Featured Guests
On this episode, we have an all female cast of scientists, journalists, and #tardigradestans;
sharing their stories of feverishly researching these creatures and the fascinating fun facts they’ve discovered.
Mindy Weisberger
Senior Writer, Live Science
Covering breaking news across a broad range of science topics, including parasites, climate change, archeology and paleontology, black holes, weird animal behavior, and artificial intelligence. Mindy’s articles also investigate intriguing science questions, such as: Why do grapes spit plasma when you microwave them? Why are flies so hard to swat? How much of the ocean is whale pee (and worse)? Prior to Live Science, Mindy produced, wrote and directed media for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Her videos about dinosaurs, astrophysics, biodiversity and evolution appear in museums and science centers worldwide. https://twitter.com/LaMinda
Sonali Verma
Current Research Scientist, NASA Ames
A graduate of the University of San Francisco in 2019, where she completed a B.S. in Molecular Biology with minors in Astronomy and Biochemistry, Sonali started work at NASA in the summer of 2018 as an intern working to understand the molecular mechanisms of radio tolerance in tardigrades. Currently, she works at NASA as part of the Radiation Biology Lab studying the central nervous system’s response to deep-space radiation, and she will be attending medical school in the fall. In her free time, Sonali enjoys spending time with her friends, sharing memes, and imagining all the dogs she wants to own in the future. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonali-verma-45074277/
Brooke Shepard
Former Research Associate, NASA Ames
An aspiring space biologist, Brooke got her start as a Research Associate at the coveted NASA’s Space Life Sciences Training Program in 2018. She’s now a Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado- Boulder. Her areas of interest are sustaining life in space, simulating microgravity, and understanding the effects of stress on organisms in space. In her free time, she likes playing video games, ceramics, and vegetarian cooking. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookeshepard/