Age: 34
Job Title:PhD candidate, Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta; Co-Boss, Nerd Nite Edmonton
Why She’s Top 40: She’s passionate about the power of learning to create a healthy and vibrant Edmonton
Lauren Albrecht is not shy about admitting she’s a nerd. In fact, she wants you to be a nerd, too. That’s why she is co-founder, producer and co-host of Nerd Nite Edmonton, a wildly popular monthly speaker series “like Discovery Channel with beer” that consistently sells out within hours. With 37 shows and 113 speakers under it’s belt, Nerd Nite Edmonton has explored and celebrated all disciplines while creating a community of curious Edmontonians.
Albrecht has devoted herself to educating folks from all walks of life, and is currently working on a PhD in pediatrics. She is creating an educational video for the parents of children suffering from the stomach flu and its symptoms. She made a whiteboard animation video about the stages and symptoms of the stomach flu, what parents should watch for, when to go to the hospital and when to stay home. She screens the videos for parents and surveys them to learn whether and how the video was helpful.
“I love to teach because I love to learn,” Albrecht says. “I help people come to their own understanding and in doing so I learn more about the world, the people in it and how to communicate best with them.”
In 2016, while working on her PhD, she was awarded an Alberta Innovates: Health Solutions Media fellowship – a three-month opportunity with CBC Radio in Edmonton, during which she produced two series that aired in Edmonton and Northern Alberta: one on child health, the second on gender bias in science and research. Albrecht is currently developing a pilot podcast (as associate producer and host) that will marry science, research, politics, pop-culture and all things Edmonton.
