Véronique LaCapra, science reporter at St. Louis Public Radio, will travel with two UMSL graduate students to the Galapagos Islands for radio features produced through the PRX STEM Story Project. (Photo by August Jennewein)

St. Louis Public Radio | 90.7 KWMU science reporter Véronique LaCapra is one of the winners of a competition sponsored by the Public Radio Exchange, or PRX, to fund public radio stories about science, technology, engineering and math.

LaCapra’s project, “Following in Darwin’s Footsteps,” was among those chosen from over 100 proposals that were submitted to PRX. For the story, LaCapra will travel to the Galapagos Islands with two graduate students studying ecology and evolution at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Her feature will weave together their research — on a type of malaria that affects birds — with a profile of the two young women scientists, one from Ecuador, the other from Papua New Guinea.

“I think the story will highlight some interesting science, but as importantly, it will show the changing face of who is doing scientific research, and why,” LaCapra said. “The Galapagos Islands, which were Darwin’s inspiration and a touchstone in the history of evolutionary biology, will serve as a sound-rich backdrop.”

The radio features produced through the PRX STEM Story Project will be distributed by PRX and are being funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.