Hazel Barton

I grew up in the UK and started exploring caves when I was just 14. After studying in the US as an exchange student, I returned to get my PhD in Medical Microbiology from the University of Colorado. I thought I'd spend my entire career studying medical microbiology; however, when I was lucky enough to do a post-doc in the laboratory of Dr. Norman Pace, a famous scientist AND cave explorer, he convinced me that my caving skills would allowed me to carry out microbiology in some of the more remote cave environments on Earth. Since then I've become a Professor of Biology and Geosciences at the University of Akron, where my research lab studies microbial interactions and adaptations to cave environments, which has been funded by both the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US National Park Service. Since 2008 we have been investigating the role of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes White-nose Syndrome, developing the first Federal guidelines for decontamination. The research of my lab group has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Forbes, National Geographic Explorer, Outside, Science News, The Scientist, Popular Mechanics, Wired, Geo and The Smithsonian magazines, on NPR and BBC Radio, on Animal Planet, the History Channel, the CBS Early Show, BBC TV and in the IMAX movie Journey into Amazing Caves. I remain an avid cave explorer, having explored caves on five continents, have served as a past director of the National Speleological Society (NSS), and am currently a director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute. I'm also a Fellow of the National Speleological Society, a Kavli Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science, Chair of the Committee on the Status of Women in Microbiology for the American Society for Microbiology, and the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award.

Leah Shriver

Using new technologies, we now know that there are thousands of molecules in our bodies that have not yet been identified that contribute to our health. My laboratory focuses on discovering these compounds and manipulating them to prevent disease. I am particularly interested in discovering new molecules that have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, a goal that will be achieved with this project. I received my B.A. in Biology from Mount Holyoke College and it was here that I began to explore my passion for basic science. I received my Ph.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2007 and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego funded by the National Institutes of Health. During my postdoctoral training, I had the unique opportunity to obtain training on advanced analytical technologies to study metabolism. It was here that I was able to immerse myself in interdisciplinary projects to help develop new treatments for disease. I joined the faculty at the University of Akron in 2012 and continue to apply new OMICS technologies to identify therapies for infectious and inflammatory diseases. I have received an AB Sciex Young Investigator Award and am currently funded by the National Institutes of Health.