In honor of Black History Month, this episode of the Synapse Science podcast delves into the type of gender and racial biases faced by women of color in STEM fields. We geek out about some of the amazing contributions to the STEM fields from scientists who happen to be women of color. This is an important conversation to have, and gender/racial representation in STEM fields is extremely vital. That being said, if you know of scientists whose work is not as widely known or whose contributions are being undermined, spread the word! Get people talking about scientists from more diverse backgrounds. We encourage you to make your own podcast episode, YouTube video, social media post, etc. to continue this conversation. Show notes can be found on our website at http://synapsescience.com

Do you have any questions, comments, and/or corrections? Tweet at us @synapsepod or email us at synapsepod[at]gmail[dot]com.

*New! We're now part of the list of podcasts on Stitcher!

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Intro/outro music: "Mining by Moonlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)

Starting off with a special episode of the podcast in an ongoing series dedicated to undergraduate research! In this episode, we sat down and chatted with undergraduates Terence Leach & Elizabeth Chang about their experiences with undergrad research and how their involvement in research has influenced their lives. Both Terence and Elizabeth are also active Undergraduate Research Leaders (URLs) at the Undergraduate Research Program at the University of Washington (UW).

Terence Leach is an undergraduate at the UW studying Ecology, Evolution, & Conservation Biology & Oceanography with a minor in Marine Biology. His research in the Oceanography department explores certain evolutionary relationships of Pseudo-nitzschia, specifically focusing on a neurotoxin that is produced by these organisms.

Elizabeth Chang is an undergraduate at the UW studying Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology & Biochemistry. Her initial experience in undergraduate research was at an academic lab studying certain aspects of pulmonary research. Since then, her research interests have shifted, and she now researches cancer care and technology at a local biotech company.

To read more about their academic backgrounds and their research projects, visit their URL profiles here: http://www.washington.edu/undergradresearch/students/urls/profiles/

To find out more about the URL program and the Undergraduate Research Program, check out their website: http://www.washington.edu/undergradresearch/

*Correction! The deadline to apply for the UW Undergrad Research Symposium is February 23, 2015.

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Intro/outro music: "Mining by Moonlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)