Thursday, April 25th, 2024
7:30 - 9:30 PM
Doors @ 7

Roughly 70% of our planet’s surface area is covered by water. Our oceans are not just a pretty view to enjoy while we sip piña coladas, but they control global weather patterns and are home to over 200,000 animal species (roughly 90% of all animal life in the world!).

Climate change has had drastic effects on the physical and chemical properties of our oceans that experts predict will have untold consequences on life on Earth without urgent action.

Join us for two talks by scientists that investigate some of the different ways that climate change and emissions are changing our oceans as we know them, and how we can adapt.

Speakers:

David Holland, Ph.D.

Disappearing Ice in a Warming World

David Michael Holland is a Professor of Mathematics and Environmental Science at New York University (NYU). His research focuses on using mathematics to understand mechanisms by which significant sea-level change could arise from the great ice sheets, Greenland, and Antarctica, over the coming decades in an ever-warming world. He applies advanced applied mathematical techniques to data collected in remote environments. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles on polar environmental science. In 2000, he was awarded an NSF Career Award and was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2023, as well as a Fellow of The Explorer's Club.

Ice is quickly disappearing from our planet, raising sea levels. This past year has been the warmest on record. In the deep past, sea levels have risen rapidly. The same may happen going forward, rewriting the global coastline. I'll take you on my career-long journey to forecast sea levels by predicting the fate of the great ice sheets. Beyond adapting to a sea level rise, we also need to consider the potential for geoengineering the planet’s ice cover.

Bärbel Hönisch, Ph.D.

Carbon dioxide, climate, and the oceans

Dr. Hönisch grew up and studied in Germany, since 2007 she is a Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. She is interested in the effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations on climate and the oceans, including past variations of seawater acidity. As she was originally trained as a marine biologist, her research includes culture experiments to calibrate marine calcifying organisms as stand-ins for past environmental conditions. She uses these calibrations to reconstruct seawater acidity and atmospheric CO2 variations through Earth history. Over the past 7 years she has led a consortium of experts to evaluate paleo-CO2 estimates over the past 65 million years.

KGB Red Room
7:30 - 9:30 PM
(doors @ 7)

Although we’ve learned a lot about how the brain works in the last 50 years, much of the inner workings of human intelligence and behavior remain a mystery. Technological advances in the last decade promise to expand our understanding of the brain and how it controls behavior. Join us for talks from two scientists about how new technologies are helping us to understand the brain and to intervene when things go awry.

Speakers:

Carlos Parra, PhD

At (almost) 51, what's new about MRI?

Carlos holds a PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Memphis, developing his dissertation at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He focused on neuroimaging research of pediatric patients treated for catastrophic disease, developing novel statio-temporal models of tumor occurrence in retinoblastoma patients. In New York, he joined Memorial Sloan Kettering and the NYU Langone Ophthalmology Department where he conducted neuroimaging research in glaucoma patients. Carlos also has a background in electrical and electronics engineering. He is a photographer passionate about art history, particularly the Masters of the Dutch Golden Age.

To build the first MRI scanner in 1973, Paul Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield relied on the contributions of five Nobel laureates. Since its inception, MRI has spurred the ingenuity of physicians, physicists, engineers, and medical researchers, continuously delivering sophisticated hardware and revolutionary techniques that offer new insights into the human body's structure, function, and metabolism. How does MRI work, what are its current applications, and what are the hottest new developments?

Helen Mayberg, MD

The Future is Now: Tuning Depression Circuits using Deep Brain Stimulation

Dr. Helen Mayberg is Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, and the Mount Sinai Professor in Neurotherapeutics at the Icahn School of Medicine, where she serves as Founding Director of the Nash Family Center for Advanced Circuit Therapeutics. Known for her imaging studies of brain circuits in depression and her pioneering deep brain stimulation research, Dr. Mayberg, a neurologist, emphasizes a holistic approach to the treatment of depression working to define brain signatures that can match patients to their optimal treatment at all stages of illness. Dr. Mayberg, originally from Los Angeles, did her Neurology training in NY at Columbia. She was recruited back to the City in 2018.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an experimental treatment for intractable depression. Next-gen technologies now provide real-time tracking of neural activity from the implanted device and when combined with advances in neuroimaging, computer vision and machine learning strategies, enable neural and behavioral monitoring during ongoing DBS. Such studies work to link first-person experiences to changes in brain state and naturalistic behaviors, towards a comprehensive understanding of illness and recovery.

Tissues such as our skin and gut define the barrier between ourselves and the outside world. These niches are home to trillions of microbes and recent advances have begun to understand how these populations can impact nutrition, disease, allergy, development and much more. Our cells must be able to distinguish between helpful and harmful microbes to encourage this balance and prevent false-alarm inflammatory reactions.

Join us for talks by two scientists who study how the Immune System keeps tabs on the microbes that inhabit two of our largest barrier tissues – our skin and our gut – and what happens when the delicate balance is disrupted.

Speakers:

Karen Edelblum, PhD 

Intestinal Border Patrol: Keeping the Peace in the Gut

Dr. Karen Edelblum is an Associate Professor in Pathology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and has been studying Crohn’s disease for way longer than she would like to admit. However, she’s okay with this, because as a patient herself, she would like to cure the disease forever and then open a bakery that may sell poop-themed baked goods. Dr. Edelblum has a fancy science pedigree and is an expert in a VERY niche area of gastrointestinal biology, but most importantly, she delights placing herself in situations that involve explaining immunology to a highly engaged audience through interpretative dance.

One layer of cells forms a barrier that separates everything you eat and microbes in your gut from the rest of your body. A specialized type of immune cell functions as intestinal border patrol, constantly surveying the barrier and responding to various microbes, both good and bad. What happens to this immune surveillance when poop hits the proverbial fan in patients with inflammatory bowel disease? Can we step up the patrol and prevent gut barrier devastation? Join us to find out!

Nicholas Bessman, PhD

Who gets a place at the table? Nutrient competition and cooperation in the gut

Nick Bessman is an Assistant Professor and Chancellor Scholar at Rutgers University. After growing up in Iowa, he found his way to the East Coast in his pursuit of new ideas and cool data. He started his career studying the structures of human proteins that cause cancer, but 10 years ago he realized that the mysterious bacteria living in our gut are way more interesting than human cells. And he's been studying them ever since! The Bessman lab has recently focused on how dietary nutrients are shared between gut bacteria and their human hosts, and how this relationship impacts human health.

In recent years we have just begun to appreciate the importance of intestinal bacteria in human health. Every aspect of our health is impacted by the identity of these bacteria and the molecules they produce. So how do we keep these bacteria happy and healthy? Our research has focused on how dietary nutrients, which are critical for both human and bacterial health, are shared or hoarded in the gut, and how this impacts human health and disease.

To help us kick off our 10th anniversary festival, we’re bringing our most admired science communication friends together at Caveat to throw our second ever SciComm Block Party! We'll have tables with demonstrations, interactive activities, and even some exotic creatures to meet. We invite you to celebrate with us and kick back with fellow NYC science advocates and unashamed nerds whose sense of wonder is alive and kicking. Cheers!

Activities will include:

-Touch a real (human or animal) brain

-Play synapse pong

-Put your city under the microscope

-Control a friend’s muscle movements

-Meet some charismatic arthropods

-Explore how your senses work

-Celebrate the Chandra telescope’s birthday

-Test your motor learning with mirror drawing…and maybe see if a beer makes it any harder!

…And more!

Participating organizations:

-BraiNY

-Mentoring in Neuroscience Discovery at Sinai (MiNDS)

-Astro on Tap

-BioBus

-NY Entomological Society

-CUNY Advanced Science Research Center/Graduate Center

-March for Science

-Neuroscience Outreach Group @ NYU

…And more!

Despite being surrounded by one of the largest urban areas in the world, Central Park is one of the most famous spots for birdwatching, with over 200 species that live in or migrate through each year. Located along the Atlantic Flyway, Central Park has habitats for waterfowl, warblers, birds of prey, and of course pigeons. Join us for a science walk in the park and hear from scientists that study birds, their habitats and behaviors in a unique opportunity to explore the vibrant avian life that thrives in one of New York City's most iconic green spaces. Encounter a variety of species that find sanctuary within the park's greenery, uncover intriguing insights about their life cycles and ecosystems, and learn about the critical role of preservation efforts. Bring your own binoculars (we will have some loaner pairs available) as well as your curiosity, and don't miss out on this enchanting exploration of feathers, flights, and the fine details that make our feathered friends so extraordinary!

meet our field guides:

Will Harcourt-Smith

Will is a paleontologist specializing in human evolution based at both City University New York and the American Museum of Natural History. Will has been a passionate birder since he was a child, and got back into it about 8 years ago. He is excited to show you birding in Central Park - your window into nature!

Emily Edmonds-Langham

Emily is the Director of Education at Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining, NY. Prior to leading the team there, she worked for many years at the American Museum of Natural History, as well as serving as a seasonal educator at the New York Botanical Garden. She loves to get outside with birders of all ages and abilities.

Safiya Sabir

Safiya is an environmental educator in NYC. She uses public parks and waterways to reconnect people of all ages to nature. She also enjoys birding and cycling on her adventures. Safiya will guide attendees through the park to discover spring migrants passing through our urban habitat and include some tips for better birding.

Astro on Tap & taste of science NYC present: Silly Science

Celebrating April Fools Day and other silliness

Tues 4/16, 6:45pm doors, 7pm-8:15pm sharp

at Pete's Candy Store

Join us for the 140th Astronomy on Tap NYC event, and the next in our monthly series at Pete’s Candy Store!

Astronomy on Tap is fun and informative, with professional scientists and educators, plus games, prizes, and a bit of learning while drinking.

After all the eclipse craziness, it’s important to remember what April is really about. This month, we celebrate foolishness as we kick off the taste of science festival here in NY! Co-hosted by Brian Levine, aka MC Tycho Brewhaha, and Kaitlin Schmidt, aka Annie Drunk Cannon, we are welcoming the following two silly speakers:
•Mark Popinhalk (he/him), AMNH Astro, speaking about eclipses past and present and what might have seen them.
•Iman Behbehani (she/her), CUNY Grad Center, who will provide an in depth look into the comedic nature of the history of physics.

Doors open at 6:45pm, event start at 7pm SHARP. Arrive early to get your seats, grab a drink, and settle in for science talks, trivia, prizes, and fun!

Doors @ 7PM

Join taste of science NYC and Astronomy on Tap NYC for a fun and informative evening. We will preview the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse happening on April 8! While we won't get 100% totality here in NYC, the path of totality runs nearby; we'll explain all the details. PLUS – we’ll show you how to make your own DIY eclipse viewer, and everyone in attendance will receive a free pair of eclipse glasses (with more for sale!)

Speakers:

Betsy Hernandez

STEM Educator and Visiting Scientist, American Museum of Natural History

Talk Title: Total Eclipse of the Sun

Betsy is the STEM Educator at The Brotherhood Sister Sol's after-school program. She teaches coding, and uses Lego sets to teach robotics and engineering to kids ages 8 to 18. She is also a Visiting Scientist at the American Museum of Natural History, where her interest is black hole research.

In preparation for the April 2024 eclipse, come see what makes each kind of solar eclipse unique. Discover the amazing science that can only be achieved during a total solar eclipse and view a first-hand account of totality, when the Moon completely obscures the Sun. Learn why solar viewing safety is so important, so you are well prepared for this upcoming event and others in the future.

Matthew Stanley

Talk title: Einstein's Eclipse

Matt Stanley is a historian of science at NYU, where he tells stories about astronomy and physics. He is the author of Einstein's War: How Relativity Triumphed over the vicious nationalism of World War I.

Einstein bet everything on an eclipse - in 1919, he needed a team of British astronomers to test his theory of relativity and convince the world that his crazy ideas about space and time were actually true. In the wake of World War I, his ideas were both scientifically and politically radical, and it all came down to a few minutes of darkness and a few points of light on a photograph.

We share our city with many different species of urban wildlife, from pigeons to rats, mice to trash pandas.

What are they hiding?

Could they be carrying the virus that causes the next global pandemic?

Join us for talks from two virus hunters trying to keep us safe by understanding what lurks in the birds and rodents we see every day.

February 27, 2024

7:30 - 9:30 PM (Doors @ 7PM)

Ryan’s Daugher (350 E 85th St, UES)

Meet our speakers:

Simon Williams, Senior Research Scientist NYU Langone

Talk Title: Discovering pathogens in NYC house mice

Simon started his career in a clinical molecular diagnostics lab in Perth, Western Australia. After moving to Columbia University to focus on virus discovery and surveillance under renowned virus hunter, Prof. Ian Lipkin, Simon assisted projects on bats, ticks, and NYC rats. Soon, he led his own study looking at the microbial carriage of NYC house mice; a large project that formed the basis of his PhD, which also included his studies on the viromic carriage of mosquitos. Simon built an FDA-approved diagnostic PCR assay for COVID before moving to direct the R&D team at NYC’s Pandemic Response Lab. Simon recently joined the xenotransplant team at NYU to investigate infectious disease dynamics and build diagnostics.

In NYC, the common house mouse is relegated to second place for rodent awareness, far behind the dreaded rat. But mice are better situated to impact your health by sharing your home, or your local bakery. Despite their global presence and widespread use in scientific research, little is known about the microbes they carry. In this talk, I will cover the challenges of collecting mice in NYC, the technology for discovering microbes, and what this all means for the next time you trap a mouse at home!

Philip Meade, Postdoctoral Researcher at Mount Sinai and Primary Mentor Principal for New York City Virus Hunters

Talk title: Roses are Red, and Birds Have the Flu

Philip is a postdoctoral researcher in the Krammer lab at Mount Sinai. Philip is trained as a virologist, and studies the antibody response to infection and vaccination with influenza virus, focusing on protection against types of influenza that don't circulate in humans - yet.

Did you know that the flu is really an avian virus that humans also sometimes get?

Philip is the primary mentor for the New York City Virus Hunters program, in which high school students searching for avian influenza viruses. Their findings are vital to prepare for and prevent a possible future pandemic, and to identify viruses that may be harmful to humans and birds. Under careful mentorship, they learn laboratory and science communication skills, and help keep an eye on the avian influenza viruses in our backyard.

From ectoplasm to pumpkin spice stress-relief concoctions, slime is everywhere this time of year.

Join us for two talks from experts on the hidden intelligence of slime molds and the healing properties of snail slime...

We double dare you.

Date: Thursday, October 19, 2023

Time: 7:30-9:30pm (doors @ 7pm)

Venue: Ryan’s Daughter, 350 E 85 th St (between 1 st and 2 nd Ave), Manhattan

Speakers:

Simon Garnier

Associate Professor of Biology, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Talk Title: The Homer Simpson paradox, or how to be successful without a brain

Simon Garnier is the head of the Swarmlab, an interdisciplinary research lab that studies how stupid creatures can - sometimes - be smart in group, and why very smart beings will - often - form brainless crowds. His talk will focus recent research on a weird amorphous creature, the slime mold Physarum polycephalum, that is unveiling the secrets behind this basal form of cognition that may help understand the origins of biological intelligence.

Antonio Cerullo

PhD Candidate in Biochemistry at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center

Talk title: Comparative Animal Mucomics: Investigating Slime from Nature’s Most Exotic Creatures

Antonio Cerullo is one of the world’s leading experts on slime, and curated the world's largest library of animal mucus. Mucus is among the most diverse and important substances in nature. Despite being critical for the survival of all animals, little is known about its makeup or how it works. He will discuss his efforts to collect and compare mucus from animals across the world, including snails, hippopotami, and jellyfish with the goal of learning how diverse animals use mucus. This research has inspired new technologies with real-world applications.

Doors @ 5:00 PM

How does human behavior change across the lifespan?

How do our cognitive and psychosocial abilities change and how can these changes inform our understanding of disorders that develop at different life stages?

Join us for talks from two neuroscientists to learn about two behaviors influenced by different stages of life: social cooperation in adolescence, and anorexia in aging.

Meet our speakers:

Where do we come from? How did our species evolve? What can fossils tell us about the behavior of ancient humans and our relationships with other species? Join us for talks from experts on human origins and evolution to learn about what we can learn from fossils about early humans, their behavior, and how evolution shaped our species.

Doors open at 7:00 PM
Talks begin at 7:30 PM

Check out our speakers below:

Frances Forrest, PhD

Assistant Professor, Fairfield University

Talk Title: Digging Up Dinner: How Our Ancestors’s Eating Habits Shaped Human Evolution (and Our Love for Bacon)

Frances Forrest is a zooarchaeologist studying animal bones from early human archeological sites in Africa. She uses fauna to reconstruct ancient environments and learn about human dietary behavior during the Early Stone Age. In her talk, she will discuss her work in Kenya looking at the human fossil record and what it can tell us about evolution and human diets.

Shara Bailey, PhD

Professor of Anthopology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University

Talk Title: Teeth Tell Tales

Shara Bailey is a biological anthropologist and Professor at New York University. She uses teeth to answer questions about human evolution: from the origin of modern humans and our relationship to Neanderthals to the question of who made the earliest Oldowan tools in East Africa 2.8 million years ago. She is currently working on describing and diagnosing 800,000-year-old hominin fossils that could represent the common ancestor of our species and Neanderthals. Her research has been featured on National Public Radio, The History Channel, National Geographic and PBS/Nova. Although teeth comprise a majority of the fossil record, most people do not appreciate their importance. Dr. Bailey will describe how the mountains and valleys on the surfaces of our teeth tell stories about our recent and distant past. She will discuss how teeth have been used to diagnose who made the earliest modern tool kits in Europe; identify the makers of some of the earliest stone tools in East Africa, and confirm hybridizing between ancient humans and our species.

Our modern world exposes us to a constant stream of chemicals and environmental pollutants. How do these exposures affect health and development?

Join us for talks from two researchers studying how the environment affects the development of the brain and our mental health.

Doors open at 7:00 PM
Talks begin at 7:30 PM

Check out our speakers:

Akhgar Ghassabian, MD, PhD

Associate Professor, New York University

Talk Title: Environmental influences on child brain development

Akhgar Ghassabian, MD, PhD, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and an investigator at NYU Langone’s Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards. Dr. Ghassabian’s research focuses on identifying environmental exposures that contribute to the etiology of developmental disabilities and psychiatric problems in children. She is particularly interested in brain influences of endocrine disrupting chemicals and air pollution.The unique vulnerability of children to environmental hazards has been documented in many scientific studies. Exposure to environmental contaminants during early life can influence brain development, leading to behavioral problems and cognitive delays. Dr. Ghassabian will talk about her work using large observational studies in which researchers follow children and their families throughout the life course to establish harmful effects of environmental exposures on the brain.

Manish Arora, BDS, MPH, PhD

Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Talk Title: The Time Machine in Your Teeth

Manish Arora is the Baerwald Professor and Vice Chairman of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He is also the founder and CEO of Linus Biotechnology, a precision medicine company. His research is focused on the study of the time dimension in human health and disease. For his work on children’s neurological conditions, including autism, he was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award by President Obama. In his talk, Dr. Arora will discuss how our environment shapes our health over our lifetimes. The biggest challenge in this field of environmental medicine has been unlocking how our body and our environment interact over time. Everything changes, so how do we measure that change? Arora will share his journey of discovery over two decades and provide insight into the life of an immigrant scientist working in a rapidly changing economic and political world.

Astronomy on Tap brings astronomers, astronomy educators, and other astronomy professionals and enthusiasts to the bar for fun and informative talks, interactive games, and prizes!  Join us as we drink in the universe. 

This month, just in time for an April Fool's reprisal, we present Silly Science!  And we don't want to give any more than that away.  Join us for FREE at Pete's Candy Store!!

Just in time to almost have forgotten April Fools, we’ll be looking at some serious and funny science. Presentations by:
–Levben Parsons, Rutgers U
–Mark Popinchalk, CUNY Grad Center
PLUS interactive games, prizes, and a whole barrel full of monkeys! (April Fools about one of those…)

Doors open at 6:45 PM
Event begins at 7:00 PM

Sleep

We spend a third of our lives asleep, and without it, we’d die faster than we would without food. Yet we still don’t know exactly why we sleep. We have learned a lot about what goes on during sleep, which is necessary for maintaining healthy brain functioning.

Join us in the city that never sleeps to learn from two researchers who study this elusive yet essential behavior.

February 15, 2023

7:30 PM- 9:30 PM
(Doors@ 7:00 PM)

Ryan’s Daughter
350 E 85th St, Manhattan

Meet our speakers:

Ilan Dinstein, PhD
Associate Professor, Ben Gurion University

Dr. Dinstein received his PhD from the Center for Neural Science at New York University and completed postdoctoral training in the Neurobiology Department at the Weizmann Institute and the Psychology Department at Carnegie Mellon University. His research focuses on the neurobiology of autism with a particular emphasis on early development. He is the deputy director of the Azrieli National Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopment Research, which collects vital information from hundreds of children with autism and their families with the goal of improving autism diagnosis and treatment. The center brings together researchers and clinicians from a variety of universities and medical centers in Israel and manages a national database and biobank for autism research, including data on sleep.

Andrew Varga, MD
Associate Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Dr. Varga completed an M.D. from New York Medical College, residency training in neurology at Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and a sleep medicine fellowship at NYU. Dr. Varga has a longstanding interest in mechanisms of learning and memory, the role of sleep in cognition, and the effects of sleep disorders and sleep loss on cognitive function and risk for Alzheimer’s and related neurodegenerative diseases. His active research programs include investigating sleep disruption and augmentation on tau pathology in animal models, as well as studying aging and sleep apnea effects on spatial memory and changes to the brain using neuroimaging techniques in humans.

From Silicon Valley to Cell Biology: AI in Drug Design

presented by taste of science NYC!

April 25, 2022 7:00 - 9:00 PM (EST)

The interaction of computers, artificial intelligence, and biology is growing every day, with news of computer-brain interfaces, computer-aided drug design, and Google's AlphaFold for protein structure prediction.

Erika Alden DeBenedictis will discuss three innovations that are changing the world of biology: machine learning models that can predict properties of biological systems, robotic systems for conducting reproducible experiments, and new types of institutions that alter the incentives of scientists themselves. Kevin Gardner will describe his work on solving atomic-level pictures and mechanisms of proteins used by cells to sense and respond to changes in the environment around them. This work not only leads to better understanding of biology, but also establishes new biotech tools and therapies.

our speakers include:

Erika Alden DeBenedictis (she/her): The new era of computer-aided science

Erika is a former astronomer, recovering computer scientist, and current synthetic biologist. During her PhD at MIT Biological Engineering, she studied the origins of life, and developed robotic systems for engineering bacteria. Erika recently launched the 2022 Bioautomation Challenge, a grant program that gives researchers access to cloud laboratories in order to improve reproducibility, scalability, and shareability of life science research with programmable experiments.
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Kevin Gardner (he/him): Nature's switches = Inspiration for new biotech tools and disease-fighting drugs
Director of Structural Biology, CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, and Einstein Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, City College of New York.

B.S. Biochemistry, UC Davis; Ph.D. Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Yale (w/Joe Coleman); postdoc Univ Toronto (w/Lewis Kay). Started independent group at UT Southwestern Med Center in Dallas, moved to CUNY in 2013. Started two companies (Peloton Therapeutics, Optologix) to help commercialize aspects of what will be discussed tonight.
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