Science Literacy Week September 20 - 26, 2021

The (Un)Scientific Method: Exploring science through the journeys of young scientists is a newly created podcast by students for students and for everyone!

About the podcast

What is science? What do scientists do all day? Do they all wear lab coats? What if they study polar bears in the arctic? That sounds cold...

We've all had these thoughts. Sometimes the world of scientific research seems like a giant black box. Let's explore current research straight from mouths of the lab rats themselves. 

The (Un)Scientific Method podcast uncovers the stories of scientist and their journeys. Every episode features a scientist to find the who, why, and how of what they do. Because the process of science is carried through the humans who do it.  

Episode 1: Paleo Oceanography. The Arctic and Climate Change: Using Ancient DNA to Solve Modern Problems with Danielle Grant

How do warming temperature impact the Arctic Ocean and the organisms that live there? That's the question that Danielle Grant, molecular biologist and research fellow in Bergen, Norway, is trying to answer. On this episode, we chat with Danielle about her diverse research background, from horse pregnancy to vaccine development, and learn how her research into ancient arctic DNA can be applied to modern day climate science. 

Listen to Episode 1: https://theunscientificmethod.ca/episode-1/

About the team: 

Beth Castle is a PhD student in the School of Biomedical Engineering at UBC. Her research focuses on how the environment around the blood stem cells impacts their ablilty to develop into various blood cell types. When not at the lab bench, she loves to be outside, hiking, surfing, and biking in the summer, snowboarding and snowshoeing in the winter. 

Candice Ip is a MSc student in Physics at UBC. She's currently studying how magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to measure cancer in our bodies. Outside of research, she enjoys hiking, testing new ice cream recipes, and taking regular images on old film cameras. 

Jen Ma did her PhD in Stem Cell Bioengineering and is now pursuing her career in Science Communication and Art. Her goal is to make science more accessible and gentle for everyone. You can check out her work @GentleFactsWeekly on Instagram, where she shares evidence-based info through soothing art. When she's not fact-checking or painting, she is usually exploring nature or food. 

Sofia Ramirez. I'm Sofia and I'm a bookseller and editor in Toronto, ON. I studied English and Sociology in my undergrad and then went on to study book publishing and book editing. As a kid, I always loved science class. As I grew older, I realized that my talents were less with scientific facts and more with language and words. With The (Un)Scientific Method, I get to work with extremely talented, extremely bad-ass scientists to explain their research to you in accessible, easy-to-understand episodes. 

Laura Stankiewicz is a PhD student in the School of Biomedical Engineering at UBC. Her research focuses on understanding how immune cells develop so that we can learn how to make these cells in the lab and use them to fight cancer. Outside of the lab you can catch her seeking sunlight and adventure, usually rowing on the river or hiking in the mountains. 

Shayda Swann is an MD/PhD student in the Department of Experimental Medicine. Her research focuses on healthy aging in women living with HIV. In her spare time, she loves baking, running, and spending time with her cat Fergie.