It’s Springtime for Nerds! It’s the time of equality, not only for the Earth as we reach equinox, but also for our species as it’s National Women’s Month. This means we get to nerd out about our favourite women scientists with our favourite women nerds, but it’s also Music Therapy month! So this month we honour our women nerds, and have an amazing music therapy nerd to serenade us through this earthly time of equality, and hopefully get us some serenity having to deal with a lost hour due to Daylight Saving Time (don’t get Michael started on how much he dislikes human organization of time).

This month we’ve also got über nerd Nicole Balsdon from the Beaty Biodiversity Museum to make sure Michael doesn’t talk about Daylight Saving Time, but more imporantly to co-host three amazing talks!

Where: The Fox Cabaret

When: Wednesday March 21st; Doors @ 7

Tickets: Eventbrite

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1. Saving the World with Brewer’s Yeast

Karissa Milbury

We all love yeast: from beer to bread, kombucha to chocolate, and even our beloved coffee, yeast are the secret behind all the best parts of life. But did you know that humans and yeast have also teamed up in the search for better cancer therapies? We’ll take a look at how scientists use brewer’s yeast to delve into the mysteries of how our own cells function, and touch more broadly on how geneticists use model organisms (like yeast) to untangle the genetic code. Forget dogs; yeast are man’s — and woman’s! — best friend.

Bio: Karissa Milbury holds a B.Sc. (Hon) from Dalhousie University in Halifax, and is currently a PhD Candidate in the Genome Science & Technology program at the University of British Columbia. She carries out her research in the Terry Fox Laboratory at the BC Cancer Research Centre under the supervision of Dr. Peter Stirling. She is also a UBC Public Scholar and member of the Vancouver SciCATs.

2. Music Therapy

Carol Wiedemann

Bio: Carol has been a music therapist and musician in Vancouver for over 15 years. In addition to her music therapy position at BC Children’s Hospital, Carol is Coordinator of Music Therapy for Vancouver Native Health Society and Coordinator of the Bandwagon Projects.

 

3. Surviving the Flood

Dr. Simon Donner

Come learn about the Pacific Island country of Kiribati’s struggle against sea-level rise. Though Kiribati faces an existential threat, its islands and its people are more resilient than you might think.

Bio: Simon Donner is an Associate Professor of Climatology at the University of British Columbia and has been studying climate change in the Pacific Islands since 2005. He won third place at the 1985 Metro Toronto Science Fair for his groundbreaking analysis of the aerodynamics of paper airlines.