In this episode, I speak with Dr. Rachel Diner. She is researching the microbiome of oysters. Her research helps us learn how oyster microbiomes affect human health. We also talk about science communication, surfing, and other microbes that exist in coastal areas! Dr Diner’s career path (0:00:48) Why are we studying the microbiome of oysters? (0:02:50) What is a ‘microbiome’? (0:04:28) Viruses as part of the microbiome (0:06:00) Learning about the oyster species (0:07:32) How learning about oyster microbiome informs human health (0:08:19) Artificial oyster reefs (0:10:42) Working at Scripps (0:12:54) What’s been surprising about her research so far? (0:15:01) Early days of microbiome research (0:16:02) Things humans can get from oysters (0:17:43) Threats to oyster microbiomes (0:21:54) How do microbes evolve within a microbiome? (0:23:54) How long do oysters live? (0:25:02) Fecal matter transplants? (0:26:14) Opportunities to study other microbiomes (0:27:20) Assumptions made about marine biology work (0:29:27) Science communication (0:30:17) The post-doc reality (0:33:52) Free Living microbes (0:35:52) Dr. Diner’s love of surfing (0:37:43) Ear infections from microbes (0:38:24) How and why she picked up surfing (0:40:27) Research freedom (0:43:18) Does Dr. Diner still eat oysters? (0:48:15) Visit Rachel’s website: https://racheldiner.com/ Follow Rachel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/racheldiner Visit Planet B612 on the web: http://planetb612.fm/ Follow Planet B612 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlanetB612fm Support Planet B612 on Patreon: https://patreon.com/juliesworld