Natália Pasternak Taschner

Natália Pasternak Taschner is a Brazilian microbiologist. She is the first president of the Instituto Questão de Ciência (IQC) (English: Question of Science Institute). She was director of the Brazilian arm of the science festival, Pint of Science (2016-2019), founder of the Cientistas Explicam (English: Scientists Explain) initiative, and a founding partner of the science dissemination blog Café na Bancada.[1] Taschner is also the publisher of Brazil's first magazine on critical thinking, Revista Questao de Ciencia.[2]

Natália Pasternak Taschner
Nationality Brazilian
Alma materUniversity of São Paulo
Scientific career
FieldsMicrobiology
Molecular genetics of Bacteria
InstitutionsUniversity of São Paulo
ThesisThe regulation of alkaline phosphatase by the sigma factor S of RNA polymerase from Escherichia coli (2006)
Doctoral advisorBeny Spira
Websiteiqc.org.br/diretoria/natalia-pasternak

Education and career

Taschner entered the University of São Paulo (USP) in 1998. She completed her BSc, majoring in biology, in 2001. She then enrolled in the university's microbiology PhD programme.[3]

Taschner earned her PhD in microbiology in 2006 from the Institute of Biosciences of the University of São Paulo (IBS-USP), with a thesis entitled The regulation of alkaline phosphatase by the sigma factor S of RNA polymerase from Escherichia coli. From 2007 to 2013 she completed a post-doctorate in microbiology, in the field of molecular genetics of bacteria at the University of São Paulo.[3]

Taschner founded the science blog Café na Bancada (English: "Coffee on the Lab Bench")[4], with the mission statement: "Difundir a ciência com café!" (English: "Spread the science with coffee!"). The website is defunct but continues as a blog, started in 2015, on Facebook. Taschner became director of the Brazilian arm of Pint of Science from 2015 to 2019, in which she coordinated scientific lectures in bars in more than 50 cities in Brazil.[1][3][4] As of 2020, Pint of Science was being managed by Luis Gustavo Almeida.[5]

In 2018 she became the first president of the Instituto Questão de Ciência, (IQC) an organisation focused on the defense of scientific evidence used in public policies.[4][6][7][8] Taschner went as far as to invest her own money into the formation of the IQC, making her the second philanthropist in Brazil to invest private money in science communication.[9] IQC is a co-organizer, along with Aspen's Office for Science and Society, of the 2020 "Aspen Global Congress on Scientific Thinking and Action" in Rome.[10]

Early in 2020 Taschner organised the first specialization course in the public communication of science in the city of São Paulo. The course aims to train journalists and other communication professional about the dissemination of science.[11]

Taschner has been made a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry in 2020.[12]

Activities
Natalia Pasternak Taschner CSICon 2018 Politicization of Science CAMs in the Brazilian Public Healthcare System

Taschner has been involved in many activities related to the promotion of science, and attended several conferences and seminars including:

  • Taschner has contributed to the Genetic Literacy Project on the fear of biotechnology, GMO mosquitos, and opposition to pesticides.[13]
  • Taschner presented "Politicization of Science: CAMs in the Brazilian Public Healthcare System" at CSICon 2018[14][4] and "Brazilians Love and Support Science! Or is it Pseudoscience?" at CSICon 2019.
  • In 2019 she organised a cycle of seminars about ignorance, in parternership with the University of São Paulo[15]
  • In 2018 she presented "How to spread science in Brazil" at the Academic Congress of Uncisal
  • Taschner exhibited at the International Day of Light in 2018 at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
  • She had an exhibition at the 61st anniversary of the Planetarium in São Paulo, 2018.
  • In 2017 she participated in "4º Fala Ciência - Curso de Comunicação Pública de Ciência e Tecnologia" promoted by Universidade Federal de Viçosa[16]
  • She presented a TEDx USP Talk titled "A ciência brasileira e Síndrome de Cassandra" (English: Brazilian science and Cassandra syndrome)[17][4]
  • In 2016, Taschner was involved in the Brazilian National Science and Technology Week festival
  • In 2008, Taschner participated in the "XII International Congress of Bacteriology and Applied Microbiology" in Istanbul. She presented a paper entitled The Xanthomonas axonopodis citri PHO regulon.

Presence in media

Most media relating to Taschner can be found on the IQC website.[18] In 2020 Taschner co-authored an article with Carlos Orsi for Skeptical Inquirer entitled "Believing" In Science Is Not "Understanding" The Science: Brazilian Surveys.[19]

Taschner appeared in the journal Skeptic in 2018 with an article entitled "Brazilian Cancer Quackery".[20]

Taschner has been interviewed on several occasions, including:

Taschner has lectures at Casa do Saber on "What is Science and why trust it?",[26] "Brazilian Science: Unknown to Brazilians"[27] and the anti-vax movement.[28]

Several of Taschner's lectures and presentations are available on YouTube, including:

  • Follow the opening of the academic semester of UnB with the biologist Natália Pasternak.[29]
  • Stand Up Scientists![30]
  • Conversations with Scientists[31]
  • Brazilian scientists and Cassandra's syndrome[32]

Selected publications

Journals

Taschner has published several journal articles, including:

  • Taschner, Natalia; Yagil, Ezra; Spira, Beny (25 February 2013). "The effect of IHF on sigmaS selectivity of the phoA and pst promoters of Escherichia coli". Archives of Microbiology. 185.
  • Galbiati, Heloisa F.; Taschner, Natalia P.; Spira, Beny (27 May 2014). "The effect of the rpoSam allele on gene expression and stress resistance in Escherichia coli". Archives of Microbiology. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 196 (8): 589–600. doi:10.1007/s00203-014-0994-y. ISSN 0302-8933.
  • Piantola, Marco Aurélio Floriano; Moreno, Ana Carolina Ramos; Matielo, Heloísa Alonso; Taschner, Natalia Pasternak; Cavalcante, Rafael Ciro Marques; Khan, Samia; Ferreira, Rita de Cássia Café (2018). "Adopt a Bacterium – an active and collaborative learning experience in microbiology based on social media". Brazilian Journal of Microbiology. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 49 (4): 942–948. doi:10.1016/j.bjm.2018.04.005. ISSN 1517-8382.

Books

Taschner authored chapter 18 of volume 2 of the book:

References
  1. "DIRETORIA - Conheça os membros da diretoria do IQC - Natalia Pasternak - BIÓLOGA". Instituto Questão Ciência (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  2. "Questão de Ciência". Questão de Ciência (in Portuguese). February 26, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  3. "Members: View: Natalia Pasternak Taschner". QUBES. 4 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  4. "The power of one!" (PDF). Friends of Science in Medicine. April 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  5. "Equipe". Pint of Science BR (in Portuguese). Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  6. "Skeptical Organization To Launch in Brazil". Skeptical Inquirer. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  7. "Cientistas criam instituto para combater gastos públicos em 'pseudociências'" [Scientists create institute to combat public spending on 'pseudosciences']. Jornal O Globo (in Portuguese). 21 November 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  8. "Pesquisadores brasileiros criam instituto para combater pseudociência" [Brazilian researchers create institute to combat pseudoscience]. EXAME (in Portuguese). 22 November 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  9. Alves, Gabriel (29 October 2018). "Bióloga cria instituto para combater pseudociência e influenciar debate" [Biologist creates institute to combat pseudoscience and influence debate]. Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  10. "Aspen Global Congress on Scientific Thinking and Action". www.aspeninstitute.org. 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  11. "Curso orienta como falar sobre ciência para o grande público" [Course guides on how to talk about science to the general public]. Unesp (in Portuguese). Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  12. "Ten new Fellows elected to Committee for Skeptical Inquiry". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. 23 November 2020. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  13. "Natalia Pasternak Archives". Genetic Literacy Project. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  14. Natalia Pasternak Tascher (24 October 2018). Politicization of Science: CAMs in the Brazilian Public Healthcare System (YouTube). Susan Gerbic. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  15. "Ciclo 'O que a Ignorância tem a nos ensinar?'". IEA USP (in Portuguese). August 8, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  16. Fala Ciência UFV Natália Pasternak Taschner on YouTube (in Portuguese)
  17. A ciência brasileira e Síndrome de Cassandra on YouTube (in Portuguese)
  18. "Por políticas públicas baseadas em evidências". Instituto Questão Ciência (in Portuguese). Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  19. Taschner, Natalia Pasternak; Orsi, Carlos (March 2020). "Believing In Science Is Not Understanding The Science: Brazilian Surveys". Skeptical Inquirer. 44 (2).
  20. Taschner, Natalia Pasternak (2018). "Brazilian Cancer Quackery". Skeptic. Altadena, CA: Gale Academic OneFile. 23 (1): 8. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  21. Gerbic, Susan (31 August 2018). "Carlos And Natália Are Coming To CSICon To Meet YOU!". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  22. Vyse, Stuart (January 2, 2020). "Skepticism Blooms in Brazil". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  23. Richard Saunders, Rob Palmer (27 October 2019). CSICon2019 Interviews - Part #1 (podcast). skepticzone.tv. Event occurs at 00:14:17. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  24. 502 Conversations with Natalia Pasternak, PhD on YouTube
  25. Piller, Charles (2020-03-26). "'This is insane!' Many scientists lament Trump's embrace of risky malaria drugs for coronavirus". Science Magazine. American Association for the Advancement of Science. doi:10.1126/science.abb9021. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  26. O QUE É CIÊNCIA E POR QUE CONFIAR NELA? - Natalia Pasternak on YouTube (in Portuguese)
  27. CIÊNCIA BRASILEIRA: DESCONHECIDA PELOS BRASILEIROS - Natalia Pasternak on YouTube (in Portuguese)
  28. O MITO E O PERIGO DO MOVIMENTO ANTIVACINA - Natalia Pasternak on YouTube (in Portuguese)
  29. Íntegra: Inspira UnB com Natália Pasternak on YouTube (in Portuguese)
  30. Stand Up Científico - Obesidade on YouTube (in Portuguese)
  31. Diálogos com cientistas: Natália Pasternak on YouTube (in Portuguese)
  32. Pasternak, Natalia (2018). A ciência brasileira e a síndrome de Cassandra (TEDxUSP) (in Portuguese).
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