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Hi! My name is Dr. Mélise (sounds like May-Lease) Edwards and I am a neuroscientist, writer, athlete, and aspiring artist. My expertise is in animal behavior, RNA-sequencing, bioinformatics, and the study of sexual traits which partially inform our resilience or susceptibility to disease outcomes. Most recently, I studied how cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) evolved over the course of ~50 million years to withstand extreme stressors like oxidative stress—particularly for sensitive cell types like brain cells. To do this, we “cultured” or maintained live whale and porpoise cells in a laboratory setting and tested the cells’ resilience to regulated cell death pathways using a variety of laboratory assays, techniques, and experiments. I have worked in industry, academia, non-profit, and government doing research.
Previously, I was a sponsored competitive rock-climbing athlete for nearly 12 years. I competed in my last competition before beginning my PhD program at the Psicobloc Masters national competition in Utah. I have a B.Sc. in Biology with a focus on Evolutionary Biology and Ecology and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Behavior. For fun, I’m a bossy Capricorn sun (Cancer rising/moon so you know the thuggy tears are coming) who loves to rock-climb, surf, read, write songs, practice guitar, volunteer, and hang out with my dog and loves.
This Substack is my return to writing after a long hiatus and attempt to support myself while I transition out of academia. You can subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives. A subscription helps me get on my feet while I transition to a new industry or field altogether after over 15 years of committing to student loans and low-paid academic jobs that kept me in crippling educational debt.
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