Drew University’s Brianne Barker appears on Dec. 1 “JEOPARDY! Champions Wildcard” Tournament
The Biology Department Chair answered producers’ call to compete against other past winners for a spot in this season’s prestigious “Tournament of Champions”
MADISON BOROUGH, NJ (Morris County) – A year and a half after her first victorious “JEOPARDY!” appearance, Brianne Barker, PhD, Drew University’s Biology Department Chair and Director of Undergraduate Research, recently returned to the Alex Trebek Stage in Los Angeles for the “JEOPARDY! Champions Wildcard Tournament.”
Barker participated with two former champions from JEOPARDY! shows in the fall of 2020 to summer of 2022 in the competition broadcast Friday, Dec. 1.
Barker answered the producers’ call to compete in the tournament of 105 past winners for a spot in the show’s prestigious “Tournament of Champions.” For the first time ever, players who won one, two or three games in Seasons 37 and 38 but did not qualify for the Tournament of Champions in those seasons were invited back to compete for a berth in the 40th season’s “Tournament of Champions.”
Contestants were divided up into four groups, with Barker playing in the Hearts Group for the “JEOPARDY! Champions Wildcard Tournament.” With a weekly audience of more than 20 million viewers, “JEOPARDY!” is the top-rated quiz show on television. Now in its 40th season in syndication, the show has received many awards and honors. “JEOPARDY!” holds the Guinness World Records® title for the most Emmy® Awards won by a TV game show (43 Emmys); it is also the recipient of a Peabody Award for “celebrating and rewarding knowledge.”
Barker earned her B.S. degree from Duke University, where she majored in biology and minored in chemistry and history, and her Ph.D. in immunology from Harvard University. She began studying immune responses to viruses as an undergraduate and is passionate about sharing her knowledge about immunology, virology, microbiology and science writing to a diverse audience.
At her lab at Drew, Brianne engages undergraduates in studying the innate immune response to DNA and the relationship between viral pathogenesis and the evolution of DNA-sensing innate immune receptors. She’s an ardent promoter of women in STEM and the relationship between science and other parts of the liberal arts.
“JEOPARDY!” airs in the NJ/NY area on WABC Channel 7 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
