Meet the Expert: Dr. Rosa León Zayas, environmental microbiologist

Rosa León Zayas is an environmental microbiologist and bioinformatician. After receiving her bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico, she studied the genomes of ultra deep-sea single-cell microbes from the Puerto Rico Trench and Mariana’s Trench at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego. During her postdoctoral work at the University of Delaware, she focused on studies of deep subsurface environments like the Tonga Trench and the Costa Rica margin. Currently, Dr. León Zayas is an Assistant Professor at Willamette University, a small liberal arts college in in Salem, OR. At Willamette University Dr. León Zayas is dedicated to educating the next generation of scientists by doing science, or in other words providing opportunities for undergraduate students from all backgrounds to experience the process of generating new knowledge. Dr. León Zayas is also deeply committed to the advancement of underrepresented minorities in STEM, particularly Puerto Rican/Hispanics and the queer community, and as part of those efforts she has also collaborated with the University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program to create a series of science videos in English and Spanish.

Don’t forget to check out Karen Romano-Young’s

Where she profiles all of the scientists that went on the Alvin’s historic dive, including Dr. Rosa

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Challenge:

Think about how much pressure you’d feel on your thumb at the bottom of the ocean. What about your hand? Your whole arm? Would it be like 10 elephants on your thumb? Discuss with your family and friends.

Send us a picture or leave a comment below.We LOVE hearing from you!! If you liked this episode, leave a comment below OR share with us on our Twitter , Instagram or Facebook page.

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Diving Deep: Using Machines to Explore the Ocean 
by Michelle Cusolito (Author), Nicole Wong (Illustrator)

Book List: 

Astronaut-Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact by Jennifer Swanson (NGKids)

Ocean: A Visual Encyclopedia by Doring Kindersly Books

Swimming with Sharks: The Daring Discoveries of Eugenie Clark by Heather Lang (Albert Whitman Books)

Dive In: Swim With Sea Creatures at Their Actual Size by Roxie Munro (Holiday House)

Ocean Animals: Who’s Who in the Deep Blue by Johanna Rizzo (NGKids Books)