​Jaida Elcock is a graduate student at the University of Washington. Her research focuses on elasmobranch ecology and conservation. She is particularly interested in the movement ecology of migratory elasmobranchs, as this information is still unknown for many species. Jaida received her B.S. in Biology with University Honors from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. She has been recognized as an American Elasmobranch Society Young Professional Recruitment Fund Scholar and an Honorable Mention for the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Jaida is a science communicator through social media and enjoys doing outreach with any age group.

Nichole Broderick is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Johns Hopkins University. Her research focuses on impacts of the microbiome on animal health. Nichole’s teaching portfolio includes Tiny Earth, a microbiology-based authentic research course in which students search the soil and other environments for antibiotic-producing microbes. Through her role as the Director of Science and Training for Tiny Earth, she has helped train over 200 college and high school instructors to implement this course.Broderick received her PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a postdoctoral fellow at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland. She has won several awards including a Human Frontiers Long-term Postdoctoral Fellow, the 2020 Faculty Mentor Award from the University of Connecticut McNair & LSAMP Scholars Programs, and the 2021 American Society for Microbiology Award for Education.

What can Roman toilets teach us about daily life in ancient Rome? What does the archaeology of these structures reveal about Roman hygiene, public sanitation, customs related to purity or cleanliness? In a talk that investigates and illustrates some key examples of public and private Roman toilets from Rome, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Ostia, we take a trip down into the black holes of ancient space for some answers.

Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow has done archaeological fieldwork in Italy at Herculaneum, Pompeii, Ostia, and Rome, and in Jordan, Tunisia, and survey work or archaeological study in Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, and Turkey.  She works especially on Roman daily life, including urban infrastructure, plumbing and hydraulics, baths and bathing practices, and toilets and sanitation. At Brandeis University, she is Kevy and Hortense Kaiserman Endowed Chair in the Humanities, Professor of Classical Studies, and Head of the Division of the Humanities. She was the 2016 winner of the Archaeological Institute of America's award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

Dr. Murty Studies the influence of neuromodulatory systems on both memory and memory-guided decisions using human neuroimaging.

Dr. Sarah Ward studies behavioral and pharmacological effects of the cannabinoid, serotonin, and opioid receptor systems on neuropathic pain and neuroprotection, learning and memory, and addiction.

Dr. Russ Buono is a science educator and researcher in molecular biology and the genetics of the human brain and disease states.

​Janelle Shane's AI humor blog, AIweirdness.com, looks at the strange side of artificial intelligence. She has been featured on the main TED stage, in the New York Times, The Atlantic, WIRED, Popular Science, All Things Considered, Science Friday, and Marketplace. Her book, "You Look Like a Thing and I Love You: How AI Works, Thinks, and Why It’s Making the World a Weirder Place" uses cartoons and humorous pop-culture experiments to look inside the minds of the algorithms that run our world, making artificial intelligence and machine learning both accessible and entertaining. Shane is also a research scientist at an optics R&D company, where she has worked on projects including a holographic laser tweezers module for the space station, and a virtual reality arena for mantis shrimp.

Chelsea Connor is a herpetologist focusing on anoles at university in Texas. She's studying the interactions between an invasive species, Anolis cristatellus (Crested anole), and an endemic species, Anolis oculatus (Eyed anole), on the Commonwealth of Dominica where she's from. Chelsea is also a science communicator who loves sharing fun facts about anoles on her Twitter page with #DidYouAnole.

Melissa Molho is a Ph.D. candidate in the Plant Pathology Department at the University of Kentucky where she studies virus-host interactions in plants. She likes doing outreach activities and advocating for diversity and inclusion in science. Melissa is originally from Mexico City and she loves learning about different cultures. She also enjoys reading suspense books and historical novels.

Dr. Wei Wei is a plant pathologist at the United States Department of Agriculture. She obtained her PhD in Microbiology from Oregon State University. Her research focuses on understanding the interactions between bacterial pathogens and their plant hosts to help improve plant disease control and prevention strategies. When she is not working in the lab, Wei enjoys painting, cooking, and traveling.

Chelsea Newbold is a master’s student at Oregon State University where they study the effects of fungicide resistance on the growth and development of grape powdery mildew. Chelsea is visually impaired, from a low-income background, and a member of the LGBTQ+ community giving them a unique perspective on plant science and the world of plant health. Chelsea is a passionate activist for the rights of marginalized communities and a proud union member who currently sits on the executive council of their graduate student union. Chelsea has experience in a broad range of scientific fields including high school research in the catalytic chemistry of solar panels, undergraduate research in the study of root rot pathogen detection in avocado and blueberry, and now in their position as a graduate student. They hope to continue their education through to a Phd, eventually work in agricultural extension and to empower other queer and first-generation students to pursue a career in plant pathology.

Peter Soroye is a PhD Student in Biology at the University of Ottawa studying the impacts of climate change and habitat loss on pollinators. Peter's research focuses on pollinators like bumblebees and butterflies, but he's interested in finding solutions to help wildlife more broadly. When not doing research, Peter enjoys camping, hiking, playing basketball, and listening to rap/hip-hop.

Michael Baym is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics at Harvard University. His research is centered around the problem of antibiotic resistance, at the intersection of experimental, theoretical and computational techniques. His work ranges from understanding the basic mechanisms of evolution to the development of algorithms for computation on massive biological datasets. Baym received his PhD in Mathematics from MIT and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School in Systems Biology. He has won several awards including a Packard Fellowship, a Pew Biomedical Scholarship, and a Sloan Research Fellowship. He is also a part-time inventor, holding over four dozen issued US patents.

Imari Walker's travels have influenced her concern for the future of clean accessible water and our growing islands of plastic pollution in the sea. She completed her Bachelors in Marine Science at University of California, Berkeley and is a PhD candidate in Environmental Engineering at Duke University. Her research investigates the fate, occurrence, and transformation of plastic additives within water. Imari also produces entertaining, easy to understand Youtube Videos focused on environmental science and how to be successful in undergraduate and graduate programs.

Dr Chris Baker is an ecologist who uses DNA sequencing to work out how species interact. His current research uses DNA from blood-feeding leeches to measure animal biodiversity in the Ailao Mountains of China’s Yunnan Province. His previous research took him to the savannas of Kenya where he worked on termites that grow fungus for food, and ants that protect trees from elephants and giraffe. Website: bakerccm.github.io Twitter: @bakerccm

I am a botanist that loves plants and travels the world searching for them! I am also interested in science communication and policy. I want my work to have a positive impact on society.

Dr. Rob O’Malley is an evolutionary anthropologist and primate behavioral ecologist who works for the American Association for the Advancement of Science in the Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) program (www.aaas.org/DoSER). The program fosters constructive science engagement between scientific and religious communities, recognizing that these often overlap. He will share some background and best practices for scientists, educators, and others, drawing on DoSER’s recent and ongoing projects.  He also hopes to learn about others’ perspectives and experiences related to this area of science engagement.

​Alexis Stutzman, BIG Founder
PhD Candidate, Genetics and Molecular Biology Curriculum at UNC Chapel Hill
UNC-IMSD Genetics Diversity Excellence Fellow,
B.S. Univ of Chicago ‘18
Alex studies molecular determinants of 3D genome architectural changes during fruit fly wing development.

Markia Smith, BIG Co-organizer
PhD Student in Pathobiology and Translational Science at the UNC Chapel Hill
B.S. University of Delaware
Markia uses integrative genomic approaches to study tumor biology, including genetic and environmental determinants, that cause racial/ethnic disparities.

Aarin A Williams, MS, LCGC
Licensed Certified Genetic Counselor
MS Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling, Stanford University. BS Biology, Howard University.
Aarin currently practices prenatal, cancer and general genetics at Kaiser Permanente Southern California.
Loydie A. Jerome-Majewska, PhD
Ph.D. Columbia University, Post-doc: Sloan Kettering Institute, Associate Professor at McGill University, Depts of Pediatrics, Human Genetics and Anatomy and Cell Biology.
Dr. Jerome-Majewska studies the genetic and molecular basis of abnormal organ development in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and spliceosomopathies.

Dr. Janina M. Jeff is a senior scientist and population geneticist, with over 20 scientific publications. In addition to her public speaking and prominent position in STEAM, She also is the host and executive producer of a podcast called In Those Genes! The show uses Black culture and hip hop as a vessel to teach genetics to the Black community.

Tykee James moved to DC and joined the National Audubon Society as Government Affairs Coordinator in December of 2018. His background is highlighted with experience as an environmental educator, community organizer, and environmental policy advisor in his hometown, Philly. Tykee is a birder and his passion for the hobby stems from his experience seeing how environmental health reflects community health. 

wildlifeobservernetwork.com
Twitter: @Tykee_James
Instagram: @TykeeJames

Restoring Reefs with Liz Burmester.

Planet Microbe with Luis Valentin

I grew up in New Philadelphia, OH and have always been interested in animals. I participated in 4-H equine projects and milked cows at local dairy farms in high school, but did not decide I wanted to pursue veterinary medicine until I was in college at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY. There I earned a BA in Molecular Biology and minor in Environmental Studies. I went to veterinary school at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and have worked for the 5 years since serving the dairy, beef, equine, sheep, goat, and camelid patients and clients of Western NY state with the Perry Veterinary Clinic.

Arik (he/him/his) is a huge herp-nerd and graduate student in Zoology at the University of Florida, where he researches amphibian disease ecology. He is currently trying to understand the impact and presence of the amphibian killing fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), throughout amphibian communities in Florida, and researching how coinfections of pathogens might affect the future of North American salamander species. Arik has previously worked with the USGS and NPS to identify possible pathogen spillover from invasive Burmese pythons to native snake assemblages in the Everglades.

A Board Member and President of BioCurious, a community lab space, a leader on two iGEM teams in 2014 and 2015 and a member of multiple community lab science projects including Open Insulin, Real Vegan Cheese, CuttleWranglin, DIY Bioprinter, and Kombucha Genomics. I push for open source science and for the creation of more community lab spaces.

Bret Grasse is the manager of cephalopod operations at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He has advanced the field of cephalopod husbandry (aka raising and taking care of cephalopods in an aquarium), and has figured out how to keep many cephalopod species happy and healthy in captivity that humans were previously unable to culture!

​Dr. Carly Anne York is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina. Her interests lay in the field of animal physiology, and she earned her doctorate studying how squid use their sensory systems to evade predators.

​Laura is a Program Coordinator at the Center for Disaster Risk Policy and an instructor in the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Program at Florida State University. She conducts research in UAS integration and applications, operates as a public, unmanned pilot and member of the CDRP UAS Team, and occasionally serves as a UAS Coordinator in the Air Operations Branch at the Florida State Emergency Operations Center during disasters. She also maintains the CDRP UAS equipment cache.

Laura is interested in policy analysis (specifically innovation and diffusion) at the federal, state, and local levels, and applies this interest to UAS policies, laws, and regulations. She is nearing the end of her third year as a doctoral student at the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University.

Hagfish Slime with Sarah Schorno

Riley Black is the critically-acclaimed author of natural history books such as Skeleton Keys, My Beloved Brontosaurus, and Prehistoric Predators. Her bylines have appeared in publications from Slate to Nature, and she’s a frequent volunteer with paleontology field programs around the west. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I am a Chilean astronomer searching for optical counterparts of short gamma-ray bursts and gravitational waves. Currently, I am a third year Astronomy PhD student at the University of Maryland (UMD). I am working with Dr. Leo Singer from NASA using the Zwicky Transient Facility to cover large portions of the sky and maximize the probability to find transients in the northern nightsky. I obtained my undergraduate degree from the P. Universidad Católica de Chile where I majored in Astronomy. While there, I worked using machine learning algorithms to find quasars in the ATLAS survey. During my senior year summer, I was part of the Cerro Tololo (CTIO) Reaserch Experience for Undergraduates and worked on identifying globular clusters an a shell-elliptical galaxy. After my graduation I interned at the Gemini Observatory and further analyzed the morphology of the galaxy.

Paleontology with Triceratops with Sophie Cajune

Designing Missions to the Moon and Mars with Sydney Dolan

Watch her session here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83167298401
Abby Lewis is an ecologist who studies the effects of human activities on freshwater lakes. Her research has taken her everywhere from Southern California to Iceland, where she has studied how Los Angeles night lighting changes water quality in unseen ways and how invisible nutrient pollution affects Icelandic flies. Now, at Virginia Tech, Abby is working to help reservoir managers provide safe drinking water while also maintaining healthy lake ecosystems. The key to both of these goals? Invisible gasses in the water at the bottom of the lake. 
Twitter: @lewis_lakes

Kandrea Wade is entering her second year as a PhD student in the Information Science department at CU Boulder focusing on algorithmic identity and the digital surveillance of marginalized groups. Along with developing her research at CU Boulder, Kandrea seeks to discover and assist in creating proper ethical regulations and education on algorithmic identity and digital literacy. With a background of over 15 years in entertainment and media, her interests have evolved from demographic programming for entertainment and media theory to corporate user ethics and legal protections for the digital citizen. Kandrea holds BA in technical theatre from The University of Texas at Arlington and an MA in media, culture, and communications from New York University.

Nick did his Master's at the University of Connecticut studying what people think about black bears and black bear management. He has also researched human-beaver coexistence, and media portrayals of grizzly bear conservation. Now he's a research associate at the University of Alberta, where he uses GIS to understand the impacts of resource development on human wellbeing, particularly for Indigenous and rural communities.
Twitter: @NickYarmey

​Steven is currently finishing his master's at the University of Connecticut, studying people's perceptions of roadside tree trimming. The goal of the project is to create more sustainable management decisions to mitigate conflicts. He has an interest in invasive species, native pollinators, and map-making. Steven likes using iNaturalist, which is an online community of citizen scientists, to document and discover species found while exploring local protected areas. Twitter: @stevendifalco  / website: stevendifalco.github.io
​

Meet Me in Orbit with Erin Eldridge 

Bugs with Gwen

Did you Know that Plants Can Move? With Joyce Chery 

Elephants are humans too with Dr. Caitlin O'Connell

How to Make a Mountain with Stacy Phillips

Marine Biology in a Museum: Specimens and Discovery, with Dean Pentcheff

Vaccines with Devika Varma

She's DINO-mite! Puzzler, detective, anatomist, geologist, which would you choose? Fossil Preparator at the Perot Museum Myria Perez does it all! Right now she is puzzling back together a skull of a Pachyrhinosaurus. By researching fossils, she can understand our Earth's history and in turn, understand its future. Some of the fossils she has worked on are even on display at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.Ask a Fossil Preparator! With Myria Perez

Caitlin Cunningham is a PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies at Dalhousie University. Her research looks at how cities can be better designed to support wildlife and meet biodiversity conservation goals. She is especially interested in how small spaces, like lawns and roadside verges can be used as wildlife habitat in the city. In her spare time, she is on a mission to find the best climbing tree in Halifax and the best recipe for peanut butter baked goods.

Healing contaminated (or toxic) landscapes with Caitlynn Beckett

Fitbits for Sharks with Julianna Kadar

From Shark Jaws to Nemos: A Deep Dive into the Fish Collection at NHMLA

Above and Below the Sea: Searching for Ancient Maritime Societies