping are also better at retaining water and withstanding droughts, she noted.

A Hungrier World

There’s high demand for soil-depleting crops like wheat and corn, she noted—“People love them, people want them, and the world is getting larger and people are going to want more,” she said. “So we’ve got to find ways to address that in a way that’s sustainable for both people and for the environment.”

She hopes her research can help point the way to wider use of dual legume mixtures as a sustainable, environmentally friendly approach that could also be more profitable—in part because of the savings on fertilizer, she said.

Through her research collaborations, she said, “I’ve just been very inspired to make a difference that is feasible, scalable, but also something that’s sustainable for the long term.”

Learn more about the Traditional Grain Mixtures Project, led by the New York Botanical Garden.

Have an accomplishment you’d like to share? Fill out this form to be featured in the next edition of Fordham’s Achievements and Recognition. 

Rufus Burnett, Ph.D., ARTS AND SCIENCES, associate professor of theology, provided the introduction for the lecture Faith Seeking Liberation: Xavier University of Louisiana’s Contribution to Theology at Xavier University on Jan. 30.

Elaine Congress, Ph.D., GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SERVICE, professor and associate dean for special programs, published a new chapter titled “The Role of the Culturagram in Medical Education: Emphasis on Documented and Undocumented Migrant Families” in a Teaching Cultural Competence and Cultural Humility in Medical Education: A Practical Guide.

She also presented at the UN NGO Committee on the Status of Women. The title of her presentation was “Indigenous Women: Education and Poverty.”

Dora Galacatos, LAW ’96, FORDHAM SCHOOL OF LAW, adjunct professor of law and executive director of the Feerick Center for Social Justice, was one of two Fordham Law professors honored at the 2025 Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Annual Meeting, held last month in San Francisco. In recognition of her commitment to public service, Galacatos received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the AALS Section on Pro Bono and Access to Justice.

Susanne Hafner, Ph.D., ARTS AND SCIENCES, assistant professor of German, recently taught a workshop on codicology, the study of manuscrips, for the New York Classical Club Winter Conference at NYU on Feb. 1.

Sertan Kabadayi, Ph.D., GABELLI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, professor of marketing, coauthored the research paper “From Theory to Practice: A Collaborative Approach to Social Impact Measurement and Communication,” published in the European Journal of Marketing on Feb. 10.

Ela Lesham, FORDHAM SCHOOL OF LAW, associate professor of law, won the 2025 Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Aging and the Law Emerging Scholar Award at the AALS conference.

Lance Strate, Ph.D., ARTS AND SCIENCES, professor of communication and media studies, published the book Not A, Not Be, &c, (Institute of General Semantics, 2024). 

He also published the book chapter, “Imagining a New Ashkenazi Motherland: Alternate History in Simone Zelitch’s Judenstaat” in Jewish Women Science Fiction Writers Create Future Females: Gender, Temporality—and Yentas, edited by Marleen Barr.

Akane Zusho, Ph.D., GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, professor of school psychology, was recently appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Experimental Education (JXE). JXE is a highly regarded journal that publishes articles focused on expanding the understanding of how instructional, motivational, and social processes affect education outcomes for all students in the United States and beyond.

Quantum computers can handle a vastly greater number of computations at once in a fraction of the time. They are elaborate and expensive, and typically only big corporations have them.

Quantum Computing for Sustainability

But the team of computer science graduate students came up with an algorithm for distributing large quantum computations across multiple smaller machines—quantum computers as well as traditional computers—that each handle a piece of the problem. 

Collectively, they achieve the same result as the bigger computer while using a bare fraction of the resources and open the door to quantum computing that requires far less energy. The team authored two academic papers last year describing the algorithm, which could expand public access to quantum computing beyond the corporations that can now afford the necessary technology.

Quantum computers hold “immense” potential for addressing society’s problems—for instance, providing much more precise models of climate change by harnessing an exponentially greater amount of data, said Ying Mao, Ph.D., the computer science professor who mentored the students’ research. They could also slash the amount of energy needed for the burgeoning growth of data centers and the power-hungry process of artificial intelligence, he said.

But for now, the larger-scale quantum computers that could bring such benefits are in their infancy. They are not only costly but also require lots of power to correct errors and cool the components to extreme temperatures, Mao said. 

How Do Quantum Computers Work?

Quantum computers are an entirely new kind of computer: Unlike the ones we use every day, which read data in tiny streams of bits and bytes, they’re set up to harness the quantum states of electrons, which can exist in multiple places simultaneously. That means quantum computers can handle far more computing tasks at the same time, compared with current computers, and potentially save energy as well.

Making Quantum Computing More Accessible

The students published an earlier version of their algorithm in May, and a more advanced version they announced in December is undergoing peer review. When implemented, it would allow a large quantum computing problem to be run from a computer “anywhere in the world,” as long as it’s connected to other machines online, Kan said. “I think it will help to democratize the distribution of [quantum]computing,” she said.

The NSF program provides the students with entrepreneurship training as well as interviews with potential customers for their invention. And the students are finding strong interest in the potentially game-changing technology. “There is a promising future” in business applications for quantum computing, said doctoral student Shuwen Kan, the lead researcher. “People are trying to commercialize it in all aspects, in all industries.”

She and her fellow students have talked to people who work in finance, technology, and the biomedical field, as well as someone from one of the ride-sharing companies, about how they might use the new algorithm.

‘A ChatGPT Moment’

Kan and four fellow students—Zefan Du, Yanni Li, Yin Su, and Luisa Rosa—are taking part in the NSF program, calling their team Ascend Quantum. They eventually plan to offer the basic algorithm for free online, and they’re working with the Fordham Foundry to develop a business that will adapt the algorithm to particular companies’ needs.

Kan likened the current state of quantum computing to that of artificial intelligence before ChatGPT showed people how it could affect everyday life.

“People in the quantum community believe there will be a ‘ChatGPT moment’ for quantum,” she said.

For over 25 years, Fordham has given them the skills they need to do that work safely and effectively. 

Through the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs (IIHA), Fordham offers the International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance (IDHA), a unique training program for humanitarian workers from all over the world.

The four-week residential immersion course is designed to train and develop those working for humanitarian aid organizations who are looking to advance their careers.

The Trainings

The 59th IIHA training session, which finished last month, took place in Amman, Jordan. The next one is scheduled for May 4 to 30 in Pretoria, South Africa. Trainings are now mainly offered in the Global South as part of an effort to empower aid workers who are closer to communities affected by war, famine, and natural disasters.

The goal of the training is to help students develop a holistic understanding of global humanitarian issues, as well as on-the-ground skills. That means learning about “big picture” aspects of the field, such as international humanitarian law and The Grand Bargain, a 2016 agreement between donors and humanitarian organizations. It also means learning and studying the fields of shelter and camp management and human trafficking, particularly during a humanitarian crisis. 

Staying Safe in Dangerous Times

Martine van der Does, the IIHA’s newly appointed Helen Hamlyn Humanitarian Fellow & Global Program Director, said that it is a sad reality that the training has become even more important as the field has become more complex and dangerous in the last few years. 

Van der Does, who oversees the IDHA, noted that last year, the United Nations reported that a record 281 aid workers were killed, of which 96% were local staff. 

“Humanitarian aid has become more complex, and there is far less respect for international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles,” she said. 

To that end, one full day of the program is devoted to key trends and threats to humanitarian workers, trauma first aid basics, personal health, and mental and physical resilience in humanitarian settings.

New Leadership

Van der Does, a former diplomat and regional humanitarian coordinator for the Netherlands government, is an IDHA alum, having completed the training in 2008. She earned a master’s in international humanitarian action from Fordham in 2017 and served as a tutor and course director for five recent IDHA training sessions.

“I always said if I could make a full-time job out of this, it would be my dream job,” she said.

The seamless bridge between fieldwork and academic theories taught in the classroom is a hallmark of the IDHA, and the reason Van der Does said she’s excited to have returned to lead the training. 

“Because of our network and our alumni database, we are able to bring in front-line aid workers complementing theory with the most recent realities on the ground,” she said, citing Gaza as an example. 

Graduates Hail from Many Countries, Work in Myriad International Organizations 

After graduating from the IDHA program, Van der Does joined Doctors Without Borders. She was sent to Niger, where she coordinated the construction of health centers and hospitals. Her experience was similar to other IDHA graduates, who have gone on to work in administrative and field positions at organizations such as UNICEF, Save the Children, International Committee of the Red Cross, and Jesuit Refugee Corps.

She said she thrived in part because of the experience she gained from working on IDHA assignments with classmates hailing from Iraq, Belgium, Italy, the U.S., and Sudan.

“One of my fondest memories from that time in Niger is the long days I spent traveling on hot, sandy roads to the various health centers we were working in,” she said.

“I sat in the front of a pickup truck with AS, who was my driver, and Ali, who was my construction assistant, discussing culture and politics while a desert landscape with camels and bedouins passed our window views. It was a perfect way to learn about the context I was working while also building  unforgettable friendships.” 

“These rankings reflect both the high quality of our program and Fordham’s commitment to making advanced data science education accessible,” said Yijun Zhao, the program’s director.

Fortune’s ranking methodology takes into account eight key data points, including factors like graduation rates, one-year retention rates, total program cost, acceptance rates, and the average undergraduate GPA of admitted students. 

A Rapidly Growing Field 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job market for data scientists is expected to grow 36% by 2033—far surpassing the 4% average growth rate for U.S. industries. Data science is also more lucrative than the average career path, with the median annual salary for data scientists reported at $108,020 in 2023. 

A master’s in data science can serve as the foundation for a variety of possible careers, including data engineer, data architect, chief information officer, and statistician. 

Fordham’s Data Science Master’s Program 

Fordham’s program is designed to prepare students for successful careers in this growing field. Students gain hands-on experience with in-demand skills, such as machine learning, natural language processing, and cloud computing. Students also have the opportunity to explore specialized areas of interest, including artificial intelligence, data security, and computational finance. 

The program consists of 10 courses totaling 30 credits, designed to be completed in one to two years. Evening classes are available to accommodate working professionals. Because of the program’s STEM designation, international students can apply to extend their stay in the U.S. for an additional two years after graduation on an Optional Practical Training visa. 

In addition to its data science master’s program, Fordham offers a M.S. in data science and quantitative economics, which is the first and only program of its kind on the East Coast, as well as a dual M.A./M.S. in data science and economics. Both of these programs blend data analysis with economic theory to prepare students for careers in fields such as finance, government, healthcare, and more. 

Students have the opportunity to transition from the M.S. in Data Science program to either of these degree paths. According to Zhao, this flexibility “represents a positive gain for Fordham and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences by strengthening our offerings and addressing the growing demand for interdisciplinary expertise.”

The study published last month in the Journal of Urban Health shows that the child populations in some neighborhoods are not being tested as completely as they should be, said Khalifa Afane, a student in the M.S. program in data science who wrote the study with his advisor, Juntao Chen, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the computer and information science department.

For the study, they used the city’s publicly available lead testing data, which he said “nobody has analyzed before” at the neighborhood level.

A Toxic Heavy Metal

Lead is a toxic heavy metal that can cause learning disabilities and behavior problems. Children pick it up from lead-based paint or contaminated dust, soil, and water. Lead exposure risk “remains persistent” among vulnerable groups including low-income and non-Hispanic Black children, the study says.

The city promotes blood lead level testing and awareness of lead poisoning in high-risk communities through a variety of educational efforts and partnerships.

But some high-risk neighborhoods still don’t get enough testing, Afane said.  A case in point is Greenpoint in Brooklyn vs. South Beach in Staten Island. The study says that despite similar numbers of children and similar rates of lead testing, Greenpoint has consistently averaged eight times more cases—97 out of 3,760 tests conducted in 2021, compared to just 12 in South Beach that year (out of 3,720 tests).

There should actually be more testing of children in Greenpoint, Afane said, because their risk is clearly higher. While testing efforts have expanded in the city, he said, “it matters much more where these extra tests were actually conducted,” since lead is more prevalent in some neighborhoods than in others, he said.

More than 400 Cases May Have Been Missed

For the study, he analyzed test result data from 2005 to 2021, focusing on children under 6 years old who were found to have blood lead levels of 5 micrograms per deciliter. Afane applied a machine learning algorithm to the testing data and projected that another 410 children with elevated blood lead levels might be identified per year citywide, mostly in vulnerable areas, by expanding testing in neighborhoods that tend to have higher case rates.

The highest-risk neighborhoods are in Brooklyn, Queens, and the north shore of Staten Island, and average about 12 cases per 1,000 tests, compared to less than four in low-risk neighborhoods, Afane said.

The city helps coordinate care for children with elevated levels and also works to reduce lead hazards. Since 2005, the number of New York City children under 6 years old with elevated blood lead levels has dropped 93%, a city report says.

Using a Data-Informed Strategy

But the study recommends a better, data-informed, strategy to focus more lead testing on high-need areas. “What we wanted to highlight here is that this needs to be done and reported at the neighborhood level, not at the city level,” Afane said.

The study also recommends awareness campaigns in high-risk areas emphasizing early detection, and it calls on local authorities to step up monitoring of water quality and blood lead levels in pregnant women.

“Our main goal was to use data science and machine learning tools to genuinely improve the city,” Afane said. “Data analysis is a powerful skill that could be used much more often to make a positive impact in our communities.”

Designed for for working professionals and recent graduates, the 30-credit degree will give students the scientific knowledge and technical skills needed to succeed in a growing field where groundbreaking developments such as gene editing and personalized medicine are advancing at a rapid pace. The degree can be completed in one year.

Biotechnology Is a Growing Field

Falguni Sen, Ph.D., head of Fordham’s Global Healthcare Innovation Management Center, said hiring in the field of biotechnology is expected to increase.

“We see the potential for major growth taking place broadly in the life sciences areas, which includes biotechnology,” said Sen, who oversees the program.

Statistics paint an encouraging picture of the field. According to IBIS World Industry Reports, the market size of the U.S. biotechnology industry grew 7.7% per year on average between 2018 and 2023.

The industry, which combines engineering and natural sciences to create commercially viable therapeutics, is also important to New York City’s economy. In December, Mayor Eric Adams signed legislation offering tax incentives for growing biotech companies to create jobs in the city. According to the city’s Economic Development Corporation, an estimated 16,000 new jobs are expected to be created in the field by 2026.

What Can You Do with a Biotechnology Degree?

Sen said the degree is tailored to the areas of the field where there are opportunities.

A student who recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and aspires to be a scientist or scientist’s assistant will benefit from classes about biochemical and biomolecular technologies.

Someone who is already working in the industry and wants to include a focus on AI will benefit from classes about data analytics and informatics.

“The degree allows you to become a specialist in the analytics side, but you’re not just a run-of-the-mill analytics person. You’ll be an analytics person who knows the biotech industry. That gives you a leg up,” said Sen.

Sen noted that because biotechnology is a fertile area for startup businesses, the degree will also be of interest to anyone who is working in the industry and wants to strike off on their own.

“They might have a Ph.D. already, but they have an idea and really want to be an entrepreneur. They need to know what the regulatory system is, how to get venture money, how to do all of that,” he said.

Other fields graduates will be equipped for include finance, government, compliance, and biopharma. 

Practical Biotech Degree Offers Flexibility and Hybrid Learning 

Classes are a hybrid of in-person instruction and online learning, with flexible schedules designed for working professionals. 

Several new courses, such as AI in Biotech, Marketing in Biotech, and Strategic Entrepreneurship and Business Development, have been created specifically for the degree. 

“What’s wonderful about this degree is that there is a core of five courses that really give you a sense of how this industry is structured, how it makes money, what its peculiarities are, and all the possibilities that are out there,” said Sen.

“You can take all of this knowledge and harness it for whatever direction you want to take.”

The program is being offered through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) and leverages the expertise of faculty from the GSAS, the Gabelli School of Business, and Fordham Law.

This story was updated on February 18.

For years, many have said the blood-sucking critters can jump, but now, thanks to a Fordham researcher, there’s video providing proof—as well as greater insight into the potential skills of leeches, which are seen worldwide but sparingly studied.

“We know very little about them,” said conservation biologist Mai Fahmy, Ph.D., GSAS ’22, lead author of a June study in the journal Biotropica about a leech of the Chtonobdella genus, found in Madagascar. “We know that they’re found almost everywhere on Earth except Antarctica”—on land and in both saltwater and freshwater, she said, referring to all leech species. “And they’re highlighted in pop culture all the time because of their feeding habits.”

Indeed, those habits might be why scientists have kept their distance, her coauthor said.

“Not a lot of people want to study a worm that sucks blood,” said Michael Tessler, Ph.D., GSAS ’13, a biology professor at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York.

But the lowly leech is worthy of study, they said. For one thing, the contents of its guts can offer a window into a region’s biodiversity and inform conservation efforts, said Fahmy, a visiting scientist with the American Museum of Natural History and a Fordham postdoctoral researcher working in the lab of biology professor Evon Hekkala, Ph.D.

Captured on Cell Phone

Fahmy was new to the study of leeches when, during a research visit to Madagascar in 2017, she used her cell phone’s video camera to capture one of them leaping from a leaf and landing on the ground. She thought such jumping was documented. But she soon learned otherwise, and during a follow-up trip to Madagascar last year, she got another video of a leaping leech and confirmed the species. The video offers support for prior testimonies of leeches jumping, Fahmy said.

Leeches are already known to latch on when a host animal brushes against them. (Despite their sucking blood, they’re mostly harmless to humans, Tessler said.)

But the leech in question—cylinder-shaped, measuring only a few centimeters, with suckers on its front and back—can do something more. It jumps by rearing back, almost like a cobra, and compressing itself to create tension before releasing it.

These leeches move along surfaces like an inchworm does, but “they’re surprisingly fast,” Tessler said. Still, he said, “they are not something you would necessarily expect to be able to just turn into a little spring and ‘boing’ off of a leaf.”

Measuring Biodiversity

With all the DNA they ingest while feeding on host animals, leeches help scientists get a fuller picture of which animals can be found in a given area, Fahmy said. For instance, leeches might seek out animals that are too small to trigger automated camera sensors or too well camouflaged to be spotted by scientists. Also, she said, they’re “generalist” feeders who aren’t picky when choosing a host.

She’ll be studying leeches for a while yet. Her research focus is on gathering DNA found in nature to study how the diversity of species is affected by deforestation and human conflict, as well as cultural values’ role in conservation efforts. Knowing more about leeches’ ability to jump and reach hosts can help when designing biodiversity surveys, she said.

“Leeches are among the few tools that are able to capture biodiversity across many different taxonomic classes, which makes them really efficient, especially if they’re out there finding you,” she said.