Sally Leys (Sally Penelope Leys) is a Canadian spongiologist. She is a professor of biology at the University of Alberta [1] where she and her colleagues study sponges in all their aspects [2] including ecology, [3] physiology, [4] [5] [6] their adaptations to a fluid environment [2] and the evolution of sensory systems using sponges as their model organism. [1] A current project is Evaluating ecosystem function, vulnerability, resilience, and ability to recover from multiple stressors. [7]
She earned a B.Sc. in 1990 from the University of British Columbia and a Ph.D from University of Victoria in 1996, entitled Cytoskeletal architecture, organelle transport, and impulse conduction in hexactinellid sponge syncytia, [8] followed by post-doctoral work in Barbados, in Marseille, and at the University of Queensland. [1]
