Naiyiri wants to put “out of sight, out of mind” critters in the spotlight. Benthic invertebrates are super important in marine and freshwater systems, they tell you how the environment is doing. Apart from oysters filtering water, there are snails, segmented worms and so many more who play a part.

Her nerd journey began during her childhood in Greverath, Germany. One day, she saw an ocean documentary on TV. Upon witnessing the underwater marine scenes with calming narration, she decided to make a presentation about octopi specifically for her family. She sat her family down many more times for PowerPoints about squids, pigs and snails (oh my!). Ever since, this love for nature and sharing her passion has influenced her career in STEM, cosplaying and showing off her crafts.

As an adult, few things excite her more than looking at invertebrates under a microscope, especially when she sees the same one over and over again before coming across a new critter to identify.

As a kid, Shannon Spence was hooked on The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. Now, she’s a lab tech and cartoonist. Her comic, P*nk Lab Grl! follows punk girl Shelley who “gets a job at a laboratory to help fund her band’s show”.

Shannon gets pumped up by over the top, indulgent, fun comics that go HARD with the artwork. She likes microbiology because it’s more artsy… growing bacteria, identifying color (even smell) and how it looks in order to identify things more accurately.

She wishes more people understood the crucial role labs play in medicine, “we’re the unsung heroes of hospitals”. In fact, did you know 70% of all medical decisions are made based on lab results?