Biologist Dr. Giorgia Auteri has always been interested in wildlife and nature. 

Bats, specifically, caught her attention when she realized how many species of them exist. Bats also intrigued her because they are not easily seen or heard by humans.

Auteri started researching bats after she completed her bachelor’s degree in environmental management in 2010. That has continued over the years and in her current role as assistant professor of biology at Missouri State University.

She recently contributed to a research paper titled “Persist or Perish: Can Bats Threatened with Extinction Persist and Recover from White-nose Syndrome?” It was published in the September 2024 issue of Integrative and Comparative Biology. 

Auteri shares more about bats, the threat they have been facing from white-nose syndrome and how the work of researchers like her have revealed crucial insights about white-nose syndrome, and thus help bats survive infections.

Read the full transcript for part 1

Read the full transcript for part 2

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