NFL cheerleader turned scientist to give lecture at FIU

Mireya Mayor, anthropologist, primatologist, wildlife correspondent and motivational speaker, will present “My Wild Life” Friday, March 23 at Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall 1100 (RDB 1100) in the FIU College of Law.

The seminar is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Mayor is the daughter of Cuban immigrants and a Miami native. She earned her B.A. in anthropology and philosophy from the University of Miami in 1997. During her stint as a cheerleader with the Miami Dolphins in 1998, she applied for and earned a grant that allowed her to delve into the unexplored jungles of Guyana. The following year, Mayor traveled to Madagascar and completed the first, long-term, genetic studies of two endangered primates, Perrier’s sifaka and the Silky sifaka. Mayor earned her Ph.D. in anthropology with a specialization in primates from Stony Brook University in 2008.

Mayor has made television appearances on MSNBC, CNN, the “Today” show and Despierta America. She has also been profiled in People, Marie Claire, Latina, National Geographic Adventure, Vanidades and Elle magazines. She is a Fullbright scholar, National Science Foundation fellow and a published author. She published her autobiography, Pink Boots and a Machete, in March 2011. Mayor was nominated for two Emmy awards for her work on The History Channel’s “Ultimate Explorer” and she hosted the series “Wild Nights with Mireya Mayor” on National Geographic’s “Nat Geo Wild!”

“In choosing speakers, we not only look at their professional work, but we also are very interested in their life stories and how personal challenges led to their career choice,” said Bryan Dewsbury, head teaching assistant with QBIC and Ph.D candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences. “Dr. Mayor’s unlikely journey that led to her current profession will speak to many of our students, particularly those who share her cultural background. Her work highlights a relationship between the natural world and society that many of our students often don’t get to confront. I think is of paramount importance as we continue to encourage our students to think of science in a contextual way.”

The event is part of the Quantifying Biology In the Classroom (QBIC) program’s “Confluence” seminar series that introduces undergraduate students to researchers, their work and the ways in which their personal lives inspire their scientific questions.