If you’re not a fan of ‘The Office’ then that title probably made no sense to you. But, if you are, then you’ll know that Michael Scott famously said that mercury poisoning is one of the five Goliaths that America faces (though we never actually find out what the fifth one is…). Regardless, this Sunday you’ll be able to learn all about this Goliath as our guest on the show, the newly minted Dr. Cailin Sinclair, will discuss his doctorate and post-doc work investigating mercury cycling in freshwater systems. Mercury chemistry and availability are very complex and the way mercury moves through food webs is also highly complex, which can make it difficult to know how much mercury is in a system and what its impacts might be. However, measuring biological tissue is a good way to determine risk associated with mercury, which is why Cailin uses dragonflies, which are exposed to mercury through their diet, as indicators for mercury in freshwater systems.
For his PhD dissertation, Cailin conducted field studies, lab experiments and a comprehensive literature review, to get to the bottom of some fundamental questions about mercury in the environment. So, join us for this week’s show as we sit down with Dr. Cailin Sinclair to discuss his research, his path to OSU, what he’s working on next, and maybe a factoid or two about musical theatre.
Tune in to our live show with Cailin this Sunday (February 9th) at 7 pm PST on KBVR 88.7 FM! If you miss the show, you can check out the interview wherever you get your podcasts, including on our KBVR page, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else!
