Kiki Sanford facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kirsten H. Sanford
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Sanford in 2016 on This Week in Science
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| Born | 1974/1975 (age 50–51) Santa Rosa, California, U.S.
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| Other names | Dr. Kiki |
| Education | University of California, Davis (BS, PhD) |
| Known for | This Week in Science podcast |
Kirsten "Kiki" Sanford is an American scientist who studies the brain (a neurophysiologist) and shares science with others (a science communicator). She used to be a research scientist at the University of California, Davis. But she decided to change her path and focus on making science fun and easy to understand for everyone. She has created many audio and video shows. These include the This Week in Science radio show and podcast, and Dr. Kiki's Science Hour, where she talked to science experts.
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About Kiki Sanford
Kiki Sanford was born in Santa Rosa, California and grew up near Stockton, California. She earned two degrees from University of California, Davis: a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in conservation biology and a PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology. She is an expert in how we learn and remember things.
While she was in graduate school, Kiki found that the rules and paperwork of academic research were not for her. She decided to switch her career from doing research to sharing science with the public. Kiki also has a black belt in taekwondo, which is a martial art. She said martial arts was a good way to relax when her research work was tough. Kiki lived in San Francisco with her husband before they moved to Portland, Oregon, in April 2015.
Sharing Science with Everyone
Kiki Sanford, also known as "Dr. Kiki," creates and appears in many science education programs. She explains her goal: "My main idea is to reach people who might not usually like science and help them see it as something enjoyable. I want people who maybe struggled with chemistry or a science fair project to say, 'This is really interesting!'"
This Week in Science
Sanford is the host and editor of the This Week in Science radio show and podcast. She started this show in 1999. This Week in Science is a weekly program. It used to be streamed live from the This Week in Tech Network (TWiT) and then replayed on U.C. Davis' KDVS radio station.
Today, This Week in Science records new episodes every Wednesday night. They use a live streaming service that broadcasts on YouTube and the This Week in Science website.
Other Science Shows
In late 2007, Sanford started working on a successful series called Food Science. This program explored the science behind cooking and showed fun food experiments you could do at home. In 2008, she also became a co-host for Revision3's show PopSiren. PopSiren aimed to give a "feminine perspective" on pop culture and technology.
In May 2008, Sanford and other scientists and skeptics created a pilot episode for a TV show called The Skeptologists. The idea was that people who claimed to be experts in pseudoscience or the paranormal would present their claims. Then, the team would investigate these claims.
On April 30, 2009, Dr. Kiki's Science Hour began broadcasting on TWiT.tv. This show was recorded live and later became a podcast. Guests on the show included scientists, skeptics, and other science communicators. Famous guests included astronomer Phil Plait and neurologist Steven Novella. The last episode of this show aired on June 29, 2012. While at TWiT, she also co-hosted Green Tech Today, which was about environmentally friendly technology. She also hosted Science News Weekly, a short five-minute show.
Sanford has also produced and hosted different parts of The Science Channel's science program called Brink.
In February 2015, Sanford started a new company called Broader Impacts. This company helps researchers and other scientists communicate their work better. It creates videos and uses social media to share scientific information.
Awards and Recognition
In 2005, Kiki Sanford received the American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship. This award recognized her great work with her radio show This Week in Science. As part of this fellowship, she worked as a television news producer at WNBC News in New York City. There, she worked alongside a well-known health and science reporter named Max Gomez.
