People Behind the Science Podcast - Stories from Scientists about Science, Life, Research, and Science Careers

Dr. Jeffrey Bada is a Distinguised Research Professor of Marine Chemistry and Distinguished Profesor of Marine Chemistry Emeritus at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. He received his PhD in Chemistry  from UCSD and worked for a brief time as a Research Fellow at the Hoffman Labs at Harvard University. He then joined the faculty at UCSD and has risen through the ranks there. Jeffrey has also served as the Director of the NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training in Exobiology. He was an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow and is a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life. His research has been widely featured in the media, including The New York Times, Scientific American, The Naked Scientists, The LA Times, and many more. Jeff is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Roshan Cools is a Professor of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry of the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre and a Principal Investigator of the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour (Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging) in the Netherlands. She received a Masters degree in Experimental and Neuropsychology from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands as well as a MPhil degree and PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Cambridge. Afterward, she worked as a Junior Research Fellow at St. John's College and the Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Cambridge. She traveled to the University of California, Berkeley for a postdoctoral fellowship and then served briefly as a Royal Society University Research Fellow back at the University of Cambridge before accepting her position at the Donders Institute and the Radboud University in nijmegen. She has received a number of personal awards, including the James McDonnell Scholar Award (2012) and the Young Investigator Award of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society (2012). Roshan is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Jacquelyn Gill is an Assistant Professor of Paleoecology and Plant Ecology at the University of Maine. She received her Masters degree and PhD in Geography from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Afterward she served as a the Voss Postdoctoral Fellow at Brown University before joining the faculty at the University of Maine. She was the recipient of the E. Lucy Braun Award for Excellence in Ecology, the Student Section Award for Excellent Women in Ecology, and the Cooper Award all from the Ecological Society of America. She also received the Trewarth Award for Best Student Paper, the Graduate Peer Mentor Award, and the Whitbeck Dissertator Fellowship from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Jacquelyn is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman is a Research Space Sientist with NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center. He received his Masters Degree in Earth Sciences from the University of Rochester and his PhD in Astrobiology and Geosciences from the Pennsylvania State University. Shawn previously worked as a Research Associate at Penn State, a Research Associate in the Virtual Planetary Laboratory at the University of Washington, and also served as the NASA Astrobiology Management Postdoctoral Fellow before accepting his current position. Shawn is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. James Pipas is the Herbert W. and Grace boyer Chair in Molecular Biology and Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his PhD in Molecular Biophysics from Florida State University and completed his postdoctoral training at Baylor College and the John Hopkins School of Medicine. Jim has been a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh now for over 30 years. Jim is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Kristen Pickett is an Assistant Professor in the Occupational Therapy Program within the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She received her Masters in Kinesiology and her PhD in Kinesiology, Biomechanics, and Neural Control from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Concurrently, she worked as a human factor engineer at 3M. Afterward, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine before joining the faculty at University of Wisconsin, Madison. Kristen is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Daniel MacArthur is Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital and an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Daniel received his PhD in Human Genetics from the University of Sydney and served as a Postdoctoral Scientist at Children's Hospital at Westmead. Daniel worked as a Research Fellow at Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute before accepting his current appointments. In addition to his superb research, Daniel has written many blog articles for both Wired Science and ScienceBlogs.com. Daniel is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Ken Dawson-Skully is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Florida Atlantic University. He received his Master's degree in Neurobiology from Queen's University and his PhD in Neurophysiology from the University of Toronto. Ken then conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Toronto before joining the faculty at Florida Atlantic University. Ken is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Randi Martin is the Elma Schneider Professor in the Department of Psychology at Rice University and an Adjunct Professor of Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Science at Baylor College of Medicine. She received her Master's Degree and PhD in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University. Randi served as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of California, Santa Cruz and an Associate Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University before joining the faculty at Rice. She has received many honors and awards during her career, including being named a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, a Fellow of the American Psychological Society, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as election to the Society of Experimental Psychologists. Randi is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Wendy Bohrson is a Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences and Director of the Science Talent Expansion Program at Central Washington University. She received her PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles. Afterward, Wendy accepted a University of California Office of the President Postdoctoral Fellowship and a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. She was also employed in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara as a researcher and lecturer before joining the faculty at Central Washington University. Wendy is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Paul Vasey is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Laboratory of Comparative Sexuality at the University of Lethbridge. He received his PhD from the University of Montreal in Anthropology. He did postdoctoral fellowships at Concordia University and York University before joining the Faculty at Lethbridge. Paul’s work has been the subject of various documentaries on television (National Geographic’s Ultimate Explorer, Discovery Channel, The Nature of Things) and the radio (U.S National Public Radio, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Netherlands).  This work has been reported on in hundreds of newspapers and magazines such as the New York Times, The Economist, and Oprah Magazine. Paul is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Karen James is a staff scientist at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Maine.  She received her PhD in Genetics from the University of Washington and conducted postdoctoral research at the Natural History Museum in London before joining the MDI Lab. Karen is also Co-Founder and Director of UK-based charity The HMS Beagle Trust which is working to rebuild the HMS Beagle and retrace the journey of Charles Darwin with a new generation of students and scientists. Karen is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. James (JC) Cahill is a Professor of Ecology in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta. He received his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Pennsylvania. Afterward, he served briefly as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Ursinus College and then on the faculty at the University of Delaware before joining the faculty at the University of Alberta where he has been for about 15 years. JC is here with us today to share his journey through life and science.

Dr. David Clifford is the Melba and Forest Seay Professor of Clinical Neuropharmacology in Neurology and Professor of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. In addition, he is the Principal Investigator for the Washington University AIDS Clinical Trials Unit and Principle investigator for the NeuroNext Clinical Trials Unit. David received his MD from Washington University School of Medicine and completed residency in medicine and neurology at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Neurology before joining the faculty at Washington University. David has received many awards and honors during his career, including being named an Honorary Professor of Neurology at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, a Counselor of the American Neurological Association, as well as receipt of the Neville Grant Award for Clinical Excellence from Barnes Jewish Hospital, receipt of the Award for Humanism in Medicine from Washington University in St. Louis, and he was selected to serve on the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council. David is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Anne Jefferson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geology at Kent State University. She received her Masters Degree in Water Resources Sciences from the University of Minnesota and her PhD in Geology from Oregon State University. She completed postdoctoral research at Oregon State and served on the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte from 2007 to 2012 before joining the faculty at Kent State. Anne is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Suzanne Simard is a Professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia. She received her PhD in Forest Sciences from Oregon State University and she worked as a research scientist at the British Columbia Ministry of Forests before joining the faculty at UBC. Suzanne's research has been widely featured by media venues, including CBC TV, Black Forests Productions, PBS Nature, NPR, TED-Ed, and the New Yorker. She is also a recipient of the UBC Killam Teaching Award. Suzanne is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Herbert Geller is a Senior Investigator in the Developmental Neurobiology Section and Head of the Office of Education  at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. He received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and conducted postdoctoral research afterward at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Herbert served on the faculty at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School for over 30 years before joining the NIH. He is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and he is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Linda Van Dillen is an associate professor in the Program in Physical Therapy and Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. She is also Associate Director of Musculoskeletal Research in the Program in Physical Therapy. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Missouri at Columbia and and afterward accepted a position at Washington University in St. Louis as a Physical Therapist. Linda went back to graduate school at Washington University to earn her Masters Degree in Health Science and PhD in Experimental Psychology. Linda is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Glenn Rall is a Professor at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. He is also the Leader of the Inflammation Working Group there and Co-Leader of the Immune Cell Development and Host Defense Program. In addition, Glenn is the Associate Chief Academic Officer and Director of the Postdoctoral Program. Glenn also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Microbiology and Immunology departments at Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University, and Drexel University. He received his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Vanderbilt University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute before accepting a position at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Glenn is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. John Logsdon is an Associate Professor of Biology and former Director of the Pentacrest Museums at the University of Iowa. John earned his PhD from Indiana University and completed postdoctoral research at Dalhousie University. He served on the faculty at Emory University before accepting a position at the University of Iowa where he remains today. John is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Michael Dickinson is the Esther M. and Abe M. Zarem Professor of Bioengineering  at the California institute of technology. He received his PhD in Zoology from the University of Washington and afterwards worked briefly at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany. Michael has received numerous awards and honors during his career, including the Larry Sandler Award from the Genetics Society of America, the Bartholemew Award for Comparative Physiology from the American Society of Zoologists, a Packard Foundation Fellowship in Science and Engineering, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and the Quantrell award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from the University of Chicago. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Michael is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Sophia Hayes is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. She received her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and worked for a few years afterward as an associate for a management consulting firm specializing in energy efficiency, environmental assessments, and energy generation. Sophia interned at the Sandia National Laboratories before entering graduate school. She received her PhD in Chemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She then completed a Directorate Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and UC Berkeley. She also served as an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Physics at the University of Dortmund in Germany before joining the faculty at Washington University. Sophia has received a number of awards and honors during her career, including, an NSF CAREER Award, a Washington University Graduate Student Senate Excellence in Mentoring Award, an Alfred Sloan Research Fellowship, and the Regitze R. Vold Memorial Prize from the Alpine Solid-State NMR Conference. Sophia is with us today to tell us about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Ian Baldwin is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Ecology and Founding Director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology. He received his PhD in Chemical Ecology in the Section of Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell University. He served on the faculty at SUNY, Buffalo for about eight years before accepting a position as the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology where he remains today. Ian has received many awards and honors during his career, including the Presidential Young Investigator Award, the Silverstein-Simeone Award of the International Society of Chemical Ecology, and being named an Extraordinary member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. He is also an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and the European Molecular Biology Organization. Ian is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Nico Dantuma  is a Professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. He received his PhD in Experimental Zoology from the Utrecht University and afterward began conducting research at the Karolinska Institute, being appointed to full professor in 2011. Nico is the recipient of both the 2007 Svedberg Award and the 2009 Eric K. Fernstrom award. Nico is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Maria Womack is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Observatory Director at St. Cloud State University.  She received her PhD in physics from Arizona State University in Tempe.  Afterward, she served as postdoctoral researcher at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University at Erie before joining the faculty at St. Cloud State.  She teaches courses in a range of upper division astrophysics and observational astronomy, as well as introductory courses in physics, astronomy and astrobiology.  Maria received the CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and has supervised over 50 students in research.  For the last four years she has worked on assignment to the National Science Foundation outside Washington, D.C. as a program director, where she has led the stellar-astronomy and planetary-astronomy grant programs. Maria is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.