Alie Ward

I understand your PhD involved also collecting a lot of snow leopard poop, perhaps from ridges.

How did you wind up in the arms of snow leopards?

Oh, I was super bummed.

But the position went to one of Imogene's good friends and colleagues.

And Imogene went on to get her master's studying bobcat genetics, all the while still sending occasional emails to this snow leopard guy being like, oh, hey, I'm getting my master's.

Cut banks.

Email your potential boss.

Nothing to lose.

So a few months after completing that master's, she got an email saying,

Hey, interested in doing a snow leopard PhD?

You'd be using your skills in molecular ecology and genetics to investigate snow leopard evolutionary history throughout their range, which is in 12 different countries in Central Asia.

She interviewed, and then one day, while at an RV park helping a friend with some weasel research, Imogene's phone rang.

What was the field work like also?

How long were you out there in the snow, trekking up mountains, sniffing for cat poop?

So Imogene put her genetic skill set to use, filling knowledge gaps on where these snow leopards were living and migrating, and then applying that to conservation efforts across the boundaries of these countries.

Just for context, Mount Everest is 29,000 feet, only 4,000 feet higher than snow leopards are kicking it.

No oxygen tanks, no gear, no Sherpas, no $60,000 selfies, just barefoot, nude, furry, hungry, and evolutionarily adapted.

Oh my God.

Okay, but what if you're hiking to a summit and you don't have time to make a fire and roast something?

Imogene says you need fat, protein, carbs, and also some quick, simple carbohydrates to keep your blood sugar up.