NIGS Lecture Series publicity material for the talk of Dr. Mairin Francesca A. Balisi on "Finding the Ice Age in Your Backyard."
For the fourth quarter of 2025, the Nannoworks Laboratory invited Dr. Mairin Francesca A. Balisi on 03 October 2025, to talk about her research on vertebrate fossils as a museum curator and research fellow in California. Her talk highlighted the value of local “backyard” investigations in global biodiversity studies. Dr. Balisi shared her childhood experience and curiosity that led to her research in the La Brea Tar Pits megafauna. The event was attended by the laboratory members, the Paleontological Society of the Philippines, and the NIGS community. This talk is a collaboration between the laboratory, PaleoSoc, and the Iuvenis Orbis Geological Fraternity for the NannoTalks and NIGS Lecture Series.
Dr. Balisi is the Augustyn Family Curator of Paleontology at the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology. She is also a Research Fellow at the University of California, Merced, and a Visiting Scholar at Claremont McKenna College. Balisi earned her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from UCLA with a dissertation on carnivory and resource specialization in North American fossil canids. Her research focuses on paleontology, evolutionary biology, and the ecology of ancient carnivores. She has an extensive publication record, numerous awards and grants, and active involvement in science communication and outreach.