NERDS ASSEMBLE!!! October’s lineup includes: When Good Sperm Go Bad by Lori Hurley, Colour Polymorphism by Peri Bolton, and Fear and Loading: Real and Virtual Exposure Therapy by Peter Baldwin and Pieter Rossouw! Come nerd out with us!

We’re stoked to be drinking at thinking at the fantastic Friend In Hand Pub in Glebe now on the third Tuesday of each month.

WHEN: Tuesday 18th October. Doors open from 6:30pm. The fun starts at 7pm.

WHERE: Friend In Hand Pub 58 Cowper Street, Glebe. They do a great $15 parmy special. Seating will be in rows so it’s probably easiest to get some grub downstairs before the show starts.

TICKETS: General entry is $12, buy tickets here, limited tiks on the door.

 

when good sperm go bad | lori hurley | reproductive ecophysiologist

Hurley headshot 

Turns out functional sperm is a good thing, especially when you need multiple sperm to ensure normal development like birds do, but many things can make good sperm go bad…

A PhD candidate, Lori’s research explores the impact of environmental and social cues on Australian estrildid finch reproduction. A research junkie, she’s done genetic work in humans, tested novel anti depressants/neuroprotectants in rats, and conducted various research on behaviour, neuroendocrinology, and reproduction in a variety of bird species. All around bird nerd.

 

fear and loading: real and virtual exposure therapy | pieter rossouw & peter baldwin | clinical neuropsychotherapy/ clinical psychology

PB_Profile_PORTRAIT       Peter on at a podium

Pieter_low  Pieter watching as VR spiders crawl over clients (assumably…)

Pieter and Peter want you to know that exposure therapists are not sadistic pricks (the jury’s still out on that one).  Together they’ll take you into the VR world of spider phobias.

Peter’s PhD is in the psychological and physiological vulnerabilities in individuals with hoarding disorder, in particular how the brains of individuals who hoard react to making errors. Peter also researches how uncertainty about possessions creates distress for hoarding individuals. More broadly, Peter is interested in how clinical psychology can better use technology help individuals manage and recover from psychological illness.

Pieter is the Clinic Manager and VRET therapist. Pieter holds a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) from UNSW, is a certified Practitioner of Clinical Neuropsychotherapy, and a member of the International Association of Clinical Neuroscience. Pieter is also the Founder and CEO of Totem Labs Pty Ltd, a specialist company that builds Virtual Reality solutions for the areas of health and performance.

 

colour polymorphism | peri bolton |brain, behaviour and evolution

Peri Bolton

Peri’s an ourdoorsy birdwatching nature-photographing nerd who’ll be our guide into the world of wild Gouldian Finches and the genetic incompatibility between head-colour morphs. 

Peri started out with the delusion of being an Archaeologist with an Arts/Science degree, but that didn’t last long! She soon switched to a full Bachelor of Science. She continued on to do an Honours dissertation with the Scott Keogh on the phylogenetics of a group of Australian burrowing snakes.

 

Be There. Be Square.

🙂 Miriam