Native Californian Jingmai O’Connor goes full metal in all pursuits, from postdoc research to gym routine and all-organic diet. After earning her Ph.D. at the University of Southern California, the self-described “punk rock paleontologist” spent 10 years in Beijing — a perfect spot for her vocation, considering the vast majority of rare feathered-dinosaur specimens come from Liaoning Province in northeast China. The Field Museum’s associate curator of fossil reptiles since 2020, the Printers Row resident bikes or walks everywhere. As she approaches her 40th birthday in late August, O’Connor recently added “kids’ author” to her CV (November’s When Dinosaurs Conquered the Skies), and she’s now featured in a Field exhibition, The Changing Face of Science, highlighting women and people of color in the profession.

Is kickboxing your favorite way to exercise?

“Yeah. That and dancing — I’m obsessed with dancing! I recently danced for 11 hours at this musical festival in Spain. My parents met out dancing, and my husband, Jochen, and I met when we were out dancing in Beijing in 2017.”

What’s your go-to breakfast?

“Every morning, we have a huge vegetable-fruit smoothie with a big chunk of ginger in it. I also have goji berries with chia seeds, which I make Sunday night and eat all week. I add collagen supplements and functional mushroom powder — chaga and lion’s mane, which stimulate neurogenesis. And I have coffee with goat’s milk; that’s my treat.”

What’s the rest of your dietary routine like?

“We eat only organic, and we look for sustainable practices. It’s so important to be a conscious consumer. We cook for ourselves 90 percent of the time. Jochen makes amazing pizza! He’s the son of a baker. I’m gluten-free, and he’s cracked the code for gluten-free pizza dough.”