Santa Maria wrote her first blog for The Huffington Post in March 2010 before joining the publication as its founding science correspondent and host of the Talk Nerdy to Me web series from October 2011 until April 2013.[7][8] She also co-hosted Take Part Live with Jacob SoboroffonPivot TV.[9] She officially joined the online political and social commentary program The Young Turks as an occasional panelist in May 2013.[10] She was a guest on the TV series Brain Games.
Santa Maria was born and raised in Plano, Texas,[1] the younger of two daughters. Her parents, a school teacher and an engineer, both came from Catholic families and converted to Mormonism together as adults, raising their children in the religion, and for a while Santa Maria attended church daily before classes.[11] Years after her parents divorced, she left the LDS church at 15 and came out as an atheist.[5] Her ancestry is Puerto Rican on her mother's side.[12]: 2:35
Santa Maria taught biology and psychology courses to university undergraduates as well as high school students in Texas and New York.[16][better source needed] Her published research has spanned various topics, including clinical psychological assessment, the neuropsychology of blindness, neuronal cell culture techniques, and computational neurophysiology.[16][better source needed] Santa Maria was enrolled in a doctoral program studying clinical neuropsychologyatQueens College, CUNY, where she worked as an adjunct professor and laboratory researcher, but withdrew after a year of coursework to pursue science communication full-time.[citation needed]
In 2004, Santa Maria won the Texas Psychological Association and Texas Psychology Foundation's Alexander Psychobiology/Psychophysiology Award (Student Merit Research Competition) for contributions in undergraduate research concerning neuropsychological deficits among individuals with alcohol dependence or abuse in a visually impaired/blind population.[17] In the clinical neuropsychological setting, Santa Maria assisted in development and research of computer adapted guides for educational management of students with both neuropsychological dysfunction and visual impairment.[18]
In a 2013 interview in Skeptical Inquirer, when asked how she became interested in science, Santa Maria said:
It's funny, because when I was really, really young, I was obsessed with dinosaurs, and I would try to dig up dinosaur bones in my backyard. As a kindergartner, I was sure that I was going to grow up to become a paleontologist. Cut to high school, when I was scared out of my mind of science and avoided science like the plague, and I don't think that I was really well-prepared for that dream. I found out later that you have to study rocks and dirt and all sorts of things that I didn't care about. So I ended up actually studying psychology in college, after making a switch from vocal jazz performance – a random, winding road! It wasn't until I got really into psychology that I realized how fascinating the brain part of the equation, and the brain-behavior relationship, was. So I decided to stick around after I got my undergrad and study biology – specifically neuroscience – for my master's degree.[13]
She makes regular appearances on popular YouTube programs, such as Stan Lee's FanWars, Wil Wheaton's Tabletop, and The Point.[29] She has also guested on multiple podcasts, such as The Nerdist Podcast, Point of Inquiry, Star Talk and the Joe Rogan Experience. Speaking with Chris MooneyonPoint of Inquiry in 2012, Santa Maria recognized that her work on behalf of science can sometimes be polarizing,[30]: 12:40 and said that she tries “to write with a lot of respect and reverence for people's ideas.”[30]: 12:45
In March 2014, Santa Maria debuted her weekly podcast entitled Talk Nerdy. New episodes premiere every Monday and guests typically revolve around those involved in STEM fields, however individuals with careers oriented in new media and pop culture also make appearances. Additionally, atheism and politics are popular topics of conversation.[35][3]
Santa Maria wrote the foreword of atheism activist David Silverman's book, Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World, published in December 2015.[36]
On July 18, 2015, during the live taping of episode 524 of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe (SGU) podcast at The Amaz!ng Meeting, it was announced that Santa Maria would be joining the podcast, and she joined the other SGU members to record her first show as a regular member of their team.[4]
In July 2015, Santa Maria was named a correspondent on "Real Future" for Fusion.[37]
In 2016, Santa Maria hosted on-line video segments that accompany the reality TV show America's Greatest Makers.[38]
2014: Knight Innovation Give Forward Award, presented by Neil deGrasse Tyson for Santa Maria's efforts to make science clearer for a broad public audience.[40]
2015: 67th Los Angeles Area Emmy Award for feature segment: Natural History Museum's Citizen Science Insect Labeling Project[41]
2016: 68th Los Angeles Area Emmy Award for Information/Public Affairs Series (Greater than 50% remote): SoCal Connected.[42]
^ ab"Podcast #524". Theskepticsguide.org. The Skeptics Guide to the Universe. 25 July 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
^ abcSanta Maria, Cara. "Cara Santa Maria: Bio". Carasantamaria.com. Cara Santa Maria. Archived from the original on 2017-10-02. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
^Jenkins, Sharon Rae (2008). A Handbook of Clinical Scoring Systems for Thematic Apperceptive Techniques. New York: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. ISBN978-0805843736.
^"About Cara". Carasantamaria.com. Cara Santa Maria. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
^Santa Maria, Cara. "Cara Santa Maria: Awards". Carasantamaria.com. Cara Santa Maria. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.