This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know science communicator Laurel Allen, one of the co-organizers of the 500 Queer Scientists campaign! She chats about her path to science communication, the success of 500QS, which is now in its second week and has been featured in outlets like Mother Jones, and what we can all do to maximize their impact. 

Happy Pride Month! This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know Dr. Lauren Esposito, an arachnologist, educator, and co-founder of the campaign 500 Queer Scientists, which launched today! 500QS is a new visibility campaign for LGBTQ+ people and their allies working in STEMM and STEMM-supporting jobs. In this interview, Lauren chats about her work and the need raise awareness around issues facing LGBTQ+ members of the scientific community. You can follow 500QS and amplify their work on Twitter @500QueerSci and Instagram @500QueerScientists!

This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know rock climber and neuroscientist Melise Edwards. In addition to being a Research Associate at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, she uses her Instagram platform (@meliseymo) to share her climbing adventures, while discussing issues of inclusion, sexism, and racism in the climbing community. Here, she chats about how her passions for science and climbing intersect and how both the scientific and climbing communities can do better when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know Jesse Shanahan, a graduate student in astrophysics, an accessibility coordinator, and a science communicator. She created the hashtag #disabledandSTEM and has recently joined the leadership team of 500 Women Scientists to make sure we're honoring our mission to make science inclusive and accessible. We're thrilled to have her on board and excited to share some of her work with you all!

This week on #MeetAScientist get to know biologist and science diplomat Dr. Clarissa Rios Rojas. With over a decade of biomedical research under her belt, Clarissa has shifted gears, focusing her attention on professional development of Latin American students and young professionals, so they can in turn contribute to the social and economic development of their home countries. Clarissa talks more about founding the nonprofit Ekpa’palek and how she plans on using her scientific training to better the world.

This week on Meet a Scientist, we meet Dr. Pragnya Eranki, a Chemical Engineer with expertise in sustainable technologies. She currently works at the Colorado School of Mines as research faculty in civil and environmental engineering, as well as developing a Diversity, Inclusion, and Access Council. Learn about Pragnya's work on sustainability and DI&A issues — and her passion for reading and dancing!

Today on #MeetAScientist,  Dr. Izumi Hinkson dives into her world of proteomics, mentorship, soccer, and cuisine! Izumi grew up in California, and earned her Ph.D. from Stanford in Chemical and Systems Biology. She spent a year in Washington, D.C. as an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, and is currently working to help the National Cancer Institute manage data to help us better understand cancer. Izumi explains the difference between proteomics and genomics, shares an inspiring story of her mentorship in the lab, and tells us how she found her way into an interesting and timely career in proteomics. 

Today on #MeetAScientist, get to know evolutionary ecologist and biogeographer Dr. Patricia Salerno. Patricia grew up in Venezuela, where she discovered her passion for biology and field work. She later moved to the US to do her PhD and postdoctoral research, where she found her way into the world of science communication. In addition to talking about the differences between science in Venezuela and the States, Patricia shares how she found her way to the work she does today and how she continues to (as she says) "machete her way" to carve out a career that suits her best.

This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know Dr. Greetchen Díaz is the Director of the Science Education Program and Community Partnerships of Ciencia Puerto Rico (CienciaPR). With March around the corner, 500 Women Scientists is preparing to launch our pod-wide campaign to host Science Salons for Puerto Rico. So we're thrilled for Greetchen to share the work she has been spearheading at CienciaPR to transform science education in Puerto Rico through problem-based learning that addresses disaster relief and resilience in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know Priya Shukla, an ocean and climate scientist based at UC Davis’ Bodega Marine Laboratory. Priya is also one of the pod coordinators for 500 Women Scientists Bay Area and has gathered a wealth of experience in science communication at an early stage in her career, which you can sample on her Twitter at @priyology.

On this week's #MeetAScientist, get to know Beth Bartel, a geoscientist, communicator, and coordinator for 500 Women Scientists' Boulder pod. Beth talks about how she combined her passion for geoscience with her love of language to become Outreach Specialist at UNAVCO supporting earth science around the globe.

This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know CienciaPR's Director of Communications and Science Outreach, Dr. Mónica Feliú-Mójer. Mónica started her career as a neuroscientist, leaving the bench for an established career in science communication and outreach. She is also Associate Director of Diversity and Communication Training for iBiology. You can find her communicating science and advocating for her fellow Puerto Ricans on Twitter at @moefeliu.

This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know paleontologist and podcast producer Michelle Barboza-Ramirez. We're big fans of her podcast, the Femmes of STEM, where she combines her expertise in science and women's studies to bring us bi-weekly episodes of the women who have propelled science, technology, engineering, and mathematics forward. In this interview, she shares how the podcast came to be, as well as how she found her own way into science. 

This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know Dr. Corina Logan, a research fellow in the Department of Zoology at Cambridge University. She discusses her research into grackles and what they can tell us about human behavior and shares how she has used evidence to craft best practices for her research group. She's thought deeply about how to incentivize a more open and honest scientific practice and create an environment that facilitates equity. We hope you find her answers as enlightening as we did!

This week on #MeetAScientist, get to know Veronica Padula, a PhD candidate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a science education and communication specialist. She shares the importance of her research studying the effect of marine debris on seabirds and why outreach and mentorship is so important for her.