We decided to start this project after a random meeting at a coffee shop one Saturday afternoon. We were talking with a group who was asking us questions about science. After our conversation, we realized that we both wanted to see science made available and understandable- especially for those who want to know about how science affects their life, but might not have the formal training. A few months later, Speaking Science was born.

Who We Are

Rachel Morris is a faculty member at Michigan State Science in Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics. She grew up in Maine and has earned her A.S. in Medical Laboratory Science, B.A. in Biology from the University of Maine at Augusta, and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Marquette University. Her studies have focused on how bacteria grow in wastewater treatment plants and low oxygen environments. When she’s not in the lab or teaching, she enjoys knitting, reading, and anything that takes her outdoors. Here’s a link to her website where you can see her other projects. You can also follow her on twitter @rlmorris_mi.

Alyssa Preiser previously earned her B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and decided to work on her Ph.D. after that. She is interested in understanding the regulation of how plants use the carbon that they take in. She’s been involved in ScienceDebate, Plantae, and now, Speaking Science as opportunities to connect people to science. She spends her free time on the computer working on graphic design projects, in the yard fixing up her garden, or in the kitchen perfecting a new recipe. You can find more of her work at https://alyssapreiser.wixsite.com/apreiser.

Barret Baxter has recently joined our team as our producer. He is the Communications Coordinator for the Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program at Michigan State University and before that has wored as a video editor and filmmaker. He takes care of our recording and editing and is the reason that we have any audio to provide to you!

Also, thanks to Ben Preiser who provided our theme music.

Disclosure of Funding:

This podcast is currently privately funded by Rachel Morris and Alyssa Preiser. Technical support is provided by Michigan State University. However, this podcast (unfortunately) isn’t our full time job. During the day we spend our time teaching or doing research which is funded by those mentioned below:

Rachel Morris is a faculty member at Michigan State University.

Alyssa Preiser is funded by Michigan State University (Barnett Rosenberg Endowded Assistantship), the National Institutes of Health (Plant Biotechnology for Health and Sustainability Fellowship), and the U.S. Department of Energy.