Name Forever Links Professor and Parasite

The tradition of biologists immortalizing fellow researchers has dealt something of a dubious honor to Whittier College professor Stephen R. Goldberg.

In this month’s issue of the Journal of the Helminthological Society of Washington, researchers from universities in Pennsylvania and Texas presented their discovery of a unique species of roundworm found only in snakes, dubbing the parasite Spauligodon goldbergi--after Goldberg.

“It’s an honor,” said Goldberg, who has earned Whittier College fame in biological circles during his 26-year tenure at the college. He found his niche 10 years ago when he narrowed his studies to reptilian parasites.

Goldberg said he had no part in the worm’s recent discovery but noted that scientists never name species after themselves. He said the discovery was relatively important in that similar roundworms had been found in lizards but never before in snakes.

“That name will be there forever,” he said.