Ashley Rasys DVM PhD

Dr. Ashley Rasys is a veterinarian and clinical scientist who studies reptiles to learn about human eye diseases and help to advance vision research.  She graduated from the University of Georgia with her doctorate degree from College of Veterinary Medicine and received her PhD from the department of Cellular Biology in 2022. Her research focused… Learn more

Rebecca Johnson

Dr. Rebecca Johnson is the Chief Scientist and Associate Director for Science at the Smithsonian National  Museum of Natural History. She is responsible for overall science leadership and administration of the museum’s research and collections activities. Rebecca oversees seven scientific departments comprising over 300 staff;  the Laboratory of Analytical Biology; the Collections Program (care, registration,… Learn more

Capt Ariel Knepper

Capt Ariel Knepper is currently a Flight Commander in the 356th Fighter Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. She is a combat-ready F-35A pilot, ready to deploy anywhere in the world. She executes missions in the daytime and at night. She earned her biology degree from San Diego State University before joining the… Learn more

MSgt Desiree Beltran

MSgt Desiree Beltran is an Aerospace Physiology Flight Chief. She is responsible for Air Combat Command’s busiest training hub with over 176 courses for 833 aircrew and parachuters. Her work supports the 1st Fighter Wing’s mission. She is originally from Mangilao, Guam, and began her U.S. Air Force career in November 2003. After completion of… Learn more

Allison Cusick

Allison Cusick is a Biologist,  an Oceanographer, and an Adventurer. She specializes in understanding the Antarctic ecosystem starting at the first layer of life, with the phytoplankton. She is currently working at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, in the USA. Her first expedition to Antarctica occurred in 2013 where she lived… Learn more

Dr. Beata Mierzwa

Dr. Beata Mierzwa studies how human cells divide and shares the beauty of science through art and fashion. Her postdoctoral research aims to advance the world’s understanding of cell division and improve cancer therapy. Beyond her academic career, Beata creates science-themed drawings and clothes. Her hand-drawn illustrations use metaphor to portray scientific concepts in intuitive… Learn more

Liat Shochat

Liat Shochat serves as the Senior Director of Research & Development (R&D) at West Pharmaceutical Services. She oversees an international, multidisciplinary team of +30 responsible for the development, lifecycle management, and customer programs for the SmartDose® 10 platform, a West’s wearable delivery system for home use, serving the top pharma companies. Liat has over 17… Learn more

Lauren Romeiro

Lauren is a marine scientist and photographer/cinematographer focusing on the conservation of sharks in the Northwest Atlantic. She graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a B.S. in Marine Biology in 2016 and an M.O. in Oceanography in 2017. She started working for 333 Productions in 2017 as a cinematographer and has been featured… Learn more

Matt Buffington

Dr. Matt Buffington is a research entomologist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service.  He works, from his office at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, on the taxonomy and evolution of parasitoid wasps.  He is currently trying to elucidate the species limits of wasps used in the biological control of pest flies, as well… Learn more

Phil Torres

Phil has been bitten by an anaconda, tackled a tiger shark, and gotten lost in a forest full of quicksand… all in the name of science. He lived in the Amazon Rainforest for two years and has done research and covered science stories in Mongolia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Cambodia, Sweden, Brazil, the Arctic, the bottom… Learn more