Sheril R. Kirshenbaum

Sheril Kirshenbaum is a research scientist who studies how policymakers and the public make decisions about science and policy on issues ranging from climate change to our food choices. At Michigan State University, she hosts "Our Table," a series of round table discussions bringing together farmers, food experts, health professionals and community members to foster dialogue about where our food comes from and how it impacts our health and planet. She also directs the biannual Food Literacy and Engagement Poll to help inform national discussion, business planning and policy development.

Sheril hosts Serving Up Science at PBS Digital Studios and is executive director of Science Debate, a nonprofit nonpartisan organization working to get every candidate on record on science policy. She co-authored Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future with Chris Mooney and wrote The Science of Kissing.

Sheril has been featured in documentary films and her writing appears in popular publications and scientific journals, as well as The Best American Science Writing 2010. She has hosted blogs at Discover, Scientific American and Wired, as well as the weekly NPR podcast Serving Up Science.

Sheril has been a Presidential Leadership Scholar, a Marshall Memorial Fellow, a legislative NOAA Fellow in the U.S. Senate with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) and a Next Generation Fellow through the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law.

Previously Sheril served as director of the University of Texas at Austin Energy Poll. She has worked at the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy and Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. She has been a fellow with the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History and a Howard Hughes Research Fellow. Sheril holds Masters degrees in marine biology and policy and is working toward a PhD in community sustainability.

Sub-specialties:
Agriculture
Our food system - plant-based meats, cell cultured meat, emissions from agriculture, public attitudes on food, food literacy
Climate change - energy, water & food, limited resources
Community sustainability
Science and the public
Science in the Media
Public trust in science
The Science of Kissing
Science and our Relationships
Science policy as it relates to health, technology and the environment