An accidental revelation causes Rabiah Mayas to question her identity.

Rabiah Mayas, PhD, is madly in love with science and driven by life’s questions, large and small. As Director of Science and Integrated Strategies at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, her work is focused on supporting that same spirit in youth who face barriers to accessing quality science experiences. She leads a multidisciplinary department that develops, implements and researches programs that support youth in pursuit of their own scientific passions and pathways. She holds a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology and is passionate about exploring the intersections of science with art, health, and community.

Help keep us going! If you love the podcast, please donate here: http://www.patreon.com/thestorycollider

Rabiah Mayas: Identical Twins

When Edward Frenkel is told he won't be accepted to a Russian university because his father is Jewish, he decides to take the admissions exam anyway. 

Edward Frenkel is a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, which he joined in 1997 after being on the faculty at Harvard University. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, and the winner of the Hermann Weyl Prize in mathematical physics. Frenkel has authored 3 books and over 80 scholarly articles in academic journals, and he has lectured on his work around the world. His YouTube videos have garnered over 3 million views.
Frenkel's latest book "Love and Math" was a New York Times bestseller and has been named one of the Best Books of 2013 by both Amazon and iBooks. It is being translated into 14 languages. Frenkel has also co-produced, co-directed and played the lead in the film "Rites of Love and Math."

Edward Frenkel: The Test

Brandon begins to see his friends in a new light after communicating with them through a screen.

C. Brandon Ogbunu is a computational biologist at Yale University who studies epidemics and genetics. He is also a contributing writer at WIRED magazine, where he writes at the intersection of science, data, and society.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider’s podcast on December 11, 2020 in an episode titled “Stories of COVID-19: Connections, Part 1”. Find the transcript and other information: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2020/12/9/stories-of-covid-19-connections-part-1

Brandon Ogbunu: A Flatter World

Shreya struggles to connect with her patients in the same way when she's treating them over web video.

Shreya Varma is a clinical psychologist practicing in New Delhi, India. She has an extensive experience in the healthcare industry and primarily works with adults in her private practice.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider’s podcast on December 14, 2020 in an episode titled “Stories of COVID-19: Connection, Part 2”. Find the transcript and other information:https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2020/12/9/stories-of-covid-19-connections-part-2

Shreya Varma: Tricky Connections

When Ivy's father enters hospice during the pandemic, her family must find a new way to come together to say goodbye.

Ivy Eisenberg is an award-winning humor writer, storyteller and comedian who has performed comedy, solo shows and stories throughout the Greater NYC area and in Washington, DC.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider’s podcast on December 14, 2020 in an episode titled “Stories of COVID-19: Connection, Part 2”. Find the transcript and other information: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2020/12/9/stories-of-covid-19-connections-part-2

Ivy Eisenberg: Coming Together

Mary Sue’s grandmother's experience of the 1918 pandemic inspires and informs her career in public health.

Mary Sue Kitchen was director of the Fairfax County Health Department Laboratory in Virginia for seventeen years from 1995-2012.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider’s podcast on December 18, 2020 in an episode titled “Stories of COVID-19: Generations, Part 1”. Find the transcript and other information: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2020/12/17/stories-of-covid-19-generations-part-1

Mary Sue Kitchen: Lessons From the Past

In this episode, we share two more stories about the impact of COVID-19 across generations. 

Our first story is from two storytellers — science communicator Ian Haydon and his mother, retired writer and editor Judy Stokes. Their story begins when Ian calls his mother in March and reveals that he will be participating in a Phase 1  COVID-19 vaccine trial.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider’s podcast on December 21, 2020 in an episode titled “Stories of COVID-19: Generations, Part 2”. Find the transcript and other information:https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2020/12/17/stories-of-covid-19-generations-part-2

Judy Stokes: Generational Inspiration

Krishna receives a fateful phone call — from his family back home in India, telling him that his father has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Krishna Pakala is the Faculty in Residence for the Engineering and Innovation Living Learning Community and the Director for the Industrial Assessment Center at Boise State. He is the recipient of David S. Taylor Service to Students Award and Golden Apple Award from Boise State University.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider’s podcast on December 21, 2020 in an episode titled “Stories of COVID-19: Generations, Part 2”. Find the transcript and other information: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2020/12/17/stories-of-covid-19-generations-part-2

Krishna Pakala: A Call From Home

As a young chemist working for the state crime lab, Bill Harwood is unexpectedly called to a crime scene.

Lt. Bill Harwood is the director of the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory.  He has over 26 years of experience in forensics and law enforcement. Lt. Harwood began his career as a forensic chemist at the Crime Laboratory in 1989 after graduating from the University of Maine at Orono with degrees in Medical Technology and Zoology.  He examined physical evidence and testified as an expert witness over the next 5 years.

He became a Maine State Trooper in 1994 patrolling Kennebec and Lincoln Counties.  He was promoted to Maine State Police Detective in 1998 conducting child abuse investigations for the Kennebec County District Attorney’s Office while also serving as a homicide investigator for central Maine communities. He was promoted to Sergeant of the Crime Laboratory in 2002.  He supervised the Firearms and Latent Print units while also serving as the Quality Manager and Assistant Director until 2008.  He was then promoted to Lieutenant in charge of headquarters Special Projects until his assignment as crime laboratory director in 2010.

Lt. Harwood has served as a Crisis and Hostage Negotiator, Staff Sergeant Cadre Supervisor at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, State Police Emergency Response Team member for the Maine Emergency Management Agency and serves as the administrator of the Maine State Police Evidence Response Team. 

Bill Harwood: How A Chemist Becomes A Cop

Brion Randolph's journey to becoming a doctor begins with a box full of kittens.

Dr. Brion Randolph is currently the Chief of Medical Oncology at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Newnan, Georgia. He joined CTCA as a medical oncologist and hematologist when the hospital opened in August 2012 and is now Chief of Medical Oncology.  He also serves as Medical Director of Hematologic Oncology at the Newnan hospital.

Dr. Randolph earned his medical degree from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, and he is board certified in medical oncology, hematology and internal medicine. Dr. Randolph also earned a Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville. He completed residency training in internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, where he also completed his fellowship training in hematology and oncology. 

While Dr. Randolph started his education in nuclear engineering, he switched to medicine when introduced to the field of hematology/oncology as a graduate student studying the physics of medical imaging and radiation therapy.

Dr. Randolph lives in Newnan with his wife and two children. He has a passion for music and the performing arts, and as a drum major he had the opportunity to lead the UT Band in the 1993 inaugural parade for President Bill Clinton. His hobbies also include tennis and running.

Brion Randolph: Curiosity Saves The Cats

Part 1: On an expedition to Antarctica, journalist Alok Jha ends up trapped on the ice for days.

Part 2: Neuroscientist Rita Tavares attempts to analyze her romantic problems with science.

Alok Jha is a journalist, author and broadcaster, focusing on stories about science. He is the science correspondent at ITV News. Before that, he spent a decade at the Guardian and made programmes for the BBC. You can find him on Twitter and Facebook.

Rita Tavares is a pirate born in the country of Portugal. She crossed the Atlantic ocean to make it to America, where she anchored her ship in New York City after a period in the Pacific waters off of San Francisco. She has a day cover working as a neuroscientist and a poet. In both these activities she keeps a facade of solving the mysteries of the mind scientifically and artfully. In her science job, she discovered that the human brain "sees" our social environment in ways similar to how it encodes physical space. She is now investigating how these processes go awry in patients with psychiatric disorders. In her poetry, she uses her pirate persona to write about her travels and her love of lunatics.

Story Collider

Isolation: Stories about loneliness

This week, we present two stories of learning experiences connected to early childhood, from an expert in maternal and infant health discovering the reality behind her research to a first-grader striving to be one of the "smart kids."

Part 1: Psychologist Amy Brown researches maternal and infant health, but when she has a child of her own, she’s confronted with the reality behind the research.

Part 2: As a first-grader, Cassie Soliday finds her coveted spot in the gifted class is at risk.

Dr. Amy Brown is an Associate Professor in Child Public Health at Swansea University where she researches experiences of becoming a mother, particularly around how babies are fed. She has published widely in how social, cultural and psychological barriers can damage breastfeeding and subsequently maternal wellbeing. Amy is fascinated by how culture defines motherhood, through pressurising mothers to have it all and enjoy ‘every precious moment’, whilst simultaneously devaluing their role. She also has three children of her own and switches between hearing women’s tales about becoming a mother and experiencing it first hand herself. Sometimes life feels like one long never ending ethnographic research project but offers her insight into these complex issues.

Cassie Soliday is The Story Collider's LA-based producer. In addition to being a producer, she is a writer, comic artist, and the love child of a poet and a parrot head.  She's an advocate for women in the arts and produces two podcasts, 'Ink and Paint Girls' and 'Jammiest Bits of Jam'. Afflicted with wanderlust and the desire to run away with the cat circus, she has three great and terrible ideas that could get her fired so she could do so.  She lives and works in California making cartoons. She is @cassiesoli and cassie@storycollider.org.

Early Childhood Development: Stories about growth

When Joe Normandin begins to question his sexuality as a teenager, he turns to neuroscience for help.

Joe Normandin earned a B.A. in Biology with a Specialization in Neuroscience from Boston University, where he worked as an undergraduate research assistant in labs studying the behavioral genetics of sexual orientation in people and female sexual behavior in a rat model.  He earned a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences - Neurobiology and Behavior from Georgia State University, where he explored how the brain regulates sexual reflexes.  He found evidence of a brain circuit that provides an anatomical/functional basis for the oft-reported side effects of delayed orgasm in those taking antidepressants. He is now a Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State University. Dr. Normandin values the wonderful public education and support he received as a young gay man growing up in Massachusetts.  Even with that education and support, he struggled with his identity as a gay person.  In high school, a psychology class introduced him to neuroscience, which led to a search for research that he thought would validate his sexual orientation.  This search set him on a path towards becoming a neuroscientist, and ultimately led to questions he explores in the classroom: Are people born gay?  Does it matter?  Dr. Normandin is also an avid gamer and has saved the universe many times.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on January 12, 2018, in an episode titled "Origin Stories." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2018/1/12/origin-stories-stories-about-paths-to-becoming-a-scientist

Joe Normandin: The Gift of Feeling Okay

Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki is surprised when an acting exercise challenges her beliefs about love and attraction.

Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D. is a Professor of Neural Science and psychology at New York University.  She received her undergraduate degree from U.C. Berkeley and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from U.C. San Diego.  She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health before starting her faculty position in the Center for Neural Science at New York University in 1998.  Wendy is a recipient of numerous grants and awards for her research including the Lindsley Prize from the Society for Neuroscience, the prestigious Troland Research award from the National Academy of Sciences and NYU’s Golden Dozen Teaching award. Her research has focused on understanding the patterns of brain activity underlying long-term memory and understanding how aerobic exercise affects mood, learning, memory and cognitive abilities. Her first book “Healthy Brain Happy Life” came out in paperback in March of 2016 and is an international bestseller. 

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on July 28, 2017, in an episode titled "Magnetism." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2017/7/27/magnetism-stories-about-attraction

Wendy Suzuki: If I Was a Prairie Vole

Two physicists, Neer Asherie and Deborah Berebichez, find love after thirteen years.

Neer Asherie is a professor of physics and biology at Yeshiva University. He received a B.A. and M.A. in natural sciences (physical) from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. in physics from MIT. He was awarded grants from the National Science Foundation to support his research on the self-assembly of globular proteins. His articles have appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Physical Review Letters, and Crystal Growth and Design. In addition to his scientific publications, Neer has authored a novel and several short plays. You can find his previous Story Collider story here.

Deborah Berebichez is the Chief Data Scientist at Metis, a Ph.D. physicist and a Discovery Channel TV host. She is the first Mexican woman to graduate with a physics Ph.D. from Stanford University. Dr. Berebichez is the co-host of Discovery Channel’s Outrageous Acts of Science TV show (2012 – present) where she uses her physics background to explain the science behind extraordinary engineering feats. She also appears as an expert on the Travel Chanel, NOVA, CNN, FOX, MSNBC and numerous international media outlets. Deborah’s passion is to empower young people to learn science and to improve the state of STEM education in the world and her work in science outreach has been widely recognized. She is a John C. Whitehead Fellow at the Foreign Policy Association and a recipient of the Top Latina Tech Blogger award by the Association of Latinos in Social Media LATISM. Currently at Metis she leads the creation and growth of exceptional data science training opportunities. You can find Deborah's previous Story Collider story here.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on July 28, 2017, in an episode titled "Magnetism." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2017/7/27/magnetism-stories-about-attraction

Neer Asherie & Deborah Berebichez: My Second Love, After Physics

Science writer Ed Yong is confronted by a flatulent rhino while on safari.

Ed Yong is a science journalist who reports for The Atlantic, and is based in Washington DC. His work appears several times a week on The Atlantic's website, and has also featured in National Geographic, the New Yorker, Wired, Nature, New Scientist, Scientific American, and many more. He has won a variety of awards, including the Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award for biomedical reporting in 2016, the Byron H. Waksman Award for Excellence in the Public Communication of Life Sciences in 2016, and the National Academies Keck Science Communication Award in 2010 for his old blog Not Exactly Rocket Science. He regularly does talks and radio interviews; his TED talk on mind-controlling parasites has been watched by over 1.5 million people. I CONTAIN MULTITUDES, his first book, looks at the amazing partnerships between animals and microbes. Published in 2016, it became a New York Times bestseller, and was listed in best-of-2016 lists by the NYT, NPR, the Economist, the Guardian, and several others. Bill Gates called it "science journalism at its finest", and Jeopardy! turned it into a clue.  

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on August 11, 2017, in an episode titled "Zoology." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2017/8/11/zoology-stories-about-wild-animals

Ed Yong: Ed vs. the Flatulent Rhino

Ecologist Marcelo Ardón Sayao turns to both science and religion when his wife is diagnosed with cancer.

Marcelo Ardón Sayao is really into swamps. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at NCSU. He obtained his BA in Biology and Environmental Science from Gettysburg College, his PhD from the University of Georgia, and did a postdoc at Duke University. His research focuses on how wetlands and streams transport and transform water and nutrients. He spends most of his time outside work with his wife and two kids. They enjoy dancing, building sandcastles, and spending time outside, though he hasn’t fully convinced his kids of the beauty of swamps.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on August 18, 2017, in an episode titled "Boiling Point." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2017/8/17/boiling-point-stories-about-reaching-points-of-crisis

Marcelo Ardón Sayao: Hope When Hope Was Hard to Find

Rashawn Ray’s trajectory as a sociologist is forever changed by the murder of Philando Castile.

Rashawn Ray is Associate Professor of Sociology, the Edward McK. Johnson, Jr. Endowed Faculty Fellow, and Co-Director of the Critical Race Initiative at the University of Maryland, College Park. Formerly, Ray was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. Ray’s research addresses the mechanisms that manufacture and maintain racial and social inequality. His work also speaks to ways that inequality may be attenuated through racial uplift activism and social policy. Ray has published over 40 books, articles, book chapters, and op-eds. Currently, Ray is co-investigator of a study examining implicit bias, body-worn cameras, and police-citizen interactions with 1800 police officers with the Prince George’s County Police Department.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on August 18, 2017, in an episode titled "Boiling Point." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2017/8/17/boiling-point-stories-about-reaching-points-of-crisis

Rashawn Ray: It Could Have Been Me

A neuroscientist tests the limits of wonder when his own father suffers a stroke.

David Carmel: The coolest thing in the world

Darlene Cavalier, a former professional cheerleader, had always felt like science wasn't for people like her. But then a chance conversation leads her to learn more about science, and even more about cheerleaders, than she ever imagined.

Darlene Cavalier: Why not put a cheerleader in the room?

When Evelyn Valdez-Ward discovers that she's undocumented, she fears her dreams of becoming a scientist are over. 

Evelyn Valdez-Ward is an undocumented, Latina, scientist and PhD student at the University of California, Irvine. For her thesis, she studies the impact of California's drought on the ways that plants and their soil microbes (fungi and bacteria in the soil) communicate and interact with one another. In addition to doing research, she's extremely passionate about advocating for undocumented students in STEM. She recently published her story "I'm an undocumented scientist fighting for my Dream" in Science, and was invited to speak at the March for Science rally in DC to advocate for Dreamers in STEM. She has been awarded a UCI's Dynamic Womxn's Award for Outstanding Social Justice Activist, and the Svetlana Bersahdsky Graduate Student Award for her lobbying and advocacy efforts. She plans to continue lobbying and fighting for her undocumented community after graduating, and work in science policy, where she can continue to advocate for both science and minorities in STEM.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on Aug. 31, 2018, in an episode titled "Trials by Fire." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2018/8/27/trials-by-fire-stories-about-difficult-path-to-science

Evelyn Valdez-Ward: An Undocumented Scientist

Anthropologist Andrew Oberle barely survives an attack by the chimpanzees he was studying.

While conducting his Anthropology Master's research in South Africa in June 2012, Andrew Oberle was mauled by two adult male chimpanzees and nearly lost his life.  His remarkable recovery has led him to help other traumatically injured patients, serving as the Director of Development for the Oberle Institute, a holistic trauma program being developed at Saint Louis University that aims to give other trauma patients the resources necessary to have an equally successful recovery.  Andrew shares his story of survival hoping to inspire others as they experience tough times and create a national dialogue about the effects of resilience and community on a thriving recovery.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on December 15, 2017, in an episode titled "Life and Death: Stories of loss and resilience." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2017/12/14/life-and-death-stories-of-loss-and-resilience

Andrew Oberle: A Deadly Lesson

Geneticist Sebastian Alvarado reconnects with his love of comic books by attempting to shrink ants.

Sebastian Gaston Alvarado went into science so he could make the X-men. During his Ph.D., he studied the molecular switches that regulate gene function. As a result, his work has shed light on chronic pain, size variation in ants, and metabolism in hibernating squirrels. He is also co-founder of Thwacke, a science consulting firm for the entertainment sector. As a consultant, he has rationalized the science behind Captain America's Super Soldier Serum and the reversible nature of the Incredible Hulk's transformations . Sebastian is currently an A.P. Giannini Fellow at Stanford University where he studies how social environment can shape the way genes change behavior in a fish.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on April 14, 2017, in an episode titled "Transformation: Stories about changing states" Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2017/4/14/transformation-sebastian-alvarado-danny-artese

Sebastian Alvarado: Shrinking Ants

Kate Marvel's dream of being a genius takes her to Cambridge to study astrophysics.

Kate Marvel is a scientist at Columbia University and the NASA Goddard Institute of Space studies. She uses computer models and satellite observations to monitor and explain the changes happening around us. Her work has suggested that human activities are already affecting global rainfall and cloud patterns. Marvel is committed to sharing the joy and beauty of science with wider audiences. She has advised journalists, artists and policymakers, written a popular science blog and given frequent public talks. Her writing has appeared in Nautilus Magazine and On Being.  You can watch her Mainstage TED talk at go.ted.com/katemarvel

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on January 12, 2018, in an episode titled "Origin Stories: Stories about paths to becoming a scientist." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2018/1/12/origin-stories-stories-about-paths-to-becoming-a-scientist

Kate Marvel: Becoming a Genius

Alison Williams' blossoming passion for chemistry is sidetracked by a professor's thoughtless comment.

Alison Williams is the Associate Provost for Diversity and Intercultural Education at Denison University. She received her Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry from the University of Rochester where she was a NSF graduate fellow and winner of the graduate student teaching award.  Prior to becoming an administrator first at Oberlin and now at Denison, she was a chemistry faculty member for 25 years, teaching at Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Princeton and Barnard College of Columbia University.  Her research focused using spectroscopy to determine the role of ions in shaping the physical properties of nucleic acids. Dr. Williams has been active nationally to increase access, inclusion and equity, especially in the sciences. She has received numerous recognitions for her teaching, outreach and mentoring activities.  She is a mother of two and a semi-professional oboist.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on March 23, 2018, in an episode titled "Women in Science: Stories about defying expectations." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2018/3/15/women-in-science-stories-defying-expectations

Alison Williams: Never Assume

After being raised as a creationist, Jennifer Colbourne falls in love with evolutionary science.

Jennifer Colbourne is a graduate student at York University where she is currently researching raccoon intelligence. She is interested in how animals are adapting to cities, and how to improve animal-human interactions in the urban environment.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on August 24, 2018, in an episode titled "Leaving Home: Stories about the places we're from." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2018/8/6/leaving-home-stories-about-the-places-were-from

Jennifer Colbourne: With an Open Mind

In the midst of homelessness and abuse, Rose DF dreams of a life in science. 

Rose DF is a born explorer with a passion for accessible and inclusive science and education. A first generation scientist born and raised in the Dominican Republic, currently pursuing studies in Biophysics. After opening up about her life for a feature in "Stories in Science" Rose's social media presence has increased since, and she now uses it to raise awareness in the topics of inclusivity and diversity in STEM as she constantly challenges some of the stereotypes associated with being an "non-traditional" academic and a Latina in the US.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on September 21, 2018, in an episode titled "Science Saved My Life: Stories about life-saving passion." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2018/8/24/science-saved-my-life-stories-about-life-saving-passion

Rose DF: Dreaming of Science

Explorer George Kourounis finds himself growing increasingly anxious as he prepares to enter a fiery sinkhole known as the “Doorway to Hell.”

George Kourounis is a renowned global explorer and storm chaser who specializes in documenting extreme forces of nature including: tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, deserts, caves, avalanches and more. He is an Explorer In Residence for The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, the Chairman of the Explorers Club Canadian Chapter, and has received several awards and medals for his efforts. He frequently finds himself driving into the eye of fierce storms, or descending ropes into actively erupting volcanic craters, often while hosting television programs including “Angry Planet” and others.  He has given four TEDx talks, and has addressed the United Nations Environmental Emergencies Forum. George’s expeditions have taken him to 65 countries on all seven continents to such far-flung places as: Madagascar, Turkmenistan, Vanuatu, Greenland, North Korea, Myanmar, and Antarctica.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on October 26, 2018, in an episode titled "Fear: Stories of daring adventures." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2018/8/24/fear-stories-of-daring-adventures

George Kourounis: The Doorway to Hell

Growing up tall and suffering from psoriasis, Emma Yarbrough struggles with feeling conspicuous — but then she discovers there’s more to her unusual height than she’d thought.

Emma Yarbrough is a theater artist, writer, and story enthusiast based in Atlanta, GA. A graduate of Emory University, she just couldn't let go of that liberal arts lifestyle and now serves as the communications specialist for the Arts at Emory. When she's not performing or cooking up a new piece of theater, you can find her wandering the tree-lined streets of Atlanta. It shouldn't be hard to spot her. She's quite tall. @emmayarbs

This story originally aired on The Story Collider's podcast on November 2, 2018, in an episode titled "Bodies: Stories about the skin we're in." Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2018/9/2/bodies-stories-about-the-skin-were-in

Emma Yarbrough: Tall for a Reason

When The Colbert Report calls about her research, marine biologist Skylar Bayer finds an unexpected collaborator and friend in the fisherman helping her get scallops.

Skylar Bayer is a marine biologist, a storyteller, and a science communicator. She completed her Ph.D. in the secret sex lives of scallops, a subject that landed her on The Colbert Report in 2013. Since then she has dabbled in a diversity of science communication activities, all of which you can read about on her website. She's an alum of the D.C.-based Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program. Currently, she is a National Academy of Sciences NRC post-doctoral Research Associate at the NOAA Milford Laboratory and is the Secretary of the Ecological Society of America's Communication & Engagement Section. Her heart, husband, house, two dogs and a grumpy cat all reside in Maine. She also enjoys Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the gentle art. Follow her on Twitter @drsrbayer. 

This story originally aired on The Story Collider’s podcast on April 12, 2019, in an episode titled “Limelight: Stories about being the voice of science”. Find the transcript and other information here: 
https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2019/4/8/limelight-stories-about-being-the-voice-of-science

Skylar Bayer: My Friend Andy

A parent-teacher conference leads Eugenia Duodu to question whether she can be a scientist.

Eugenia Duodu is the Toronto-based CEO of Visions of Science, which inspires kids from low-income and marginalized communities to pursue careers in STEM. As a youth born and raised in a low-income community, she strives to maintain a strong connection to her local and global community by being a mentor and advocate. Her goal is to help make a long-lasting positive impact in communities through STEM engagement and in-turn allow youth to unlock their potential. Eugenia holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Toronto. 


This story originally aired on The Story Collider’s podcast on May 3, 2019, in an episode titled “Confidence: Stories about finding your voice”. Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2019/4/29/confidence-stories-about-finding-your-voice

Eugenia Duodu: My First Bad Parent-Teacher Interview

Mary Garcia-Cazarin discovers she's pregnant just as she is offered a prestigious science policy fellowship, and worries about she can't cope with both.

Mary Garcia-Cazarin, Ph.D., M.S. is a Scientific Advisor for the Tobacco Regulatory Science Program (TRSP) in the Office of Disease Prevention at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where she helps to stimulate and coordinate collaborative tobacco regulatory science research; and implementation of initiatives related to disease prevention, tobacco and public health. Previously, Dr. Garcia-Cazarin was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS). She is an alumna of the Linton-Poodry SACNAS Leadership Institute (2011) and the Advanced Leadership Institute (2017). Dr. Garcia-Cazarin is a former SACNAS Board Member. She received her Bachelor of Science in pharmaceutical chemistry from Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico, her Master of Science in biology from James Madison University, in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and her Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Kentucky in Lexington. She is a passionate about training and mentoring and an advocate of outreach programs to increase participation of underrepresented groups in science-related fields. 

This story originally aired on The Story Collider’s podcast on May 10, 2019, in an episode titled “Moms of Science: Stories about being mothers and scientists”. Find the transcript and other information here: https://storycollider.org/stories/2019/5/6/moms-of-science-stories-about-being-mothers-and-scientists

Mary Garcia-Cazarin: A Woman Can Do Anything

Engineering PhD student Jeannie Purchase sets out to help a couple in rural South Carolina who have endured dirty tap water for a decade.

Jeannie M. Purchase is a PhD student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. Jeannie received her bachelor’s degree from Clemson University in Biosystems Engineering and her master's from Virginia Tech in Construction Engineering and Management. Her research focuses on examining the efficacy of point-of-use and point-of-entry filters when exposed extreme corrosion conditions and investigating the barriers hindering the widespread adoption of these technologies in at-risk communities. Her interdisciplinary work is at the intersection of citizen science, water quality, remediation, and public health. Through her research, Jeannie collaborates with residents to pursue solutions community-based problems. Jeannie switched between engineering disciplines in pursuit of finding ways to better serve communities through effective communication and collaboration when designing solutions to relevant everyday problems. She believes that it is important for engineers to communicate and engage with the community to understand their needs. Jeannie loves to teach, mentor and inspire students, and work with communities like Denmark, SC.

Jeannie Purchase: A Hot Shower

Catherine Macdonald always wanted to study sharks, but her first time tagging them in the field doesn't go as planned.

Dr. Catherine Macdonald is co-founder and Director of Field School (www.getintothefield.com), a marine science training and education company dedicated to constantly improving field research practices while teaching students to perform hands-on research with sharks. She is also a part-time Lecturer in Marine Conservation Biology at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
Company website: www.getintothefield.com
Personal website: www.drcatherinemacdonald.com

This story originally aired on The Story Collider’s podcast on January 24th, 2020 in an episode titled “Code of Ethics: Stories about doing the right thing”. Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2020/1/21/code-of-ethics-stories-about-doing-the-right-thing

Catherine Macdonald: Dragging

Geneticist C. Brandon Ogbunu contemplates the role race has played in his academic career after he is confronted by the police.

C. Brandon Ogbunu is an Assistant Professor at Brown University. His research focuses on evolutionary genetics and the ecology of disease. A New York City native, Brandon enjoys film, hip-hop, jazz and science fiction. He's an ex-very mediocre light heavy weight boxer, and slightly less mediocre experimental virologist. He has higher hopes for humanity than he does the New York Knicks. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @big_data_kane.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider’s podcast on December 6th, 2019 in an episode titled “Justice: Stories about righteous determination”. Find the transcript and other information here: https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2019/12/3/justice-stories-about-righteous-determination

C. Brandon Ogbunu: The Liberation of RNA

Whether we wear a lab coat or haven't seen a test tube since grade school, science is shaping all of our lives. And that means we all have science stories to tell. Every year, we host dozens of live shows all over the country, featuring all kinds of storytellers - researchers, doctors, and engineers of course, but also patients, poets, comedians, cops, and more. Some of our stories are heartbreaking, others are hilarious, but they're all true and all very personal. Welcome to The Story Collider!

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