Author: marinscienceseminar

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How Do Humans Influence Evolution? Studying the Impacts of Human-made Dams on Endangered Trout Anatomy

with Jackie Galvez, Ph.D. candidate, UC Berkeley

WHEN?: Wednesday, March 12th, 2025 – TLHS Innovation Hub – 7:30 – 8:30pm

The organism I study (steelhead trout) and the main subject of my talk! (Photo credit: John McMillan)

Description: Humans impact ecosystems in a variety of ways, with urbanization, climate change, and infrastructure projects posing unique challenges organisms must overcome. In freshwater river systems, human-made dams pose major risks to endangered fish species, disrupting habitats in many ways. Jackie Galvez’s research investigates the influence of damming on one important aspect of fish biology: anatomy. By using museum collections to study fish body shape and skeletal anatomy, we can better understand how fish adapt to human influences, better informing conservation efforts for California native species. Bring your questions and your curiosity!

Jackie Galvez

Bio: Jackie Galvez is an ichthyologist (fish biologist) studying the impacts of artificial dam barriers upon body shape and skull anatomy in endangered steelhead trout. More broadly, Jackie is interested in anthropogenic influences upon trophic ecology (diet) and morphology (anatomy) of fish living in human-impacted environments. She interned for the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, where she conducted her senior thesis research and learned collection management, and also conducted an independent research project on cichlid evolutionary relationships as a National Science Foundation intern at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Jackie received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Loyola Marymount University, where she researched invasive plant presence at a Los Angeles urban park (Ascot Hills), the impacts of warming temperatures on California black walnut seeds, and conducted an anatomical comparison of rodent skulls in polluted versus non-polluted locations in Southern California. Currently she is working on her Ph.D. in Dr. Jack Tseng’s FAVE lab at UC Berkeley’s department of Integrative Biology and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ).

Links:

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Healthcare Simulation Lab! Empowering future medical providers through healthcare simulation

with Karrina Mock CRNA and Derrick Duarte CRNA of the VA Medical Center San Francisco

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025 ~ 7:30 – 8:30 pm at Terra Linda High School’s Innovation Hub

Description: The ever-popular VAMC SF Healthcare Simulation Lab returns! After a short presentation on the use of simulator technology, basic life support, and team dynamics in healthcare simulation, we will dive right into a simulated scenario to work as a team and save a life!

Bios: Karrina is a Simulation Instructor and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. She received her BSN at the University of California, Irvine followed by an MSN at Samuel Merritt University. She has worked at multiple hospitals, including Stanford Hospital, UC Irvine Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente facilities and the San Francisco VA Health Care Services. Simulation in healthcare has allowed her to combine her passion of anesthesia, innovation and education into an advanced learning environment for the new generation of learners.

Derrick is a Nurse Anesthetist at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. He grew up in San Diego where he obtained a BS in Biochemistry & Cell Biology form UC San Diego. He worked in cancer research and biotech before obtaining his Masters in Nursing degree from University of San Diego. He obtained his MSN and anesthesia degree at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland and has been working as a CRNA in the operating room and simulation lab at the San Francisco VAMC and serving as Advanced Pharmacology instructor at USD since 2018. On his off time, Derrick enjoys cooking, providing anesthesia on medical mission trips, hiking, backpacking, running trails, and rock climbing.

(Previous presentation: Wednesday, March 20th, 2024)

Links:

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Myths of Astronomy with Thomas Targett PhD

February 5th, 2025; 7:30 – 8:30 pm at Terra Linda HS, Innovation Hub

Description: Much of what we think we know about space often comes from film and television, but Hollywood’s job is more often to entertain than to educate. In this presentation, Prof. Thomas Targett of Sonoma State university will sort fact from fiction, taking a tour through the worlds of Star Trek, Star Wars, and much more.

Bio: Thomas Targett obtained his undergraduate and masters degrees from Cardiff University, with a research focus on 21-cm emission from neutral hydrogen. He obtained his PhD from the University of Edinburgh in the fields of sub-millimeter galaxy evolution and the coupled growth of galaxies and black holes. In 2007 Dr. Targett began a research postdoc at Caltech, followed by similar appointments at the University of Birmingham (UK), the University of British Columbia, and the University of Edinburgh.

Thomas Targett, Ph.D.
Thomas Targett, Ph.D.

As a member of several large international astronomical collaborations, Dr. Targett has
contributed to the data reduction, processing, and scientific analysis of astronomical imaging in the field of “Big Data”. These surveys include the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS), the Hawk-I UDS and GOODS Survey (HUGS), and the Hubble Ultra Deep Field 2012 (UDF12). His research now focuses on galaxy evolution, sub-millimeter galaxies, and the high-redshift universe.

Links:

Dr. Targett at Sonoma State University

(Previous talks September 21, 2016 & April 3rd, 2019)

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Auroras and Solar Storms

with Laura Peticolas, Ph.D. of Sonoma State University

WHEN?: Wednesday, January 29th, 2025 – TLHS Innovation Hub – 7:30 – 8:30pm

Aurora borealis over Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska (Wikimedia)

Description: What are those amazing auroras we’ve been seeing around here in recent years? Laura Peticolas earned her B.A. in mathematics and physics at the University of Oregon Honors College and her Ph.D. in physics studying the aurora at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. She then spent 3 years as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California’s Space Sciences Laboratory continuing her study of Earth’s aurora using NASA’s Fast Auroral SnapshoT satellite data and computational models. During this time, she expanded her research to include developing computer models of the Martian aurora. She continued these computational research efforts while transitioning to the profession of education and outreach in 2008. In this presentation she will share her knowledge of auroras and solar storms. Bring your questions and your curiosity!

Bio:Dr. Laura Peticolas is Associate Director of EdEon STEM Learning at Sonoma State University, where she works to engage middle and high-school science teachers, high school students and college students in earth and astronomy participatory experiences using coding, hardware, and experimental design. In 2000, she received her PhD at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks in physics, studying the northern lights. At the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), she continued her scientific research pursuits, while also engaging in education and outreach efforts. In 2010, she became a Senior Fellow at the Space Sciences Laboratory at UC Berkeley, and Director of Multiverse, the Space Sciences Laboratory’s education group. This move completed her transition from science research to science education as a focus. In 2017, she moved to Sonoma State University in order to continue her work with high school science teachers and undergraduate students historically underserved in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

Links:

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Ask an Epidemiologist! Everything you wanted to know about the flu (and vaccines) but were afraid to ask

with Michaela George Ph.D. M.P.H. & Brett Bayles Ph.D. of Dominican University, San Rafael

WHEN?: Wednesday, February 12th, 2025 – TLHS Innovation Hub – 7:30 – 8:30pm

Description: Ever wondered how the flu spreads and how scientists predict what it’s going to do? How about the flu vaccine? Join us to learn all about that and more from two local public health researchers!

Bios: Dr. Michaela George grew up in Marin and has always felt a strong connection to her community. After several trips to the east coast for her education (Middlebury College in Vermont and Boston University in Massachusetts), she settled in the Bay Area to pursue her passion for epidemiology and public health. Dr. George joined the Global Public Health program at Dominican University in 2019. She earned her Masters of Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in Epidemiology from Boston University School of Public Health, and her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley. In the past, Michaela has worked on research projects at UC Berkeley, UCSF, and Boston Medical Center in the Pediatrics Department. She also has a long history of incorporating students into her research, both in the classroom and the community. Currently, she is working on several research projects with Marin County Health & Human Services designed to predict opioid overdoses and understand cadmium exposure and breast cancer. She has also established relationships with partners like Center for Domestic Peace, the Ritter Center, the Rite of Passage Research Collaboration, and Play Marin, using her expertise to evaluate existing programs, design research studies to answer grant-funded questions, and develop sustainable strategies to enact change.

Brett Bayles’s research focuses on planetary health and on better understanding the human health impacts of global environmental change. He utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to address these themes, leveraging spatial statistics and qualitative and quantitative epidemiological methods. Recent research collaborations include vector-borne disease epidemiology in Costa Rica, tick-borne disease emergence in the Midwest, malaria in Uganda, biological invasions in California, and ecosystem services in Kenya. He teaches courses in epidemiology, applied biostatistics, global environmental health, and planetary health perspectives. Brett earned his MPH with a focus on Biosecurity, and his PhD in Public Health Studies at Saint Louis University.

Links:

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Exploring BioAstronautics: A Path to the Stars!

with Aerospace Engineer and Terra Linda High School alum Ben Foehr

Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 7:30-8:30pm on Zoom (fill out contact form with your email and mention this event in the comments section) or ask your teacher for the link)

A Terra Linda High School alum working in STEM presents about his career path. With Ben Foehr (TLHS 2018)

Right now, we’re at the dawn of a new space age. As humanity prepares to return to the moon and beyond, one might ask: how can I be a part of this? Join Ben Foehr, BS in Aerospace Engineering and former graduate student studying Human Spaceflight at Colorado University at Boulder, for a look into the twists and turns this journey has in store, and, more importantly, how we can reach the stars!

Ben Foehr, Aerospace Engineer

Ben Foehr grew up in San Rafael, graduating TL in 2018. As a student he was a sprinter on the track team, a lawyer for TL’s mock trial team, and an intern for the Marin Science Seminar. In 2022 he graduated CU Boulder with a bachelors in Aerospace Engineering, and is currently studying there for his masters in BioAstronautics. He has worked on Cubesats, Sounding Rockets, and proprioceptive function research for astronauts. He currently lives in Broomfield, Colorado with his partner and two cats.

Links:

LASP: https://lasp.colorado.edu/home/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-foehr-ba32a6208/

Honeybee Robotics: https://www.honeybeerobotics.com

Previous MSS talk (2/15/23): https://marinscienceseminar.com/environmental-science-aerospace-double-feature/#ben_foehr

Wednesday, March 19, 2023, 7:30-8:30pm on Zoom (fill out contact form or ask your teacher for the link)

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Finding and Fighting Cells that can Kill us: One Patient’s Story

with Bradley Stohr MD PhD of UCSF

WHEN?: Wednesday, November 20th, 2024 – TLHS Innovation Hub – 7:30 – 8:30pm

Description: We humans are extraordinarily complex organisms, each of us composed of roughly 30 trillion cells. Our health depends on all of those cells working together in harmony, and just one cell going rogue can potentially spell disaster. In this session, Bradley Stohr of UCSF will share one patient’s story of battling a deadly disease. We’ll discuss how the cells that cause disease can be identified, how doctors can fight back against those cells, and why our best efforts are unfortunately not always enough.

Bradley Stohr MD PhD

Bio: Bradley Stohr MD PhD is Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Pathology at University of California, San Francisco. He received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Swarthmore College in 1995 and completed the Medical Scientist Training Program at Duke University in 2003. He has been in the Department of Pathology at UCSF ever since, first as a medical resident and fellow and then as a faculty member. He ran a basic science laboratory for many years but now primarily focuses his efforts on clinical practice (with expertise in genitourinary pathology) and as one of the primary administrative leads for his department.

Links:

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What We Were Missing: How Studying the Whole Skeleton Changes our Understanding of Carnivore Evolution and Ecology

with Emily Bogner, Ph.D. candidate UC Berkeley

WHEN?: Wednesday, November 13th, 2024 – TLHS Innovation Hub – 7:30 – 8:30pm

A carnivore on the hoof

Description: In paleontology, the skull, arms, and legs can provide valuable insights into the diversity of diets and movements in extinct animals. As animals evolve, all parts of their skeleton evolve simultaneously as a coordinated whole, however, the research paleontologists conduct often examines these parts of the skeleton independently. Emily Bogner’s research unveils the intricate interplay of the integrated evolution between the skull, arms, and legs. This broadens our understanding of how animals evolved to be best suited for their environments.

Bio: Emily is a fourth year PhD candidate at UC Berkeley and affiliate of the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ). She is broadly interested in evolutionary biomechanics and functional morphology of vertebrates. Her dissertation focuses on how the carnivoran skeleton has evolved for prey acquisition and processing. Prior to working in the Functional Anatomy and Vertebrate Evolution (FAVE) Laboratory at Cal, she received her B.S in Geology and Biology from Kutztown University, and her M.S. in Geosciences with a concentration in Paleontology from East Tennessee State University.

Emily Bogner

Links:

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Marine Wildlife off our Coasts: Studying Sea birds, Marine Mammals and More

with Meredith Elliott M.S. of Point Blue Conservation Science

WHEN?: Wednesday, October 30th, 2024 – TLHS Innovation Hub – 7:30 – 8:30pm

Point Blue Conservation Science

Description: Our oceans are facing many threats, including warming temperatures, ocean acidification, and overfishing (to name a few). At Point Blue Conservation Science, we have over 50 years of experience studying marine wildlife and what they can tell us about the health of our ocean. We work with federal agencies (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to monitor seabirds and marine mammals on the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge (located ~30 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge) and to conduct at-sea surveys in the National Marine Sanctuaries off our coast. Come hear how we are finding ways to protect seabirds from hot weather, using diet data from seabirds and sea lions to help make our fisheries more sustainable, what we are learning about ocean acidification, and what we are doing to save whales from ship strikes.

Bio: Meredith earned a B.S. in Zoology from the University of California, Davis and an M.S. in Marine Biology from San Francisco State University, the latter investigating the diet of the California Least Tern colony at Alameda Point (formerly the Naval Air Station, Alameda). After finishing undergraduate work she was advised to apply for a seabird research assistant position on the Farallon Islands, and she has been hooked on seabirds ever since! She was then hired to help monitor Double-crested Cormorant populations on the Richmond-San Rafael and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges. Other Point Blue projects she has worked on include monitoring breeding success and diet of the Alameda Point Least Tern colony and documenting seabird mortality during oil spills as part of the Processing Strike Team within the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.

As a Principal Scientist in Point Blue’s California Current Group, Meredith investigates the diet of marine predators to understand changing forage species communities in coastal California. She is a Program Leader with ACCESS (www.accessoceans.org), a partnership among Point Blue, our two national marine sanctuaries (Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank), and several other entities to conduct ocean research in our region. In addition to overseeing and synthesizing the many datasets related to the ACCESS partnership, Meredith examines the effects of varying oceanographic conditions on various zooplankton taxa in our marine environment. She also supervises the Point Blue marine laboratory, where marine predator diet and zooplankton studies happen with the help of awesome lab research assistants and volunteers!

Links:

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We Love Our Wetlands ! : The Future of the San Francisco Estuary

SF Estuary

with Julie Gonzalez Ph.D. of SFSU’s SF Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

WHEN?: Wednesday, October 9th, 2024 – TLHS Innovation Hub – 7:30 – 8:30pm

SF Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Description: San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) scientists will talk about their work protecting and restoring the estuary’s vital tidal marsh habitats including China Camp. We’ll explore how these ecosystems help combat sea-level rise and support the diverse wildlife that calls the Bay Area home. Learn about the science and strategies behind our restoration projects and discover how you can play a part in preserving the natural beauty and resilience of our coastal environments.

Bio: Julie serves as the Conservation and Restoration Coordinator for the reserve. Julie has studied and worked in San Francisco Bay since 2014, and brings a wealth of ecological knowledge of the system and the various stakeholders involved in its conservation and restoration. Her research has focused on the impacts of sea-level rise and invasive species in tidal marsh systems, aiming to inform sea-level rise adaptation planning, enhance habitat restoration design, and consider eco-social factors in estuarine monitoring. She is dedicated to leveraging this experience and building collaborations to advance the NERR’s conservation and restoration efforts across the San Francisco Estuary. She actively engages with stakeholders to ensure these efforts inform and align with broader frameworks at the regional, state, and national levels. Julie holds a BSc in Biology from Georgia Tech, a MSc in Marine Science from the Estuary & Ocean Science Center, San Francisco State University, and a PhD in Ecology from the University of California, Davis, where she was a Margaret A. Davidson Fellow working in the NERR’s component site in China Camp State Park.

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