WCU Magazine Summer 2026

WCU TEDx Event
Links Science, Art, and the Human Experience

What started as a casual conversation between a WCU student and one of her favorite advisors turned into a complete TEDx event this spring that brought science and art together.

Now an alumna, Alexandra Gianaris ’25 teamed with Dr. Jessica Sullivan-Brown, WCU associate biology professor, to bring the event to life. The idea of exploring the intersection of science and art was personal to Gianaris, who started her collegiate career in technical theatre but graduated with a biology degree.

“Having an event that discusses the world around us and connects the sciences to other fields such as the arts is critical to advancing knowledge and seeking solutions to challenges in our world,” said Dr. Jessica OShaughnessy, dean of WCU’s College of the Sciences and Mathematics (CSM). “Building community allows us to open the doors of learning for more people.”

TEDx programs are smaller, more locally focused offshoots of an official TED conference, where experts speak for a limited time. WCU’s program saw eight speakers presenting diverse topics, among them, public gardens and loneliness, ant colonies and motherhood, and sharing flatworms with colleagues. Each speaker intertwined a complex idea with a personal, human connection.

Jessica Turner-Skoff, associate director of science communications at Longwood Gardens, spoke first, advocating that public gardens offer a powerful antidote to what she described as a national crisis of connection. “The loneliest place in the world isn’t in the wilderness,” she said. “It’s the space created when we lose connection between ourselves, others, and the natural world.”

Four professors and one student represented WCU:

• Dance Professor Maria Urrutia
• Biology Professor Dr. Oné R. Pagán
• Costume Technology and Design Professor Constance Case
• Biology Assistant Professor Dr. Manuela Ramalho
• Cell and Molecular Biology (pre-med) student Sakina Zaidi

Zaidi closed the program with a presentation on the unexpected parallels between calligraphy and the microscopic architecture of the human body, noting, “Science and our bodies aren’t as rigid as we make them out to be. It just takes some close, detailed examination to truly witness the art that is science.”

The event was sponsored by the CSM Student and Community Engagement Award and supported by faculty, students, and production staff from across the WCU community. It can be viewed online at the WCUofPA Digital Media Center YouTube channel.

(L-R) Dr. Jessica Sullivan-Brown, associate professor of biology, and Dr. Jessica OShaughnessy, dean of the College of the Sciences and Mathematics