On April 6th, 2024 the UNC Postdoctoral Association (PDA) participated in the annual UNC Science Expo. Two booths were set up for the public to enjoy. The BIPOC Postdoc Alliance organized two activities for event-goers: The Science of Skin Color and Minority Scientist You Should Know!
Participants learned about the skin cells responsible for skin tone called, melanocytes, how skin tone is influenced by environmental factors based on ancestral homelands, and biological factors that cause skin conditions such as Vitiligo, Albinism and freckles. Many enjoyed our competitive indigenous people matching game! We also discussed historical BIPOC people in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) including Gladys West, Mary G. Ross, Fred Begay, Edward Bouchet, John Herrington, Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski and more! Participants and volunteers enthusiastically learned about diverse people in STEAM.
Thank you to all the postdoc volunteers, donations received from FlyLeaf Books, and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs for your support!
Interested in events like this and more? For upcoming events, check out UNC PDA’s Calendar: https://research.unc.edu/postdocs/calendar/ and the BIPOC PA webpage: https://research.unc.edu/pda/bipoc/. Join us every 2nd Thursday of the month at our monthly BIPOC-PA meetings. Email Jasmine_Edwards@med.unc.edu for the link.