nerd nite melbourne

Mark your calendars! We’re back on Monday night (6 April @ 8pm). It’s going to be a slightly different format but we’ll still have trivia to start and then two talks (instead of three). This go around we’ll start with a brand new talk and end the night with a classic.

Catch the live stream on FB.

We hope to see you there! Be there. Be square.

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Wild Origins: the story of wildlife, infectious disease and us
By Andrew Peters

In the wake of COVID-19, there is intense focus on the origin of viruses from wildlife. And while humans have been afflicted by the spill over of infectious diseases from wildlife for thousands of years, all those who live through such events are left asking the questions ‘why here?’ and ‘why now?’. Research over the past few decades has shed unprecedented light on the origin of human infectious diseases from wildlife. This knowledge is opening new opportunities to prevent such events, but is also sounding a stark warning about the risks to our health in a future of global environmental disruption.

BIO: Andrew Peters (Associate Professor in Wildlife Health and Pathology) is an expert, though he’s not sure what he’s an expert of any more. He’s a vet, but you may not want him treating your beloved pet. He’s a researcher, but attempts (mostly successfully) to avoid doing actual experiments. And he’s a teacher, but he doesn’t really have any expertise in the subjects he teaches. He does, however, know some stuff about wildlife and about being sick and he’s managed to cobble a career together out of it.

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Behind the Curtain
Cessalee Stovall

Going to the theatre is a special form of entertainment. You enter the theatre, sit in a probably tiny seat, and prepare to be stimulated for two to three hours. But have you ever thought about what happens on the other side of the curtain? From stage right to stage fights, from physio to fire curtains, Cessalee will give you insight to what really goes on before and after the curtain goes up. With a career that spans several decades and two continents, learn a bit more about life under the bright lights in the world of musical theatre. Make sure to brush up on your jazz hands!

BIO: Cessalee Stovall is a musical theatre actress who came to Australia as a cast member in The Book of Mormon after being a cast member in the US production since 2012. Originally from Indiana (it’s ok, no one knows where that is) she’s travelled around the US performing in such exciting places as Quakertown, PA, Rome, GA, and St. George, UT – although she has spent most of her performing career in Chicago and New York City. She’s currently working on a passion project, Stage A Change, to create more performance opportunities for aspiring theatre artists of colour throughout Australia!