Artful Scientista

She loves both art and engineering.  She has an uncanny "GPS" voice.  She studied mechanical engineering at University of Tennessee at Martin.  She is on the path to becoming licensed as a Professional Engineer (PE).  She loves to do it all and tries to "fail fearlessly".Meet my talented guest, Holly Bopp, from Memphis, Tennessee.Years ago, Holly had a significant conversation with a family member that helped steer her to the career course that she is on now.  Previously working with electrical systems as a mapping coordinator and engineer for various towns and cities in Tennessee, she now has fun as a mechanical engineer designing conveyor systems and likes the challenging but rewarding collaboration part of her job.In her not-so-spare time, Holly loves to design costumes for cosplay and is training her voice for commercial work. Oh yeah, and she is acting too.  From engineering to voice over to cosplay to drawing, she really does do it all!  Holly's Instagram:@hunt3rch1ckSome  definitions:FE exam - the Fundamentals of Engineering exam.  It is the first step in becoming a licensed Professional Engineer (PE).ABET accredited college - the organization that accredits college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.Order of the Engineer - an association in the United States for graduate and professional engineers that emphasizes pride and responsibility in the engineering profession.cosplay - ("costume play") performance art where cosplayers wear costumes representing specific characters.leetspeak - from gamer culture where letters are replaced with similar looking numbers or symbols.Master Chief - the main character in the video game, Halo.Akali - the rogue assassin character in the video game, League of Legends.Find my science-related art here:http://www.betsyjudge.comAnd various other things here:https://www.instagram.com/basjudge/https://www.instagram.com/artfulscientista/

- said she......She is Valerie Bentivegna, a science and medical writer who studied bioengineering, bio nanotechnology and life sciences related to physics and cancer.  While working as a research scientist, she got to engineer tissue, gut tissue!  Always wanting to keep her options broad, Valerie now works in Seattle, Washington for a company that does design services for biotech, pharmaceutical, and global health companies.But that's not all!  Valerie loves to collaborate.    She organizes comedy open mics, providing a space for other comedians like herself to show their stuff.   She co-wrote an episode of Physics Girl on PBS.  Oh yeah, and she has worked with a friend, also a scientist, creating a book that highlights scientists and innovators in a fun and artistic way.   And as one who loves to take complicated words and make them understandable, it makes sense that she uses this skill to help educate about science, and make you laugh at the same time. Multi-talented?  Understatement!Valerie's website:https://valeriebenti.comOn Instagram and Twitter:@valerie_benti          ... benti, like venti, the coffee...."taller than tall".....   :)a little bit of Valerie's writing:https://www.valeriebenti.com/science/the-iridescent-truth-behind-iridescence-and-hummingbirdsInking Science - this art-meets-science book can be found at:https://inkingscience.comwhere you  can find more about Organ-On-a-Chip technology (for growing mini organs!) and Nortis, where Valerie worked for a time:https://nortisbio.comMarie Curie Alumni Association:https://www.mariecuriealumni.eu/Esperluette - the free publication where, as they say it on their site,  "We try our best to allow you to experience the fascinating world of research through our artistically scientific goggles.":https://www.esperluette-research-outreach.com/oh those definitions.....mandrel (oh gawd, I hope I spelled it right! :0 ) -  a gently tapered tubescience slam - a popular form of science communication where scientists present their research in a given amount of time (like 10 minutes) to a non-expert audiencewhite paper- an in-depth report on a specific topic well plate - a rectangular plate containing small wells, or cavities Find my science-related art here:http://www.betsyjudge.comAnd various other things here:https://www.instagram.com/basjudge/https://www.instagram.com/artfulscientista/

Amy Zwierzchowski-Zarate, a neuroscientist from Dallas, Texas, shows us how being a scientist and being a mom don't have to be mutually exclusive.  For this STEMinist, being a statistic can have a positive side to it.And you might be familiar with the term Amyloid Beta, that brain protein that may signal that a person has Alzheimer's disease. In Amy's lab at University of Texas Southwestern (UT Southwestern), she has pioneered the idea that another brain protein, Tau, may be responsible for neurodegenerative diseases as well.No stranger to being the first to do things in various areas of her life,  Amy positively paves the way for herself and others, in and out of her lab.  I thoroughly enjoyed my chat with this inspiring and fun Scientista; check it out!Some definitions   (...you know I like those definitions!):Tau - a protein that keeps things structured inside of cellsAmyloid Beta - a protein that mis-folds (incorrectly folds), and floats outside of cellsPrion - a type of infectious protein that can trigger normal proteins in the brain to fold abnormally         (think:   … Mad Cow Disease)Ligand - an ion or molecule that donates electrons to form a bondAntibody - a protein that binds to foreign bodies, like bacteria and viruses, in order to destroy them.Amy's Instagram: @modernsciencemomhttps://www.instagram.com/modernsciencemom/Amy's website:modernsciencemom.com~ Here, among other things, you can see a photo of Amy in outreach action with a (plastic) brain and budding young scientists.~ A reference article from one of Amy's blog posts:https://news.microsoft.com/features/why-do-girls-lose-interest-in-stem-new-research-has-some-answers-and-what-we-can-do-about-it/STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, MathAmy on Facebook:  @modernsciencemom Find my science-related art here: http://www.betsyjudge.com And various other things here: https://www.instagram.com/basjudge/ https://www.instagram.com/artfulscientista/

As in art, the creative process in science is a big component.  Often undervalued in the scientific world, you need to have a lot of imagination working in science! My guest, Valentina Ferro, a biophysicist who lives outside of Seattle, Washington, grew up being artistic.  With supportive parents who fostered a feeling in their children that they could grow up to be whatever they wanted, she was fascinated by science but thought she might go more in an artistic direction.  One day while looking at an elite college in Italy which offered both a humanities and a science pathway to graduate, Valentina, seemingly by accident, clicked on the link for a science class and thought "These are really fascinating subjects!" and began her "love affair with light and light-matter interaction". What does a Space Pirate do in her spare time?  Let's find out the other amazing things Valentina does and how her outlet for balance in her life has taken a very cool artistic turn too. Valentina's website:newoldscience.comAmazing drawings on her Instagram:@inkingsciencehttps://www.instagram.com/inkingscience/and the Instagram link to  @sebastianomerlinohttps://www.instagram.com/sebastianomerlino/LEARN - Learn Everyday A Remarkable NotionSee the fun and funny Valentina explain her work on a Dundee, Scotland comedy club stage in this blog post on her website, newoldscience.com: https://newoldscience.com/2017/02/27/the-author-unveiled/For more on space sails, and astrophysics, cosmology, and particle physics:https://stephenhawkingfoundation.org/An article on optical tweezers:https://physicsworld.com/a/optical-tweezers-where-physics-meets-biology/Find my science-related art here:http://www.betsyjudge.comAnd various other things here:https://www.instagram.com/basjudge/https://www.instagram.com/artfulscientista/

Nadja Cereghetti is an epidemiologist and infection biologist based in Basel, Switzerland.Her disease modeling research of malaria and other tropical diseases, done at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute,  is used much in the same way as in systems for researching the COVID-19 virus and all of its variants. The important information gathered informs public health decision making.  Her career background has been varied and this has helped her to become a great connector and communicator within her science-related job.Nadia not only is a malaria researcher but she is also a KonMari consultant, helping others use the Marie Kondo philosophy of decluttering and tidying up spaces.  And Nadia hosts a podcast about the gifted brain called Unleash Monday. Join me in listening to my lovely guest Nadia, whose story has taken many twists and turns and which has landed her exactly where she is supposed to be.Nadja's podcast:https://www.unleashmonday.com/Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute:  https://www.swisstph.ch/en/The Marie Kondo Method:  https://www.konmari.comOn Hulu:  https://www.hulu.com  -  The New York Times Presents - Season 1,  Episode 6:  "Framing Britney Spears" Find my science-related art here:https://www.betsyjudge.comAnd various other things here:https://www.instagram.com/basjudge/https://www.instagram.com/artfulscientista/

For years, my guest Pat Hunt, a geneticist out of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, has been researching the role of age on women's ability to produce genetically normal eggs.In this episode Pat explains what aneuploidy is (okay, I'll tell you too!  It is a condition where there is an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell's nucleus (where DNA is located)), which is related to her career-long research into why it can be harder for older women to conceive.And, she tells us how an accident in her research lab lead her and her team to the conclusion that bisphenol A (an endocrine-disrupting chemical) increases the frequency of aneuploid eggs in mice.This spawned (intentional pun) a new interest for her about the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on the reproduction of mammals, sending Pat on a whole new career trajectory. Okay, what is bisphenol A? You might have heard the initials BPA used, or seen the term “BPA - free” on packaging.  BPA is a synthetic chemical used in forming polycarbonate plastic (which is hard and sometimes shatterproof) and epoxy resin (found in the linings of canned goods). It mimics the hormone estrogen and disrupts the endocrine system which controls brain development, the reproductive system, metabolism, hormones, and glands, to name a few.  It has been used in the plastics of water bottles, food storage containers, medical devices, and eyeglass lenses.Even though it has been over twenty years since that fateful lab accident, the topic of BPA use is still debated in some circles. But Pat's research has far-reaching impact, including legislation prohibiting the use of BPA in children's drinking cups and baby bottles.Here's a link to a short Q & A with Pat:https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(12)00938-4.pdfFind my science-related art here:http://www.betsyjudge.comAnd various other things here:https://www.instagram.com/basjudge/https://www.instagram.com/artfulscientista/

Hey folks, glad you could make it!  This first episode of Artful Scientista gives you a little bit about why I am making this podcast and a little bit about me.  Thanks for being here!

Women scientists have amazing stories to tell.  Join us on Artful Scientista to hear how these insightful, artful, and powerful change-makers are making our world a better place.