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Brazilian microbiologist and science advocate (born 1976) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Natalia Pasternak Taschner (born May 15, 1976) is a Brazilian microbiologist, author, and science communicator.[1] 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), columnist for the Brazilian national newspaper "O Globo", for The Skeptic magazine (UK), and Medscape (WebMD).[2] She also hosts two weekly radio shows “The hour of Science” at Brazil's CBN national radio station. Taschner is also the publisher of Brazil's first magazine on critical thinking, Revista Questao de Ciencia.[3]
 | This biographical article is written like a résumé. (April 2020) |
Natalia Pasternak | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Pasternak in 2018 | |
| Born | May 15, 1976 São Paulo, Brazil |
| Alma mater | University of São Paulo |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Microbiology Molecular genetics of bacteria |
| Institutions | University of São Paulo |
| Thesis | The regulation of alkaline phosphatase by the sigma factor S of RNA polymerase from Escherichia coli (2006) |
| Doctoral advisor | Beny Spira |
| Website | iqc |
She contributes as a visiting professor at the Public Administration School at Fundação Getúlio Vargas, São Paulo, as well as a research collaborator at the University of São Paulo. She is the first Brazilian to be named a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) in the United States, in honor of her remarkable contributions to the advancement of science, skepticism, and critical thinking. She was named Brazilian of the year in Science by IstoE Magazine in 2020 and again in 2021. She was named Personality of the Year by the Group of Latin America Daily Newspapers and awarded the Ockham Award from The Skeptic magazine for her efforts to promote skepticism and rational thought in Brazil.
Science in our Daily Lives, which received Brazil's National Literature prize for best science book in 2021 (Prêmio Jabuti), and Against Reality: Science Denialism, Its Causes and Consequences, are two of her books on science popularization. She is the only Brazilian on the BBC's list of the 100 most influential women in 2021,[4] and she is now an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University's Center for Science and Society, thanks to Professor Stuart Firestein's offer.[2] Her research focuses on ways to enhance science communication and battle denial and disinformation, as well as bringing scientific thought to future policymakers and assisting in the establishment of a worldwide partnership for evidence-based global policies.
Born into a Jewish family,[5] Natalia Pasternak Taschner is daughter of university professors Mauro Taschner and Suzana Pasternak.[6] Pasternak entered the University of São Paulo (USP) in 1998 and received her BSc degree in Biological Sciences in 2001. She subsequently obtained a PhD degree in Biological Sciences (Microbiology) in 2006 from the Institute of Biosciences of the University of São Paulo (IBS-USP), with the thesis entitled The regulation of alkaline phosphatase by the sigma factor S of RNA polymerase from Escherichia coli.[7] 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.[8]
Pasternak founded the science blog Café na Bancada (English: "Coffee on the Lab Bench")[9], 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. Pasternak 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.[10][8][9] As of 2020, Pint of Science was being managed by Luis Gustavo Almeida.[11]
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.[9][12][13][14] Pasternak 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.[15] 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.[16]
Early in 2020 Pasternak 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.[17]
Pasternak has been made a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry in 2020.[18] Since September 2021, Pasternak has been a visiting scholar at Columbia University's Center for Science and Society.[19]
 | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (April 2020) |
Taschner has been involved in many activities related to the promotion of science, and attended several conferences and seminars including:
Most media relating to Taschner can be found on the IQC website.[25] In 2020 Taschner co-authored an article with Carlos Orsi for Skeptical Inquirer entitled "Believing" In Science Is Not "Understanding" The Science: Brazilian Surveys.[26]
Taschner appeared in the journal Skeptic in 2018 with an article entitled "Brazilian Cancer Quackery".[27]
Taschner has been interviewed on several occasions, including:
Taschner has lectures at Casa do Saber on "What is Science and why trust it?",[34] "Brazilian Science: Unknown to Brazilians"[35] and the anti-vax movement.[36]
Several of Taschner's lectures and presentations are available on YouTube, including:
Taschner has published several journal articles, including:
Taschner authored chapter 18 of volume 2 of the book:
She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2021.[41]
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