S2E4: Shane Campbell-Staton, PhD, Assistant Professor, Princeton University

Dr. Shane Campbell-Staton is an Assistant Professor in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at Princeton University. Shane’s research looks at how human actions contribute to contemporary evolution of animals, including elephants, wolves, alligators, and anoles. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester, his PhD from Harvard University, and did his post-doctoral training at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne and the University of Montana. Shane got his first faculty position at UCLA, and recently moved to a new faculty position at Princeton.

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

how science and nature documentaries and TV shows fostered Shane’s interest in science as a kid (which has come full circle, as Shane is now involved in making science and nature TV shows and documentaries himself)
why it’s important to fund basic science to help find solutions to problems in unexpected places
the responsibility of scientists to communicate science to the public
the value of storytelling in science
why feeling like we don’t know what we’re doing can actually be a good sign
how tardigrades could make good superheroes

Get in touch with Shane and check out the research in his lab:

Check out Shane’s latest paper on the evolution of tusklessness in elephants (get in touch if you want a PDF):

Ivory poaching and the rapid evolution of tusklessness in African elephants (Science 2021)

S2E4: Shane Campbell-Staton, PhD, Assistant Professor, Princeton University

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