Dr. Danna Staaf

Dr. Danna Staaf is an author, science communicator, and marine biologist. Danna’s dissertation topic was the reproduction and early life of Humboldt squid, or as she likes to summarize it, “squid sex and babies.” Now, she writes popular science books for adults and for children, gives public lectures, and draws funny educational comics. In this video, Danna talks about what she considers a moral failure related to how it felt for her to sacrifice so many squid for her dissertation research. Though it was difficult for her to reconcile both the importance of the lives of animals and scientific research, Danna was able to navigate through her PhD with the help of meditation and journaling, and the experience has informed how she talks about animals and their deaths today in her roles as both a science communicator and parent.