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Hear 5 stories about finding personal resilience in science

Saint Louis University biologist Gerardo Camilo shared a story on Oct. 5, at The Story Collider about his reaction to a kidnapping that occurred while he was doing fieldwork in Nicaragua.
David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
Saint Louis University biologist Gerardo Camilo shared a story on Oct. 5, at The Story Collider about his reaction to a kidnapping that occurred while he was doing fieldwork in Nicaragua.

The night began with a story told by a science journalist who tried to cure her autoimmune disease by swallowing parasitic worms. It finished with the story of a young primate researcher who nearly died after being attacked by two chimpanzees. 

On Oct. 5, St. Louis Public Radio and The Story Collider podcast collaborated for the second time to present five personal science stories live, on stage, at The Ready Room. It was the first time I hosted a show with local comedian Zack Stovall since we joined The Story Collider's team of producers last summer. The theme of the night was "Resilience." Some of these stories showed how resilience is necessary to scientific research. Others showed how they used scientific knowledge to overcome major challenges in their lives.

Three shows are planned for St. Louis in 2018, with specific dates to be determined. The deadline to pitch a story for the spring show is Jan. 10, but we will consider pitches on a rolling basis as long as they are sent to stories@storycollider.org.

Only a paragraph is needed and The Story Collider podcast has tips if you need help pitching your personal science story.

Science writer Leah Shaffer turns to parasitic worms to treat her illness. 

Biologist Gerardo Camilo grapples with the kidnapping of a student while doing research in Nicaragua.  

Comedian Sarah Pearl learns she has bipolar disorder.

Avian toxicologist Rebecka Brasso is determined to get her samples of penguin eggshells from Antarctica past customs agents in Chile.

Primate researcher Andrew Oberle survives a brutal attack by two chimpanzees.

Follow Eli on Twitter: @StoriesByEli

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Eli Chen is the science and environment reporter at St. Louis Public Radio. She comes to St. Louis after covering the eroding Delaware coast, bat-friendly wind turbine technology, mouse love songs and various science stories for Delaware Public Media/WDDE-FM. Before that, she corralled robots and citizen scientists for the World Science Festival in New York City and spent a brief stint booking guests for Science Friday’s live events in 2013. Eli grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, where a mixture of teen angst, a love for Ray Bradbury novels and the growing awareness about climate change propelled her to become the science storyteller she is today. When not working, Eli enjoys a solid bike ride, collects classic disco, watches standup comedy and is often found cuddling other people’s dogs. She has a bachelor’s in environmental sustainability and creative writing at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has a master’s degree in journalism, with a focus on science reporting, from the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism.