Our Story:
Youreka Science was born in a San Francisco public school classroom. Florie was teaching 5th graders about the structure of a cell; when she was planning lesson with the teacher, she realized how valuable it would be to incorporate recent scientific findings to the classroom curriculum to bring textbook principles to life. This idea expanded beyond the classroom to reach all of the members of the public.
How empowering would it be for patients to better understand the underlying biology of their disease and learn how new treatments work to fight their illness?
How enlightening would it be for citizens to be part of the discovery process and see their tax dollars at work from the beginning?
How rewarding would it be for scientists to see their research understood and appreciated by the very people that support their work?
Youreka Science was born from the idea of making scientific findings accessible to the general public through fun whiteboard videos, with the goal of empowering citizens and improving health.
The Youreka Science team:
Florie Mar: Founder, content creator, writer, producer
Florie is a scientist with a passion to communicate science to others. In whatever free time Florie has left after her full time job and making Youreka Science videos, she loves to cook food from her home country-France-ski, explore the outdoors, and undertake fun arts and crafts projects.
Alex Olson: Content creator, educator & artist
Alex is passionate about teaching and has a particular interest in artwork and multimedia. When he isn’t engrossed in the fine details of Youreka science artwork, Alex can be found serenading his captive neighbors and roommates with his guitar and running many miles through the streets and parks of San Francisco.
Darienne Myers: Medical writing
Darienne is an immunologist at UCSF. She is interested in signaling pathways in T cells and how dysregulation of these pathways can lead to autoimmune diseases like lupus. Darienne also has a passion for science communication and education, so in addition to her research she teaches a biology lab for undergraduates at USF. In her free time, Darienne loves to cook, watch movies, take boxing classes, and travel the world!
Pallavi Penumetcha: Medical writing
Pallavi is a microbiology PhD student at UCSF, studying how fungi keep our guts healthy. Outside of lab she loves to spend time with friends and family, go hiking and read.
Aarati Asundi: Content creator, educator & artist
Aarati is a Biomedical Sciences graduate student at UCSF. Her PhD thesis project explores how genetic signals could help maintain rapidly dividing cell populations as in the case of reproductive cells in some organisms and in certain cancers. To unwind after a full day in lab, Aarati loves volunteering at Family Dog Rescue shelter (i.e. playing with all the dogs), rock climbing, and experimenting with chocolate.
Lydia Le Page: Medical writing
Lydia is a postdoc in the Chaumeil lab at UCSF, having moved to the Bay area from England. She is developing ways of imaging the brain using MRI, and is particularly interested in the changes in metabolism that happen in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Outside the lab she enjoys running, hiking, and traveling!
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