New Fundraiser Kicks Off Supporting MicrobeTV and Free Science Education

Every quarter, the doctors at Parasites Without Borders (PWB), a global health nonprofit, host a fundraiser to support organizations that work to improve healthcare for populations worldwide. Kicking off November 1, 2024, and running through to the end of January 2025, PWB is fundraising for MicrobeTV, a 501c3 nonprofit organization and independent podcast network that hosts shows about viruses, bacteria, parasites, evolution, immunology, and neuroscience. These podcasts are open access, accessible, and digestible — with a mission to provide free science education to all.

MicrobeTV was founded in 2015 by Vincent Racaniello, PhD, and professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Columbia University. Racaniello began his first podcast, This Week in Virology (TWiV), in 2008 with Dickson D. Despommier, PhD, and emeritus professor of Microbiology and Public Health at Columbia. In the early years, Racaniello viewed the science podcast as an experiment. “I was shocked when people began to listen,” he shared. “I think about viruses every day, and I love to know there are so many others who are interested. It's my goal to teach virology and other life sciences to the world, and I believe that that education should be free.”

Over the years, Racaniello and Despommier have invited other Columbia professors and notable scientists and doctors to join their efforts and have since created 11 podcasts. “We have a science podcast for everyone,” says Dr. Daniel Griffin, MD, PhD, and co-founder and president of Parasites Without Borders. Dr. Griffin is board certified in Infectious Disease, and teaches at Columbia as an associate research scientist in the Department of Biochemistry and as an instructor in Clinical Medicine — he’s also a podcast host on This Week in Parasitism (TWiP), This Week in Virology (TWiV), and Infectious Disease Puscast (Puscast). The scientists’ collective enthusiasm for teaching inspired them to reach beyond the classroom through new media, first traversing into the world of podcasting and now hosting lectures, science shows, interviews, live streams, and more on YouTube. They teach complex life science topics in an informal yet conversational way, accessible to anyone who wants to learn more about the body. Recent podcast episodes cover topics like heavy metal microbes, systemic autoimmune diseases, how pregnancy transforms the brain, a plan on eliminating cervical cancer, and how measles is back.

“Now more than ever, people in our world need access to accurate science so they’re able to identify disinformation,” shared Racaniello. “Too many suffer from the burden of disease, and our hope is to educate not only the community, but doctors in the field treating patients.” Parasites Without Borders’ fundraiser is a crucial component in keeping MicrobeTV ‘s content free and open access. All donations made will be matched by PWB and donated to MicrobeTV with a minimum pledged donation of $10,000 and a total gift of up to $20,000. Donate by visiting parasiteswithoutborders.com/donate or by sending a check in the mail to Parasites Without Borders, 23 Murray Avenue, Port Washington, NY 11050.