Turning a childhood love of frogs into a battle with one of the largest pesticide companies is some people’s dream, others’ nightmare, and Dr. Tyrone Hayes’ reality. He told his life story as a distinguished speaker in CST’s Evnin Lecture series on February 11, weaving together humor about such topics as the number of photographs of frog gonads he would be showing, somberness about the findings of damage to testes of male individuals across multiple species that were exposed to the pesticide atrazine, and defiance in the face of personal and professional attacks by the atrazine manufacturers. His ultimate message was about how important it has been to connect his animal studies back to human impacts, especially on farm workers, who are predominantly Latinx, and how that work is made more meaningful because it is done by people of color who have been disproportionally impacted by pollution.

Watch the Evnin Lecture 

Photography by David Kelly Crow