RGS-Singapore presents: "The Science of the Sting" featuring Dr Angel Yanagihara!
Join us at the Hollandse Club Singapore at 7.30pm on 23 May 2024 as we dive deep into the mystery behind the incredibly venomous box jellyfish which resides in warm coastal waters around the world, with many lethal varieties found across the Asia-Pacific.
A near-fatal encounter with box jellyfish in 1997 prompted Angel to embark on a long-standing journey to understand the biochemistry of these formidable creatures and the lethal toxins found in their stings. These efforts eventually culminated in a series of breakthrough discoveries of new therapeutic approaches to countering these deadly threats among coastal communities in the Tropics. Angel will share some of the fieldwork undertaken by her team in decoding these sophisticated puzzles, the resulting inventions which seek to address box jellyfish stings, as well as how these discoveries played a crucial role in long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad's legendary swim from Havana to Florida in 2013.
Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/dr-angel-yanagihara-the-science-of-the-sting-tickets-896661487647
About the Speaker:
Dr Angel (neé Smith) Yanagihara was born in Anchorage, Alaska and has lived in Hawaii for 25 years, raising three children with her husband. Her academic background includes baccalaureate degrees, in biology and chemistry, from the University of Virginia, and a doctoral degree in biochemistry. She is also a National Fellow of The Explorers Club and a Member of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).
An avid diver and ocean swimmer, Angel suffered severe life-threatening stings by a swarm of Hawaiian box jellyfish in 1997, leading her to question the biochemical basis of the profound pain and dramatic sequelae. She launched a rigorous short-term effort to identify the lethal toxin(s) which flourished into a 25 year career path marked by pioneering discoveries leading to the development of powerful new therapeutic approaches with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense. Responding to increased public health concerns due to rising incidents of lethal box jelly stings in the Tropics, she designed and proposed critical international field ecology, epidemiology and sting management training projects over the past ten years. Angel has successfully completed such studies in Australia, Bonaire, Saipan, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Australia, as well as Public and Global Health assignments as a US State Department Subject Matter Expert, Fulbright Specialist in Ireland and Thailand. She is the inventor of multiple technologies with full US Patents (US Patent Number 10172883), and had provided her technologies and expertise as a box jellyfish expert and diver during long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad's 2012 and 2013 swims from Havana to Key West, Florida.
Event details:
Date & Time: 23 May 2024, 7.30pm-8.30pm (Doors open at 7.00pm)
Venue: Hollandse Club Singapore, 22 Camden Park, Singapore 299814
Note: Please allow extra travel time for travelling to the Hollandse Club via taxi or private transport, as the area may become rather congested during the evening peak hour.