Monday, November 15, 2021 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (ET)
IACS Staffiacs@stonybrook.edu
STRIDE Brown Bag Lunch: Connect the Clues: Communicating Conservation Genomics with the New York Hall of Science
Speaker: Anna McPherran, PhD Candidate, Ecology & Evolution (PI: Liliana Dávalos)
Have you ever wondered how you can make your research compelling and accessible to a younger audience? Anna McPherran collaborated with the New York Hall of Science to create connecttheclues.com, an educational website aimed at high schoolers with materials based on Anna's research interests. Learn more about the lessons in science communication that she took away from this creative process, as well as the graduate funding opportunity that allowed her to pursue this work.
Anna McPherran is a fifth year PhD candidate working with Liliana Dávalos in the Department of Ecology and Evolution. She is generally interested in conservation biology and the relationships between humanity and the rest of nature. For her dissertation research, she analyzes human impacts on an endangered group of Caribbean mammals called hutias. Her methods range from genomics to stable isotopes to qualitative interviewing, all serving to contribute different types of evidence to a complex conservation problem. Before coming to Stony Brook, she completed her bachelor's degree in Biology at Queens College in 2016 and worked at the New York Hall of Science for several years while serving in different roles.
Connect the Clues: connecttheclues.com
Connect the Clues is an educational website aimed at high schoolers that encourages students to learn about different types of science before imagining how to apply what they've learned to a real life conservation challenge. Unlike how science is traditionally presented in a classroom setting, Connect the Clues pushes students to imagine beyond disciplinary boundaries to synthesize different types of evidence. The website also includes detailed resources about getting involved in science careers, such as tips on grant writing and applying to graduate school.