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

Dr. Erdem Tabdanov is Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at Penn State College of Medicine and also a Member of the Penn State Cancer Institute. He studies the mechanical and structural aspects of cells to better understand how cells physically move, sense their environments, and accomplish their various functions. This is very relevant to cancer biology and understanding the immune system. Some of Erdem’s hobbies outside of science include working out at the gym, calligraphy, sketching, digital art, and other visual arts. He is also considering adopting a cat. His interest in digital art emerged from his desire to put the story of his research together in compelling figures and schematics for journal articles. He received his bachelor’s degree in biotechnology and his MSc in chemistry and molecular and cellular biotechnology from Lomonosov Moscow State Academy of Fine Chemical Technology (MITHT). He was awarded his PhD in cancer research from L'Institut Curie in Paris. Afterwards, Erdem conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. He then served in the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. army for four years. Erdem completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Minnesota before joining the faculty at Penn State where he is today. In this interview, Erdem shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Alexis “Lekki” Wood is Associate Professor at USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center in the Division of Pediatrics-Nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine. Research in Lekki’s lab aims to better understand how food influences our health. She examines the full chain of changes that occur from the moment food is put into our mouths, trough digestion and absorption of particular molecules, to where those molecules go and how they affect our organs. Outside of work, you can find Lekki working out at the gym and spending quality time with her two children and their German shepherd. She is also a Lego builder and a competitive Pokemon card player along with her son. She received her BSc with honors in Psychology and from the University of Warwick. Afterwards, she completed her Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the University of Cambridge. Lekki enrolled in graduate school at King’s College London where she earned her MSc in social, genetic, and developmental psychiatry and her PhD in statistical genetics. Next, she conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Alabama focusing on statistical genetics and epidemiology. Lekki served on the faculty at The University of Texas, Health Sciences Center for about two years before joining the faculty at Baylor College of Medicine where she is today. Lekki has received a variety of awards and honors for her work, including the Young Investigator Award from the International Congress on ADHD and the Young Investigator Award from the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. In addition, she has received the Scott Grundy Award for Excellence in Metabolism Research and the Mark Bieber Award for Excellence in Nutrition Research, both from the American Heart Association. She was also named a Fellow of the American Heart Association in 2015. In our interview, she shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Gareth Fraser is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Florida. Gareth is a developmental biologist interested in how things form during development, how they are recreated during regeneration, and how features develop and persist on evolutionary timescales. His lab typically examines these questions looking at oral teeth and dermal denticles (tooth-like structures) in unusual fish like pufferfish, hammerhead sharks, and ghost sharks (chimaera). When he’s not working, Gareth enjoys being outside in nature, playing soccer, scuba diving, and hunting for fossils in the creek near their home. He and his two young daughters have also been having fun exploring the mysterious realm of cryptozoology and reading books about monsters. Gareth received his bachelor’s degree in palaeobiology and evolution from the University of Portsmouth, his master’s degree in evolutionary biology and systematics from the University of Glasgow, and his PhD in evolutionary developmental biology from King’s College London. Afterwards, Gareth conducted postdoctoral research at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He served on the faculty at The University of Sheffield for about nine years before joining the faculty at the University of Florida in 2018. In this interview, he shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Rachel Perry is Assistant Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology) and of Cellular and Molecular Physiology at the Yale University School of Medicine. Rachel’s scientific training focused on how our bodies use nutrients to stay healthy and what goes wrong in diseases like obesity and diabetes. In her current lab, she applies this background to better understand how changes in metabolism (nutrient supply) may affect cancer and how our bodies respond to cancer treatments. In her free time, Rachel enjoys spending time with her family, playing with their Labradoodle puppy, and going on walks in the fantastic fall weather. She is also an avid home chef, and she applies her scientific precision to prepare delicious meals for friends and family. She was awarded her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and her Ph.D. (with Distinction) in Cellular & Molecular Physiology from Yale University. Afterwards, she remained at Yale for postdoctoral training in internal medicine and endocrinology, and she joined the Yale faculty in 2018. Rachel has received a variety of awards and honors for her research, including the American Physiological Society New Investigator Award, an R37 MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health, the Translational Science Research Prize from the Yale Cancer Center, the Melanoma Research Alliance Young Investigator Award, the Rising Stars in Cancer Metabolism Award, the Breakthrough of the Year Award from the Yale Cancer Signaling Networks Program, and the Translational Science Research Prize from the Yale Cancer Center. In addition, she was named a Kingsley Fellow of the Yale University School of Medicine. In our interview, she shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Susie Dai is an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at Texas A&M University. She is also Director of the Biomonitoring Program in the Iowa State Hygienic Laboratory, leading the Iowa Statewide Biomonitoring public health surveillance. Susie works at the interface of chemistry and biology, and her research leverages microorganisms like bacteria and fungus to synthesize chemicals of value or degrade poisonous chemicals. This work has important applications for developing sustainable methods to produce chemicals and breaking down dangerous chemicals that are very stable. In addition, Susie’s work also includes biomonitoring where they examine exposure to toxic chemicals from private wells and other environmental sources. When she’s not at work Susie enjoys reading and hanging out with her family, including her two wonderful daughters. Susie received her BS degree in Chemistry from Fudan University, and her PhD in Chemistry from Duke University. Afterwards, she conducted postdoctoral research with the Scripps Research Institute and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Next Susie began working as a Research Assistant Professor and was promoted to Research Associate Professor at Texas A&M in the Office of the Texas State Chemist. Subsequently, she served as Associate Director of the Iowa State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa and Director of the Environmental Health Division. She returned to the Texas A&M faculty in 2019. In this interview, Susie shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Ralph Dewey is the Philip Morris Professor of Crop and Soil Sciences and Adjunct Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology at North Carolina State University (NCSU). Ralph uses the tools of molecular biology to identify and characterize genes of agronomic importance in crop species. When possible, he and his team alter those genes in ways that add value to the crop above and beyond what can be attained with traditional breeding approaches. Ralph and his team have done important work on the genetics of tobacco plants to decrease the hazards of smoking for people who still smoke. When Ralph has free time, he enjoys hanging out with his wife at their nearby beach condo and also watching college sports (particularly football and basketball). In addition, Ralph is working on writing his first novel. He was awarded his B.S. degree in biology from Utah State University, followed by his M.S. and Ph.D. in Crop Science from North Carolina State University. Afterwards, Ralph received an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Plant Biology to conduct postdoctoral research at the Waksman Institute at Rutgers University. Ralph joined the faculty at NCSU in 1991. He has been issued 34 U.S. Patents for his discoveries in plant biotechnology, with several more pending, and he was awarded NCSU's Philip Morris endowed Professorship in 2009 for his research on harm reduction in tobacco. In this interview, Ralph shares more about his life and science.

Dr. C. Denise Okafor is an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and of Chemistry at Pennsylvania State University. Many of the medications we take work by binding to a particular target and either turning off whatever is causing a problem or turning something on that is not working correctly. Denise’s research examines how small molecules like drugs find and interact with the targets they are supposed to interact with. She is particularly interested in proteins that can be turned on or off by the small molecules/drugs that they bind with. While science is a large part of Denise’s life, she also enjoys reading and writing fiction. Lately, she has been spending much of her free time with her kids, learning dances from Youtube videos and hanging out together. She received her B.S. in biomedical chemistry from Oral Roberts University and was awarded her M.S. in chemistry and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Georgia Institute of Technology. Afterwards, Denise was selected to complete an Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award from the NIH to conduct postdoctoral research at Emory University and teach at Morehouse and Spelman colleges in Atlanta. Denise has received a variety of awards and honors for her work, including a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface, an NSF CAREER Award for early investigators, and the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. In addition, she has been named a Keystone Symposia Fellow and a Kavli Foundation Fellow. In our interview, Denise talks more about her life and science.

Dr. Laura Kiessling is the Novartis Professor of Chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Member of the Broad Institute. Laura’s research focuses on carbohydrates, particularly all of the different carbohydrates found on the surfaces of cells. We still know relatively little about the functions of these carbohydrates, and Laura is eager to learn more. When she’s not doing science, Laura likes being active through rowing, kayaking, cycling, lifting weights, or doing yoga. She also likes to spend her free time cooking, hiking, camping, and enjoying art. She received her BS degree in chemistry from MIT and her Ph.D. degree in organic chemistry from Yale University. After two years at the California Institute of Technology as an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow, she joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1991. She returned to MIT in 2017. Laura has received numerous awards over the course of her career, including the Ronald Breslow Award in Biomimetic Chemistry, the Centenary Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Tetrahedron Prize for creativity in Organic Chemistry or Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, the Gibbs Medal, from the Chicago Chapter of the American Chemical Society, the Vilas Distinguished Faculty Award from UW-Madison, and others. Laura is an elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Microbiology, and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and American Philosophical Society, as well as an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, an American Cancer Society Fellowship, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship. She is also the founding Editor-In-Chief of the journal ACS Chemical Biology. In this interview, Laura shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Nicole Calakos is the Lincoln Financial Group Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology and Chief of the Movement Disorders section in Neurology at Duke University Medical Center. Research in Nicole’s lab examines how the brain learns and adapts to experiences. She studies synaptic plasticity, from the levels of molecules, cells, cell circuits, and behaviors, to understand what goes wrong in disease and how we can harness brain processes to address disease. When she’s not working, Nicole enjoys being outdoors, playing sports, running, going mountain biking, and participating in mountain bike races. Her favorite indoor activities include creative cooking and spending time with family and friends. Nicole was awarded her MD and PhD degrees from Stanford University. Afterwards, she completed an internship in Medicine and Residency in Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. She conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University before joining the faculty at Duke University in 2005. Nicole has received numerous awards and honors in her career, including the 2023 Korsmeyer award from the American Society of Clinical Investigation and being named an elected Member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Investigators. In our interview, Nicole shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Alex Spyropoulos (“Dr. Spy”) is a Professor of Medicine at the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine as well as System Director of Anticoagulation and Clinical Thrombosis Services for the multi-hospital Northwell Health System. In addition, Dr. Spy is a Professor of the Merinoff Center for Patient-Oriented Research as part of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. As a thrombologist, Dr. Spy studies blood clots. Many people worldwide are either at risk for blood clots or have existing clots. He focuses on venous thromboembolism primarily in the lungs and legs. These blood clots could cause morbidity or mortality, and many people are not familiar with the risks, common symptoms, or the situations in which clots may occur. Outside of work, Dr. Spy loves spending time with his wife and his young kids. Lately, they’ve been enjoying apple picking, hay rides, pumpkin carving, and apple carving. His other hobbies include sailing, snowboarding and mountain biking. He received his MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and he completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. Dr. Spy is a recipient of the Lovelace Clinic Foundation Excellence in Education Award, as well as a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Chest Physicians, the International Academy of Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Haemostasis, and the Royal College of Physicians in Canada. In this interview, he speaks with us about his life and science.

Dr. Erin Hodgson is an Associate Professor and Extension Entomologist at Iowa State University. She specializes in insects in agriculture, often focusing on corn and soybean crops. Erin also works with people like farmers, crop consultants, people in the agricultural industry, regulators, and people in pest management to best manage insect pests in an agricultural landscape. Erin spends her free time outside enjoying the company of her husband and two dogs. She is also an Assistant Coach for the Iowa State University Women’s Rugby Club and dedicates a lot of her time in the evenings to helping coach the team. She received her undergraduate training in Biology and Botany and her M.S. in Entomology from North Dakota State University. Erin was awarded her Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Minnesota, followed by a postdoctoral research position also at the University of Minnesota. Erin served on the faculty at Utah State University before joining the faculty at Iowa State where she is today. Erin has received many awards and honors in her career, including the Editor’s Choice Award from the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, the Iowa State University Outreach and Extension New Professional Award, and multiple awards from the Entomological Society of America for her educational and outreach efforts. In addition, Erin is co-host of the "Soybean Pest Podcast" with her colleague Matt O’Neal. Erin is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Sarah Bergbreiter is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering with a joint appointment in the Institute for Systems Research at the University of Maryland. Sarah’s research involves building and conducting experiments with tiny locomoting robots that are about the size of ants. They also apply the same technologies used in their tiny robots to build better sensors and actuators for bigger robots to help improve performance of these robots. Spending time with her family is a big part of Sarah’s life outside of work. Her kids enjoy swimming, playing with legos, and building things. Sarah also spends her free time swimming and playing water polo. She received her B.S.E. degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University and was awarded her M.S. and Ph.D degrees in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley where she focused on microrobotics. Sarah has been the recipient of multiple awards for her outstanding work including the DARPA Young Faculty Award, an NSF CAREER Award, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and Sarah gave a TED Talk in 2015. Sarah joins us for an interview to discuss her life and work.

Dr. Anand Padmanabhan is a pathologist, transfusion medicine physician, and Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the Mayo Clinic. Anand studies blood clotting, also known as “thrombosis”. He is working on a particular type of blood clotting that can occur when our bodies produce antibodies for proteins or other molecules inside or on the surface of blood platelets. Anand is interested both in finding better ways to diagnose and to treat patients with these potentially deadly diseases. When he’s not working, Anand loves spending time with his wife, their 15-year-old son, and their two dogs. They enjoy watching movies and traveling together across the U.S. and around the world. He received his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.) degree from Thanjavur Medical College and completed a Clinical Internship in Medicine and Surgery at LLR and Associated Hospitals in India. He was awarded his PhD in biochemistry from Brown University. Afterwards, Anand completed his residency in clinical pathology at Columbia University and New York Presbyterian Hospital and transitioned into a Fellowship in transfusion medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Anand worked at the Blood Center of Wisconsin and the Medical College of Wisconsin from 2010 - 2019, and he joined the Mayo Clinic in 2020. Anand has received various awards and honors over the course of his career, including the JN Tata endowment for the higher education of Indians, National Blood Foundation Award for Innovative Research, ASFA Lecturer award, and Choosing Wisely Champion Award from the American Society for Apheresis, and he was recently inducted into the National Blood Foundation Hall of Fame. In this interview, he shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Ellen Arruda is the Maria Comninou Collegiate Professor of Mechanical Engineering with joint appointments as Professor of Biomedical Engineering, as well as Macromolecular Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. Ellen studies the mechanical behavior of soft materials, including polymers, plastics, and soft tissues of the body. Her research group focuses on understanding how to design with soft materials so the materials don’t break in different applications, as well as how to design replacements for soft tissues in our bodies when they are damaged. Ellen’s hobbies include running, cooking, and knitting. Running is one of her favorite ways to get exercise and generate great ideas for her work. She is a skilled sweater knitter who learned how to crochet from her mother and picked up knitting from her mother-in-law. She received her B.S. with Honors in Engineering Science and her M.S. in Engineering Mechanics from Pennsylvania State University. Ellen was awarded her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She joined the faculty at the University of Michigan afterwards in 1992. Ellen has received numerous awards and honors for her outstanding research, teaching, and service, including the Ann Arbor Spark Best of Boot Camp award, the Excellence in Research Award from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the Ted Kennedy Family Team Excellence Award from the University of Michigan College of Engineering, the Research Excellence Award from the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan, the Cadell Memorial Award, the Outstanding Engineering Alumnus Award from the Pennsylvania State University, the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award from the University of Michigan, and the Trudy Huebner Service Excellence Award from the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. Ellen is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Academy of Mechanics, and the Society of Engineering Science. She was also named a Centennial Fellow of the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Pennsylvania State University. She was also recently named a Member of the National Academy of Engineering. Ellen joined us for an interview to discuss her experiences in her career, her life, and her engineering research.

Dr. John Kress is a Distinguished Scientist and Curator of Botany at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. John’s research involves exploring the natural world and all the organisms that make up the natural world. Since graduate school, he has been exploring different areas, particularly tropical areas, to determine what grows there now, what grew there in the past, and how the plants and animals there interact. Not only does John enjoy investigating the natural world at work, he also enjoys spending his free time outside exploring nature. John often goes on walks or hikes with his wife and dog to see nature in action. In addition, John is an avid gardener. Among the plants he cultivates in his own yard are some of the ginger and banana plants that he studies. John received his B.A. in biology from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in botany from Duke University. John formerly served as the Interim Undersecretary for Science for the Smithsonian Institution, Executive Director of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, and Director of the Consortium for Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet, which is one of the four grand challenges of the Smithsonian Institution’s strategic plan. He is also Chairman of the Board of the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) and an Affiliate Faculty member at George Mason University. He has previously served as an Adjunct Professor at George Washington University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Among John’s awards and honors are receipt of the Parker-Gentry Award for Biodiversity and Conservation from the Field Museum of Natural History, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Heliconia Society International, and the Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Pioneer Award for Co-Development of Leafsnap – the First Mobile App for Plant Identification. John is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an honorary Fellow of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. In this interview, he discusses his experiences in life and science.

Dr. Young-Hui Chang is a Professor of Biological Sciences at Georgia Institute of Technology where he directs research in the Comparative Neuromechanics Laboratory. Research in Young-Hui’s lab aims to examine how the control of movement by the nervous system is influenced by mechanics and physics during locomotion. He is interested in broad mechanisms for behaviors like walking, running, and hopping that apply within and across species. Young-Hui likes to spend his free time with his family. He, his wife, and his two boys enjoy exploring the outdoors, hiking, and camping together. Though Young-Hui was not always a particularly outdoorsy person, enrolling his sons in the Scouts program has provided an avenue for him and his family to learn more and get outside. Young-Hui received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and his M.S. in Animal Physiology from Cornell University. Next, he conducted his doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley, earning his PhD in Integrative Biology in 2000. Prior to joining the faculty at Georgia Tech, Young-Hui was a postdoctoral researcher at Emory University. While at Emory, he was awarded the Association of Korean Neuroscientists President Outstanding Research Hanwha Award. Young-Hui has also been awarded an NSF CAREER Award. In this interview, he discusses his experiences in life and science.

Dr. Sonia Mayoral is the Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Assistant Professor of Brain Science at Brown University. In the lab, Sonia studies glial cells, the cells in your brain that aren’t neurons. These cells perform a lot of different functions and could hold promise for developing therapies for neurologic diseases. Outside of work, Sonia loves spending as much time as possible with her four-year-old son. Lately, they’ve been enjoying playing Plants vs. Zombies on the iPad and also acting the game out around the house. She received her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from San Jose State University and her PhD in neuroscience from Stanford University. Afterwards, she conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco. She joined the faculty at Brown University in 2021. In this interview, she shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Steve Ramirez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University. In his research, Steve is studying learning and memory, and he is interested in discovering whether it is possible to artificially turn memories on and off. His research focuses on understanding the brain and what we can do when processes in the brain break down. They are working on turning on positive or negative memories in animal models to gain a better understanding of how the brain and memory work. In addition, they use animal models of conditions like depression, anxiety, and PTSD to study whether artificially manipulating memories may alleviate some of the symptoms of these conditions. Steve was born and raised in the Boston area, so accepting a faculty position at Boston University meant reuniting with his family, friends, and beloved New England Patriots. He spends his down time watching Netflix with friends and hanging out with his family. He attended Boston University for his undergraduate studies in neuroscience, was awarded his PhD in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, served as a Visiting Lecturer of Neuroscience at Tufts University while a graduate student, and spent two years at the Center for Brain Science at Harvard University as a Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows before returning to Boston University as a faculty member. Steve has received many awards and honors thus far in his career, including an NIH Early Independence Award, a NARSAD Young Investigator Award, the Gordon Research Conference Travel Award, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Travel Award, Smithsonian Magazine’s American Ingenuity Award in the Natural Sciences, the Walle Nauta Award for Continuing Dedication to Teaching at MIT, and the Angus MacDonald Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at MIT. Steve has also been named among Forbes Magazine’s 30 Innovators Under the Age of 30 in the area of Science and Technology, a National Geographic Breakthrough Explorer, one of Science News’s Top 10 Bright Young Minds, Pacific Standard Magazine’s Top 30 Thinkers Under the Age of 30, and the MIT Technology Review World’s Top 35 Innovators Under the Age of 35 Award. He has also given two TED talks. In this interview, Steve talks about his experiences in life and science.

Dr. Abby Smith is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Marine Science at the University of Otago. In the lab, Abby is dedicated to studying shells and the animals that make shells. She is interested in how shells are made, what they are made out of, and how fast they grow. Abby also examines how shells break down over time and uses old shells to understand what the water was like in the past. Outside of science, Abby is a mother of two, and she keeps busy with family life and taking care of her kids. In her free time, she likes to watch cricket, knit, and cook. In particular, Abby has been experimenting lately with making different fruit jams and preserves. She Received her B.A. Degree in Geology and Biology from Colby College, her M.S. Degree in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and her PhD in Earth Science from the University of Waikato. Abby joined us in this interview to share stories from her life and science.

Dr. Antoine van Oijen is a Distinguished Professor and Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow in the School of Chemistry at the University of Wollongong in Australia. The work Antoine does combines physics, chemistry, and biology. He develops new types of microscopes to visualize complex biochemical reactions at the level of individual molecules. In particular, his group is interested in how DNA is copied before a cell divides. Antoine is also doing research examining how bacteria acquire antibiotic resistance. Antoine and his family enjoy spending much of their free time exploring the beautiful beach and hiking in the wonderful parks nearby. Antoine received his MSc and PhD in Physics from Leiden University in the Netherlands, where his graduate work was recognized with the C.J. Kok prize for best doctoral thesis. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research in Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University. Antoine served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and Groningen University in the Netherlands before his recent move to the University of Wollongong where he is today. Antoine has received a wide array of honors and awards for his research, including the Armenise-Harvard Junior Faculty Award, a Searle Scholarship, a NSF CAREER Award, a Vici Award from the Dutch Science Foundation, the Dutch Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Award for the most promising young scientist, and the prestigious Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship. In this episode, Antoine discusses his research and his journey through life and science.

Dr. Hongkui Zeng is Executive Vice President and Director of the Allen Institute for Brain Science. She is dedicated to understanding how the brain is organized and how the different components of the brain work together to generate behaviors and functions. Hongkui and her colleagues examine the cellular basis of brain circuit formation and how those circuits produce function. They generate foundational tools and resources for the neuroscience community to help scientists around the world advance their research on neurological disease, potential treatments, and more. Living in the beautiful city of Seattle, Hongkui enjoys getting outside and exploring nature. This includes kayaking and hiking in the nearby mountains. When she’s at home, Hongkui likes to relax with a good book, listen to music, and indulge in watching shows and movies. She received her B.S. degree in biochemistry from Wuhan University and her PhD in molecular and cell biology from Brandeis University. Next, she conducted postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hongkui then worked for several years at Omeros Corporation before joining the Allen Institute in 2006. Hongkui has received numerous awards for her work, including the National Academy of Sciences’ Pradel Research Award, Gill Transformative Investigator Award from Indiana University, the NIH BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network Award, and the Award for Scientific Advancement from the Association for Women in Science. She is also an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences. In this interview, Hongkui shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Dominic D’Agostino is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida. He is also a Research Scientist Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. Dom’s lab develops technology that allows them to investigate the molecular, cellular, and physiological changes we experience in extreme environments, including those that would occur undersea, at high altitude, or in space. They are also designing and evaluating metabolic-based therapies as treatments for cancer and other diseases. Dom and his wife enjoy outdoor activities like going to the beach, hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. They also do quite a bit of scuba diving together for his wife’s marine biology research on manta rays. Data collection has taken them to Indonesia, Fiji, Palau, Hawaii, and many other phenomenal dive sites. Dom received his B.S. in Nutritional Sciences and Biological Sciences as well as his Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Physiology at Rutgers University. Afterwards, Dom conducted postdoctoral research at Wright State University and at the University of South Florida before joining the faculty at the University of South Florida. In this episode, Dom talks more about his research and tell us about his experiences in life and science.

Dr. Molly Peeples is an Aura Assistant Astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. Molly’s research is improving our understanding of galaxies and helping to reveal why galaxies are different from each other and how galaxies have changed over time. To do this, she traces the origins and fates of heavy elements that were all originally produced within stars. Examining where the elements end up gives us information on how gas flows into and out of galaxies. Molly also does modeling and runs simulations to better understand what is going on in the universe. There are a lot of great parks around Baltimore, so Molly likes getting outside to go hiking in her free time. She also enjoys cooking, reading, trying new cocktails, exploring new bars in town, and playing board games with friends. She received her B.S. in Physics from MIT and went on to complete her MS and PhD in Astronomy at Ohio State University. Molly was then awarded a Southern California Center for Galaxy Evolution Fellowship during which she worked at UCLA. In 2013, Molly joined the Space Telescope Science Institute as a postdoctoral fellow, and a year later she became a member of the staff and continues to do amazing research there. Molly joined us for an interview to tell us more about her life and science.

Dr. Christy Haynes is the Elmore H. Northey Professor of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota. In Christy’s research group, they are working to develop new methods to monitor small quantities of important chemicals in complex environments. Their research also aims to develop new, safe nanomaterials for applications in human health and sustainable energy. When she’s not at work, Christy loves to go for a run around the lakes of Minneapolis and spend time with her spouse and two kids. Her son has an analytic mind and is interested in competitive sports, while her daughter enjoys art and music. She completed her undergraduate studies in Chemistry at Macalester College and received her MS and PhD in Chemistry from Northwestern University. Next, Christy was awarded a National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award Post-Doctoral Fellowship to conduct research at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota in 2005. Christy has received many awards and honors for her research, including the Sara Evans Faculty Woman Scholar/Leader Award, the Taylor Award for Distinguished Research from the University of Minnesota, the Kavli Foundation Emerging Leader in Chemistry Lectureship, the Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award, the Joseph Black Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry, an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, the Arthur F. Findeis Award for Achievements by a Young Analytical Scientist from the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry, the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry Young Investigator Award, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, the NIH New Innovator Award, the NSF CAREER Award, and the Victor K. LaMer Award from the American Chemical Society Division of Colloid and Surface Science. In addition, Christy has been recognized for her excellence in mentoring through receipt of the Advising and Mentoring Award and the Outstanding Postdoctoral Mentor Award both from the University of Minnesota. She has also been listed among the Top 100 Inspiring Women in STEM from Insight into Diversity magazine, the Analytical Scientist's “Top 40 Under 40” Power List, and one of the “Brilliant 10” chosen by Popular Science magazine. Christy is with us today to share stories from her journey through life and science.

Dr. David R. Liu is the Richard Merkin Professor and Director of the Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, vice-chair of the faculty at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, the Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences at Harvard University, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator. In addition, he is the founder or co-founder of several biotechnology and therapeutics companies, including Beam Therapeutics, Prime Medicine, Editas Medicine, Pairwise Plants, Exo Therapeutics, Chroma Medicine, Resonance Medicine, and Nvelop Therapeutics. David’s research integrates components of biological evolution with chemistry to enable the development of new types of therapeutics and to better study biology. Through chemistry, they can change the structure of a molecule in order to change its function in anticipated ways. They also harness the power of cycles of natural selection to evolve molecules with desired tailor-made properties. Outside of science, David’s hobbies include photography, making wooden vessels using a wood lathe, growing bonsai trees, and exploring electronic art and other homemade art projects. He enjoys blending creativity and intellectual pursuits to create something surprising and beautiful. He completed his undergraduate education at Harvard College, majoring in chemistry. He was awarded his PhD in organic chemistry from UC Berkeley, and he joined the faculty at Harvard University afterwards. He has been an HHMI investigator since 2005. Over the course of his career, David has received numerous awards and accolades, including being named the 2022 King Faisal Prize Laureate in Medicine and receipt of the Ronald Breslow Award for Biomimetic Chemistry, the American Chemical Society David Perlman Award, ACS Chemical Biology Award, the American Chemical Society Pure Chemistry Award, the Arthur Cope Young Scholar Award, and other prestigious awards for his research and teaching. In 2016 and 2020, he was named one of the Top 20 Translational Researchers in the world by Nature Biotechnology, and he was named one of Nature’s 10 researchers in 2022. In addition, he is an elected Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In this interview, David shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Lynne Maquat is the J. Lowell Orbison Endowed Chair and Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the School of Medicine and Dentistry, Director of the Center for RNA Biology, and Chair of Graduate Women in Science at the University of Rochester. Research in Lynne’s lab focuses on human diseases and what causes diseases in our cells. She is working to understand how cells function normally, determine what causes diseases, and develop treatments for diseases. In particular, she has been studying a process in cells that causes about one third of all inherited diseases, like cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, as well as one third of all acquired diseases, including cancer. Lynne has a Labrador retriever whom she loves taking on walks through the lovely parks and woods in Rochester, New York. She also enjoys exercising through yoga, lifting weights, and doing cardio. She received her BA in Biology from the University of Connecticut and her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lynne conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and she worked as a faculty member at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute for 19 years before joining the faculty at the University of Rochester. Lynne has received numerous awards and honors during her career, including the International RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award, the Canada Gairdner International Award, the William Rose Award from the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Athena Award from the Women's Council of the Rochester Business Alliance, a MERIT Award from the NIH, the Presidential Diversity Award from the University of Rochester, the RNA Society Lifetime Achievement Award in Service, and many others. She was also named a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Batcheva de Rothschild Fellow of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Lynne discusses her experiences in life and science with us in this interview.

Dr. Blake Meyers is a Member Principal Investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and a Professor in the Division of Plant Sciences at the University of Missouri. The focus of Blake’s research is on small RNAs in plants. His lab studies how RNAs are used to regulate the complex machinery of cells, particularly in the context of plant reproductive biology. When he’s not conducting research in the lab, Blake loves to travel both for work and for fun. Blake strives to balance his family life with his science, and he also enjoys reading cookbooks and experimenting in the kitchen at home. He received a B.A. in Biology from the University of Chicago, and went on to receive his MS and PhD in Genetics from the University of California, Davis. Afterwards, Blake completed postdoctoral fellowships at Dupont Genomics and at the University of California, Davis. Before accepting his current positions, Blake was the Edward F. and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor and Chair of the Department Plant and Soil Sciences of the University of Delaware. Blake is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Jennifer Wilcox is an Associate Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines and an Investigator within the Clean Energy Conversions Laboratory there. The research in Jen’s group focuses on carbon capture and trace metal pollution. On the carbon capture side, she tries to better understand and reduce CO2 emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants. In terms of trace metals, the most common source of trace metals like mercury in the fish we eat is burning coal in coal-fired power plants. Jen’s research examines how to capture trace metals and reduce their emission into the environment. Outside of science, Jen keeps busy spending time with her family including her husband and daughter. She also loves being active outdoors through hiking, running, and bicycling. She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Wellesley College and her PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Arizona. She served on the faculty at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and at Stanford University before joining the faculty at the Colorado School of Mines. Jen has received numerous awards and honors, including an Army Research Office Young Investigator Award, an American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund Young Investigator Award, and an NSF CAREER Award. She also was awarded the Stern Award for Distinguished Paper from the Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association. Jen is with us today to tell us all about her life and science.

Dr. Tim Buschman is Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Princeton University. He studies a process called cognitive control, a process in the brain that allows you to control your own thoughts and actions toward achieving your goals. There are a lot of factors that can influence cognitive control that must be integrated to direct your behavior. He uses animal models to better understand aspects of cognitive control, and his work has relevant applications for improving machine learning and artificial intelligence as well as developing new treatments for neurological diseases that impact cognitive control. When he’s not in the lab, Tim enjoys spending time outdoors with his family. In particular, they have been doing a lot of hiking, and Tim finds it a great activity for stimulating thoughts and drawing out his creativity. He received his B.S. in Biology from the California Institute of Technology, and Tim was then awarded a Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) to conduct research at the National Institute of Mental Health’s Laboratory of Neurophysiology. Next, he completed his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Tim remained there to conduct postdoctoral research before joining the faculty at Princeton University. He was awarded the NIH Director’s “New Innovator” Award in 2014, and he holds multiple patents related to his research. In our interview, Tim shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Charles Hohenberg is a Professor of Physics at Washington University in St. Louis. In the lab, Charles does mass spectrometry of noble gases like Krypton and Xenon. He designed and built his own mass spectrometer which is one of the best in the world. With this instrument, Charles measures noble gas isotope ratios in various sources. A major focus is studying meteorite samples to understand early solar system processes. Charles has always been a tinkerer, and he often spends his free time working on various projects around the house. For example, one of Charles’ hobbies is woodworking. He built his own kitchen table and several other pieces of furniture. He received his PhD in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley and has been on the faculty at Washington University since 1970. Charles has received many awards and honors during his career, including election as Fellow of the Meteoritical Society and a Fellow of the St. Louis Academy of Science. He has been awarded the NASA Principal Investigators Award, the NASA Exceptional Achievement Award, and recently the James B. Eads Award honoring engineering or technology from the St. Louis Academy of Science. Charles is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Diana Aga is the Henry M. Woodburn Chair and a State University of New York (SUNY) Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University at Buffalo. She also serves as the Director of RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water) Institute at the University at Buffalo. Diana is an environmental chemist. She studies sustainable agriculture and pollutants such as the “forever chemicals” (Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS)) that we frequently encounter in our everyday lives. When it’s warm outside, Diana enjoys biking and hiking, and when it’s cold she spends more time indoors watching movies. Cooking is another one of Diana’s hobbies, and she is particularly fond of making Filipino food, creatively reusing leftovers, and recreating restaurant favorites at home. Diana received a B.S. degree in agricultural chemistry from the University of the Philippines, Los Baños and her PhD in analytical chemistry from the University of Kansas. Afterwards, she conducted postdoctoral research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology. Diana worked on the faculty at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and then in industry at Bayer before joining the faculty at the University at Buffalo. She has received numerous awards for her research, teaching, and mentoring, including the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities, the Koh Lectureship Award in Science from the Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering, the Jacob F. Schoellkopf Medal of the Western New York Chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS), a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Menzie Environmental Education Award from The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and the Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award from the University at Buffalo. Diana has also been named a Fulbright Fellow, an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellow, an ACS Fellow, and an ACS AGRO Fellow. In this interview, Diana shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Andrew Alleyne is the Ralph and Catherine Fisher Professor in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as the Director of the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center on Power Optimization for Electro-Thermal Systems (POETS) headquartered there. He is an engineer who works on control systems, which provide an automated way of making decisions. They take in relevant information and use algorithms to make correct decisions based on the information gathered. Andrew’s group designs algorithms that make the best decisions possible with the information available to keep systems stable and performing well. When not doing science, he spends much of his time with his wife and two sons. This translates to a lot of driving back and forth to soccer games, but also going on road trips and having fun together. Andrew grew up in Jamaica and came to the United States when he was in high school. He received his B.S. in Engineering degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University. He went on to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley where he was awarded his M.S. in Engineering and Ph.D. degrees. In 1994, Andrew joined the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he remains today. Andrew has received many awards and honors throughout his career, including an NSF CAREER award, the Xerox Award for Faculty Research, a Fulbright Fellowship, and the SAE International Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award. In addition, Andrew was also named a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and he has received their Gustus Larson Award, Charles Stark Draper Award for Innovative Practice, and Henry Paynter Outstanding Investigator Award. Andrew has joined us today to talk about his experiences in life and research.

Dr. Mary Jo Ondrechen is Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Northeastern University. In the lab, Mary Jo uses theory and computation to better understand how molecules work. In particular she works on enzymes which are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. Mary Jo and her team also develop methods and theories to interpret genomic data, and they work on the computational side of drug discovery, helping medicinal chemists develop new drugs, treatments, and diagnostics. When she’s not at work, you can often find Mary Jo out running, tending to her vegetable garden, and cooking. She is also interested in herbs, spices, and medicinal plants. She earned her bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Reed College, and she was awarded her PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Physics from Northwestern University. Afterwards, Mary Jo completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago and subsequently a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship at Tel-Aviv University in Israel. She joined the faculty at Northeastern University in 1980. Mary Jo was awarded the Outstanding Native American Student Mentor in 2018 from the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and she has been dedicated to advocacy and activism for underrepresented communities in science and society, as well as conservation and stewardship of the Earth. In our interview, she shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Tessa Hill is an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Davis. She is part of the Bodega Ocean Acidification Research group there at the Bodega Marine Laboratory. Research in Tessa’s lab focuses on the ocean and the impacts of climate change on environments in the ocean in the past, present, and future. Outside of work, Tessa, her husband, and their two children spend a lot of time gardening, skiing, hiking, camping, and going on vacations together. Additionally, Tessa is a long-distance runner, so she enjoys running half and full marathons. Tessa received her B.S. in Marine Science from Eckerd College and her Ph.D. in Marine Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Next, Tessa was awarded a University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Davis before joining the faculty there. Tessa has received many awards and honors during her career, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, as well as an NSF CAREER Award. She is also a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, an American Association for the Advancement of Science Leshner Public Engagement Fellow, and a panelist on the West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Panel. Tessa is with us today to tell us about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Kevan M. Shokat is Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California San Francisco, Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California Berkeley, and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Kevan’s lab uses approaches from chemistry to address unsolved challenges and opportunities for discovery in biology and medicine. His goal is to apply chemistry to biology in the most impactful, interesting, and meaningful ways while pursuing his curiosity. The lab has been investigating key signaling proteins in diseases such as cancer to develop new treatments. When he’s not working, Kevan enjoys spending time with family, cycling with his friends, getting exercise, being out in nature, and reading biographies of scientists. Kevan received his B.A in chemistry from Reed College and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. Afterwards, he received a Life Sciences Research Foundation Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research at Stanford University, and he served on the faculty at Princeton University before joining the faculty at his current institutions. Kevan has received numerous awards and honors over the course of his career, including the 2023 Sjöberg Prize from the The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the 2023 National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Discovery, the 2023 Howard Vollum Award for Distinguished Accomplishment in Science and Technology from his alma mater Reed College, the 2022 American Association for Cancer Research’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research, and many others. He was also named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, a Searle Scholar, a Cottrell Scholar, a Glaxo-Wellcome Scholar in Organic Chemistry, and an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow. In addition, Kevan is an elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Member of the National Academy of Medicine, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In our interview, he shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Adam Abate is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California San Francisco. He is also a co-founder of the startup company Mission Bio. The overall goal of Adam’s lab is to make biology a new kind of computer science. It is important to characterize the state of biological systems in detail so you can manipulate the system successfully to get the outcome you want. For example, a disease represents a problem with a biological system, and you have to understand the system and know what to change to successfully cure a disease. Adam builds technologies, focusing on microfluidics technologies, to allow us to comprehensively characterize cells in a system. When he's not doing science, Adam and his wife have been working on various home improvement projects around the house, including painting and installing new lighting. The instant gratification of remodeling is a refreshing contrast to work in the lab. Adam received his B.A. in Physics from Harvard College, his M.S. in Physics from the University of California Los Angeles, and his PhD in Physics from the University of Pennsylvania. Afterwards, Adam conducted postdoctoral research in Physics and Engineering at Harvard University, and during this time, his research became the foundation for the sequencing company GnuBIO. Adam is currently a member of the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) program that helps launch start-up companies on the UC campuses. He has received a number of awards and honors during his career, including the NSF CAREER Award, the NIH New Innovator Award, and the Presidential Early Career Award. Adam is here with us today to share stories about his life and science.

Dr. Germán Forero-Medina is the Science and Conservation Director at the Wildlife Conservation Society Colombia. He also coordinates the projects for the conservation of freshwater turtles and tortoises in the Amazon Orinoco region. In his research, German studies the way animals live in nature and the problems that challenge their survival. He works with local communities and people in Columbia and across Latin America to find solutions for the environmental problems that affect the species they work with, as well as the people who co-exist with those species. Outside of his work, German loves spending time with his wife and twin sons. They enjoy traveling and exploring the outdoors together. German also likes playing basketball with friends on the weekends, and supporting his sons at their soccer and water polo matches. Germán completed his undergraduate training in Biology at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He received his MSc in Ecology from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and was awarded his PhD in Ecology and Conservation from Duke University, in North Carolina. He has been recognized for his exceptional work by being elected as a Member of the National Academy of Sciences. In our interview, Germán shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Debbie G. Senesky is an Assistant Professor in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department at Stanford University. She is dedicated to creating materials that are tiny and tough enough to operate in extreme environments like outer space. They also study the impacts of space-like conditions on these materials. In particular, they leverage the properties of a class of nanomaterials called wide band gap semiconductors. The ceramic properties of these materials make them resistant to extreme temperature, chemical, and radiation environments, and Debbie’s research group fabricates these materials into small sensors and other devices. When Debbie isn’t working in the lab, you can find her hanging out with her husband, her daughter, and the family dog. Debbie also enjoys volunteering for the non-profit organization Scientific Adventures for Girls. This program engages elementary school students in activities to get them excited about STEM fields. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California. Debbie was next awarded her M.S. and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Before joining the faculty at Stanford, Debbie held positions at GE Sensing, the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center, GE Global Research Center, Hewlett Packard, and Delphi Automotive Systems. In recognition for her excellence in research, Debbie has received many awards and honors, including an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Ph.D. Fellowship, a Galiban Faculty Fellowship at Stanford University, the Frederick E. Terman Faculty Fellowship at Stanford University, and the Space Technology Early Faculty Award from NASA. Debbie is with us today to tell us about her life and science.

Dr. Daniel Czyż is an Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Cell Science at the University of Florida. Daniel’s lab has two main research areas. Part of his lab is dedicated to developing new treatments to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria using methods such as bacteriophages (viruses that kill bacteria), silver nanoparticles, and enhancing the ability of our immune system to fight bacteria. The other part of his lab is working to understand the effects that bacteria in our gut have on our brain and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease. Outside of work, Daniel enjoys spending time with his wife and three daughters. They enjoy a variety of outdoor activities, including camping, fishing, traveling, and visiting many of the nearby beaches in Florida. He completed his undergraduate training in biochemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago and was awarded his PhD in molecular biosciences from Northwestern University. During his PhD, Daniel spent two years as a Visiting Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. Afterwards, Daniel conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago and Howard Taylor Ricketts Regional Biocontainment Laboratory on the campus of Argonne National Laboratory before joining the faculty at the University of Florida. In our interview, he shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Melissa Franklin is the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University. Melissa’s research aims to better understand the nature of space and time. To accomplish this, Melissa uses large particle accelerators to collide particles together. This produces a lot of energy in a relatively small space over a relatively short time. She and her colleagues observe what happens when these particles collide under the conditions of excited spacetime that they created. Some of Melissa’s favorite things to do when she’s not working include reading, watching movies, listening to music, and going for walks. On a sunny day, you can often find her enjoying a scenic walk alongside the nearby pond in Cambridge. She completed her undergraduate studies in Physics at the University of Toronto and received her PhD in Physics from Stanford University. Next, Melissa conducted research as a postdoctoral fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She served on the faculty of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and was a Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Harvard before joining the faculty there. Melissa has been named a Fellow of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and she has been awarded the Spark Award for Women in Science from the Women in Science at Harvard-Radcliffe, as well as a Doctorate Degree in Law from Queens University in Canada. Melissa is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Gregory Krug is Founder, President, and CEO of Lampire Biological Laboratories, a biotech life science company that produces biological reagents used in the diagnostic and pharmaceutical industries. Greg and the team at Lampire Biological Laboratories supply biologic reagents and raw materials for the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and diagnostic industries. Their products are shipped worldwide, and they are used in a lot of different applications. When he’s not working, Greg enjoys spending quality time with his family. He is also very passionate about sports, especially football, lacrosse, and polo. Over the years, Greg has enjoyed coaching and watching his sons’ football and lacrosse games, and he has been highly engaged in the polo community. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from Delaware Valley University, and Lampire Enterprises was founded shortly afterwards as a result of work that he started doing as an undergraduate student. Greg incorporated the company as Lampire Biological Laboratories and acquired full ownership several years later. He joins us in this interview to tell us more about his life and science.

Dr. Sapna Sharma is an Associate Professor in Biology at York University. Sapna studies the effects of climate change, invasive species, and pollution on lakes. She is investigating how these effects are manifested through water quality, fish populations, water temperatures, and lake ice. With a young, a lot of Sapna’s time away from science is spent with her family. It has been fun to go to music classes and swimming classes together. She received her PhD in Ecology and evolution from the University of Toronto and completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Montreal and the Center for Limnology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She served on the faculty at Loyola before joining the faculty at York where she is today. Sapna is also founder of a science outreach program at York University for refugee children called SEEDS. She is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.


Dr. Corey Hopkins is a Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. In his lab, Corey and his team use chemistry to answer the biological questions behind diseases and how to treat them. They make drug-like compounds and test them in biological systems to investigate whether particular proteins are involved in the disease process. They are particularly interested in diseases with unmet medical needs, including neurological diseases such as schizophrenia, depression, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. When he’s not working, Corey likes to spend his time home-brewing beer, golfing, and lately he has started learning how to play the guitar. He earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Indiana University and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. Afterwards, he held industry positions at Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, and then Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals. He served on the faculty at Vanderbilt University before joining the faculty at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2016. He has been awarded UNMC’s Excellence in Mentoring Award, Most Promising Invention Award, and Distinguished Scientist Award. In this interview, he shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Daniel Goldman is an Associate Professor of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His lab studies how animals like lizards and snakes move around in complex natural environments. They use physics to understand movement and test their hypotheses in robotic systems with the goal of developing robots with greater abilities to navigate complex environments. When he's not doing science, Dan spends much of his time with his young daughter. He received his PhD in Physics from the University of Texas, Austin and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley. Dan has received many awards and honors during his career including recently being named a Georgia Power Professor of Excellence and receipt of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, a DARPA Young Faculty Award, a Sigma Xi Young Faculty award, an NSF CAREER/PECASE Award, a Georgia Tech Blanchard Milliken Fellowship, the Georgia Tech Fund for Innovation in Research and Education Award, and a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface. In addition, Dan is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. His work has also been featured by the New York Times, NPR, BBC, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and other media sources. Dan is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Adriana San Miguel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University. Adriana conducts research using a small roundworm called Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). They use this model organism to better understand processes such as aging, neurodegeneration, and stress. In particular, Adriana’s lab uses engineering tools and approaches to try to conduct research that is highly efficient and quantitative. In her free time, Adriana enjoys exercising, swimming, and spending quality time with her family. She received her BSc. in chemical engineering from ITESM, a technological institute in Monterrey, Mexico. As an undergraduate, she received the Frisa Entrepreneurship Award from ITESM as well as the Craig P. Dunn Award for Social Innovations in Entrepreneurship from the San Diego State University Venture challenge. Prior to starting graduate school, Adriana worked in the cement and water-treatment industries. She was awarded her PhD in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech, and during her PhD, she was recognized with the Exemplary Academic Achievement Award and the Ziegler Award for Best PhD Thesis Proposal from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech. Afterwards, Adriana worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Tech and at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. As a postdoc she received an NIH K99 Pathway to Independence Award. In our interview, she shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Mike Blatt is the Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Glasgow and Adjunct Professor at Pennsylvania State University. Mike is a cell biologist and physiologist who studies cells to understand how the parts fit together to accomplish important functions in plants. He is also passionate about electronics, and he has built much of the equipment they use for their work. Mike loves winter sports, especially downhill and cross country skiing. In fact, he has skied throughout most of his life is currently looking forward to an upcoming ski trip to the Alps with his father who is still hitting the slopes in his nineties! He conducted his undergraduate studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and at the University of Wisconsin, Madison where he received his BS with honors in Botany and Biochemistry. Next, Mike was awarded a PhD in Plant Biology from Stanford University while working in the Department of Plant Biology at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. During his graduate work, Mike received a Fullbright-Hays Graduate Fellowship to study at the University of Nürnberg. Afterwards, Mike traveled to Yale University Medical School to accept an NRSA Postdoctoral Fellowship and then to the University of Cambridge to accept a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship. He has served on the faculty at the University of London and Imperial College London prior to joining the faculty at the University of Glasgow. Mike has received many awards and honors throughout his career, including being named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the James Hutton Institute, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the premier international journal Plant Physiology. In this interview, Mike discusses his experiences in life and science.

Dr. David Kaplan is the Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering at Tufts University, a Distinguished University Professor, and Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He also holds faculty appointments in the School of Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, and the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical and Biological Engineering. For his research, David looks to nature for sources of inspiration, and he uses scientific and engineering disciplines to create new things. His work spans biopolymer engineering, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and cellular agriculture. In his free time, David enjoys traveling, meeting new people, observing nature, and studying trees from both a naturalist and scientific perspective. David received his B.S. degree in biology from the State University of New York and his PhD in biochemistry from Syracuse University and SUNY Syracuse. He worked as a research scientist at Natick Research & Development Center for several years before joining the faculty at Tufts University in 1996. He has received multiple awards for his research and teaching, including the Clemson Award for literature contributions from the Society for Biomaterials, the Massachusetts Columbus Quincentennial Award, and the Henry and Madeline Fischer Faculty Award from Tufts University. In addition, David is an elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the National Academy of Engineering, and the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering. In this interview, he shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Barry Byrne is the Earl and Christy Powell University Chair in Genetics, Associate Chair of Pediatrics, Director of the Powell Gene Therapy Center, and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Florida. He conducts research on neuromuscular diseases which may cause problems such as muscle weakness, uncoordinated movements, difficulty speaking, and heart problems. In addition, Barry is a practicing physician who treats patients with these diseases. When he isn’t working in the lab or treating patients, Barry enjoys spending time with his family. He also likes to get outdoors to play sports, cycle, or go hiking. Barry received his B.S. in Chemistry from Denison University and his M.D. and Ph.D in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Illinois. He completed his Pediatrics residency, cardiology fellowship training, and post-doctoral training in Biological Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. Barry started his career as a faculty member at Johns Hopkins, and he joined the faculty at the University of Florida in 1997. Barry’s excellence in research has been recognized throughout his career through his receipt of various awards including the Faculty Research Prize in Clinical Research and the Research Professor Award from the University of Florida, as well as the Clinician Scientist Award from Johns Hopkins University. In this interview, Barry shares more about his research and his journey through life and science.

Dr. Alex DiFeliceantonio is an Assistant Professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion School as well as Associate Director of the Center for Health Behaviors Research. Alex’s research examines why we eat what we eat in terms of the underlying neuroscience and physiological factors that influence food choice. Diet and food choice have tremendous impacts on health, and these can be targets for interventions to improve health and people’s lives. In her free time, Alex enjoys going to parks, shopping at the local farmer’s market, and watching garbage collection trucks with her young son. She is also an avid reader, and she particularly loves science fiction and fantasy novels. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Sweet Briar College and her PhD in biospsychology from the University of Michigan. Afterwards, she worked as a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow in the Translational Neurocircuitry Group at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne, Germany. She also conducted postdoctoral research in the Department of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and served as an Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University before accepting her current position. In our interview, Alex shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Tara C. Smith is an Associate Professor in Epidemiology at Kent State University and Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Iowa. She works with bacteria that can be transferred between animals and people, and she often studies antibiotic-resistant bacteria. When not working, Tara spends a lot of time with her family, and is often driving her kids to their sports, music, and other activities. She received her PhD in Microbiology from the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Epidemiology at the University of Michigan. Afterward, Tara served on the faculty at the University of Iowa for about nine years before joining the faculty at Kent State. In this interview, Tara shared more about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Michele Battle is an Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Michele’s research is focused on studying how organs in the gut form and function in normal health in order to understand how to fix the gut when things go wrong in different disease states. Outside the lab, she likes spending time with family and friends. Whether she is going for walks, enjoying Lake Michigan, hiking, doing ropes adventure courses with her kids, or taking their new puppy to the dog park, Michel loves getting outside and connecting with people. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology and philosophy from the University of Scranton and her PhD in cell and molecular biology from Michigan State University. Before joining the faculty, she conducted postdoctoral research at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and she was the recipient of the inaugural Edward J. Lennon, MD Award for an Outstanding Woman Postdoctoral Researcher. Michele has also been awarded the Research Scholar Award from the American Gastroenterological Association Research Foundation, the Presidential Scholar Award from the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Women in Science Rising Pioneer Award from the Medical College of Wisconsin, and numerous awards from the Medical College of Wisconsin in recognition of her excellence in teaching. In addition, she was named a Fellow of the Kavli Foundation in 2015. In our interview, Michele shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Erin E. Carlson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota. Research in Erin’s lab focuses on microbes. They are interested in how these organisms interact with one another, humans, and the environment. Over the course of modern medicine, we’ve come to appreciate that microbes make a lot of potentially important therapeutic agents. In particular, Erin’s group is studying how microbes may be able to continue to provide us with antibacterial agents despite issues with increasing antibiotic resistance. Travel is a passion for Erin, and as a scientist, she has had many wonderful travel opportunities. She particularly enjoyed going on a safari in Tanzania, as well as traveling to Indonesia and South America to present her research. In addition, Erin is an avid photographer who documents all the places she has been in the world through her photos. Erin received her B.A. in chemistry from St. Olaf College and her PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Subsequently, Erin was awarded an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research at The Scripps Research Institute. She served on the faculty at Indiana University before joining the faculty at the University of Minnesota where she is today. Among her many awards and honors, Erin is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), a Pew Biomedical Scholarship, the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, the Indiana University Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, an NSF CAREER Award, and the Cottrell Scholar Award. In addition, she was named a Sloan Research Fellow, an Indiana University Dean's Fellow, and an American Chemical Society Women Chemists Committee Rising Star. In our interview, Erin shares some of her experiences in life and science.

Dr. Joel Berger is the Barbara Cox Anthony University Chair of Wildlife Conservation at Colorado State University. He is also a longtime Senior Scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the author of multiple books, including most recently Extreme Conservation: Life at the Edges of the World. Joel is dedicated to saving animals that are off the radar of most people such as the Takin in Bhutan or the Huemul in Patagonia. These animals live in faraway places, and there are relatively few people advocating for their preservation. When he’s not working, Joel enjoys hiking, watching animals, traveling to remote places, and drinking good coffee. He is also a fan of bodysurfing, but he doesn’t get to do this often living in Colorado. Joel earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from California State University, Northridge, and his Ph.D. in biology from the University of Colorado Boulder. He was awarded a Smithsonian Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research at the National Zoo’s Conservation & Research Center, and he was subsequently awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship which supported his research for four years. Before joining CSU, he held the position of John J. Craighead Chair of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Montana. Joel has received numerous awards and honors over the course of his career, including the Aldo Leopold Conservation Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Society of Mammalogists, the Life-time Achievement Award from the Institute for Parks at Clemson University, the Society of Conservation Biology’s LaRue III Life-time Achievement Award, and the Conservation Biology Award from the Denver Zoological Society. He is also an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, and he is a three-time finalist for the prestigious Indianapolis Prize in Conservation, one of the field’s greatest honors. In this Interview, Joel shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Ohara Augusto is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the Institute of Chemistry at the University of São Paulo. In addition, she is the Director of a network studying the redox process in biomedicine. Ohara seeks to understand how free radicals and related oxidants are produced in organisms and how they affect an organism's physiology. Free radicals are continuously produced in organisms during metabolism and through interactions with the environment, and they play crucial roles in physiological and pathophysiological processes. When she’s not working in the lab, Ohara loves attending concerts, art expositions, movies, and theatre plays. She also enjoys listening to music, reading, and cooking. Some of Ohara's favorite recipes to prepare are a Brazilian meat and bean dish called feijoada and a rice dish called paella. She completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry and her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of São Paulo. Afterwards, Ohara conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley and at the University of California, San Francisco before returning to the University of São Paulo to join the faculty. She has received many awards and honors for her work, including being named a Fellow of the Oxygen Society, as well as a Member of the Academy of Sciences of the State of São Paulo, the World Academy of Sciences, and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. Ohara is also the recipient of the Silver Medal for Biology and Medicine from the International Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Society and has been named Commander of the Order of Scientific Merit by the Presidency of the Republic. In this interview, Ohara shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Melik Demirel is a Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at The Pennsylvania State University. Melik is fascinated by complexity in living and nonliving systems. He works at the intersection of biology, materials science, and computational science to understand whether patterns in living and nonliving systems follow mathematical and statistical rules, to determine the underlying physical basis of these patterns, and identify relevant mechanisms. He likes listening to music to engage the creative aspects of his mind. Some of his favorites are composers like Beethoven and Rachmaninov. Melik’s wife plays piano, and his son plays piano and cello, so music is a big part of their lives. Malik received is B.S. and M.S. in Engineering from Boğaziçi University in Turkey and was awarded his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Afterwards, Melik conducted postdoctoral research at Los Alamos National Laboratory and was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship in Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute in Gottingen, Germany. He accepted a faculty position at Penn State in 2003. Melik was a recipient of the Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research within the Department of Defense, was selected as a Wyss Institute Visiting Scholar at Harvard University, and was awarded the Outstanding Research Award from Penn State, among other honors during his career. In this episode, he tells us about his experiences in life and science.

Dr. Rosie Alegado is an Associate Professor of Oceanography and Sea Grant at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa where she is Director for the Center of Ulana ʻIke  Center of Excellence and a member of the Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education. She is also Director of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology Maile Mentoring Bridge Program, Chair of the City & County of Honolulu Climate Change Commission, and a Member of The National Academy of Science and Engineering and Medicine Ocean Studies Board. This Board serves as the U.S. National Committee for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2020-2030 Initiative. Rosie studies microbes, the smallest living organisms who do a lot of the unseen work in our world. She is interested in understanding how microbes have shaped our world. When she’s not working, Rosie loves learning about the natural world, and she has lately been re-connecting with her cultural heritage as a native Hawaiian. She and her daughter practice hula, and she also engages in formalized chant training. When she is overloaded and needs a break, Rosie enjoys reading romance novels and other books. Rosie received her B.S. degree in Biology with a minor in Environmental Health and Toxicology from MIT. She was awarded her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from Stanford University. Afterwards, Rosie conducted postdoctoral research in evolutionary biology at the University of California, Berkeley before joining the team at UH Mānoa. In this interview, she shares more about her life and science. 

Dr. Haley Oliver is an Associate Professor of Food Science at Purdue University, as well as an Adjunct Professor at Texas Tech University. The overall goal of Haley’s research is to reduce foodborne disease. She studies bacteria that make people sick and is working to understand where these bacteria may be introduced to food and how they persist on food at every stage of the food system, including in places like grocery stores. Her research aims to improve the safety of foods before they reach consumers. One thing Haley loves to do in her spare time is hit the road to visit the important people in her life. She received her B.S. in Microbiology and Molecular Biology from the University of Wyoming, and she was awarded her PhD in Food Science from Cornell University. Next, Haley received a postdoctoral fellowship to conduct research in food science at Cornell University. Haley is the recipient of the New Teacher Award and the National Early Career Teaching Award from the United States Department of Agriculture, as well as the Outstanding Academic Counseling and Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Awards from Purdue University. In this interview, Haley discusses her journey through life and science.

Dr. Greg Petsko is the Arthur J. Mahon Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience and Director of the Helen and Robert Appel Alzheimer's Disease Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College, as well as the Tauber Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry, Emeritus, at Brandeis University. Greg is a structural biologist and biochemist by training, but he has entered into a new research field where he is working to find cures for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Lou Gehrig's disease. When he's not working, writing about science and society is something Greg enjoys and is passionate about. He received his PhD from the University of Oxford and worked at Wayne State University, MIT, and Brandeis University before joining the faculty at Cornell where he is today. He has received numerous awards and honors during his career, including the Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry of the American Chemical Society and the Max Planck Prize. Greg is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He is the Past-President of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and is President of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He has also written a column on science and society that is available as a book entitled Gregory Petsko in Genome Biology: the first 10 years. In our interview, Greg shares stories from his life and science.

Dr. Neil Kelleher is the Walter and Mary Elizabeth Glass Professor of Chemistry, Molecular Biosciences, and Medicine at Northwestern University. Neil is a protein biochemist. He weighs and analyzes proteins found in the human body, and he develops technology that allows scientists to measure new things. When he’s not doing science, Neil likes to play basketball, and he has also been an avid golfer since he was young. He received his B.A. in chemistry from Pacific Lutheran University and his Ph.D. in chemistry from Cornell University. He conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School before joining the faculty at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. In 2010, he joined the faculty at Northwestern University. Neil has received numerous awards and honors over the course of his career, including the Biemann Medal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry, the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering, the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, the Cottrell Scholars Award, the Burroughs Wellcome Award in the Pharmacological Sciences, a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, and others. In addition, he has received the Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award, the Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry, and the A.F. Findeis Award in Measurement Science from the American Chemical Society, Division of Analytical Chemistry. Neil was also a Becman Fellow, a Sloan Fellow, a Packard Fellow, a Searle Scholar, and a Fulbright Scholar. In our interview, Neil shares more about his life and science.

Dr. David Stern is the President of the Boyce Thompson Institute and Adjunct Professor in the Plant Biology Section at Cornell University. He and his colleagues study how plants use light to make the basic building blocks of life through photosynthesis. He also has a leadership role running a plant research institute that focuses on addressing society’s need to have a stable supply of food by better understanding how plants work and “think”. David and his wife have a farm of about 175 acres where they raise sheep, cattle, and chicken in addition to growing fruit. When David’s not doing hands-on work on his farm or selling produce at the farmers market, you can find him playing goalie on a local ice hockey team or hanging out with his son. David conducted his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, received his Master’s degree in Biochemistry from Cambridge University, and was awarded his PhD in Biological Sciences from Stanford University. Afterward, David conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley before accepting a position at the Boyce Thompson Institute where he is today. David has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science as well as Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists for his distinguished and long-term contributions to plant biology. In this interview, David discusses his research and his journey through life and science.

Dr. Tamara Bogdanović is an Assistant Professor in the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Physics, as well as a member of the Center for Relativistic Astrophysics. She is a theoretical physicist who studies some of the largest black holes in our universe, known as supermassive black holes. She investigates observational signatures associated with the interactions these supermassive black holes have with gas and stars. Her group works to develop theoretical models to predict signatures of supermassive black hole interactions that can potentially be identified in observational astronomical data. Free time for Tamara is spent outdoors hiking in the woods or strolling around the neighborhood with her husband. She also likes participating in group yoga classes and immersing herself in different worlds through reading. She received her B.Sc. in Astrophysics from the University of Belgrade in Serbia and her Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Pennsylvania State University. Tamara conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland, where she received a NASA sponsored Einstein Postdoctoral Fellowship as well as an Astronomy Prize Theory Postdoctoral Fellowship. She has also been named an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, a Cottrell Scholar, and a Cullen-Peck Fellow in recognition of her research and teaching. In this interview, Tamara shares stories from her life and science.

Dr. Thomas Brück is the Werner Siemens Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich in the School of Natural Sciences. Thomas uses biotechnology methods to more efficiently bind CO2 from the atmosphere using plants and algae, and he also creates value-added products from biomass that we can use in daily life. Some examples are carbon fiber materials that can be used in production of cars or proteins that can be used in foods. Outside of science, Thomas enjoys exploring underwater as an avid diver, spending quality time with his family, and educating the next generation about current global challenges surrounding climate change and sustainability. He received his B.Sc. in chemistry, biochemistry and management science and his master’s degree in molecular medicine from Keele University. He was awarded his PhD in protein biochemistry from Greenwich University. Next, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Center of Excellence for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine at Florida Atlantic University, where he subsequently served on the faculty as an assistant professor. Thomas then accepted a position in industry at the chemicals company Süd-Chemie In Munich, and he worked there for about four years before joining the faculty at the Technical University of Munich. Thomas’s research group was cited in the IPCC world climate report 1.5 for their work on industrial routes for a permanent CO2 sink. In addition, the European Business Council for Sustainable energy recognized Thomas with the e-ward in 2018 for this work. Further, Thomas was the inaugural recipient of the Technical University of Munich’s sustainability award in 2019. He has also been elected as a member of the German Bioeconomy Council, where he provides advice to the federal government on sustainability matters. In this interview Thomas shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Gemma Reguera is an Associate Professor in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, as well as Plant, Soil, and Microbial Science at Michigan State University. She studies bacteria that help us by cleaning up wastes and pollution. She learns about what these organisms do in the environment, figures out which ones can be brought into the lab, and finds ways to use these microbes to solve real-world problems. When Gemma wants to disconnect from science, she likes exercising at the gym, doing Zumba, reading, and cooking. Gemma also enjoys spending free time with her family, and she often hangs out with her son and goes on walks with their adorable rescue dog. Gemma completed her undergraduate studies in Biology at the University of Oviedo in Spain and received her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Afterward, Gemma conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst before joining the faculty at MSU where she is today. In our interview, Gemma shares fantastic stories from her life and science.

Dr. Madhur Anand is a Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph. She is an ecologist who examines the impacts of global ecological changes on ecosystems. This includes studying how things like climate change, pollution, invasive species, and land use changes affect biodiversity, ecosystem services, ecosystem functioning, and ecosystem stability. When she’s not working on science, Madhur likes to read, cook, drink wine, spend time with her family, watch movies, and write poetry. In fact, her first book of poems was published recently, and this collection combines elements from both her life and science. She received her BSc and PhD from Western University and went on to conduct postdoctoral research at the University of Trieste, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Utrecht University, and the University of New Mexico. Madhur served on the faculty at Laurentian University before accepting a position at the University of Guelph where she is today. Madhur is the recipient of many awards and honors, including Premier’s Research Excellence Award, two Canada Research Chairs, Western University’s Young Alumni Award of Merit, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Female Professional of the Year Award, and she was named a Young Scientist of the World Economic Forum. In addition to the accolades she has received for her science, Madhur is also an accomplished poet. Her first book of poems A New Index for Predicting Catastrophes was published in 2015 by was published by McClelland and Stewart/Penguin Random House Canada and nominated for a Trillium Book award for poetry in 2016. In this interview, Madhur shares excellent stories from her life and science.

Dr. Joshua Pate is a Lecturer in Physiotherapy at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. He is also a pain researcher, Children's book author, and co-founder of One Thing, a video platform where pain experts share key insights that can help people with pain. Many people don’t realize that chronic pain is relatively common in children. Josh studies how kids think about pain and how that impacts their lives and the lives of others in their household. He is interested in understanding how educating kids about pain and helping them manage their pain might impact chronic pain issues when people are young and also later in life. In addition to his work, Josh enjoys balancing his roles as a husband, dad, and uncle. When he has free time, he likes to spend it with his kids, nieces, and nephews. They’ve been having fun visiting the zoo, checking out local museums, and playing hide and seek in the park. Josh received his Bachelor of Health Science and Master of Physiotherapy degrees from the University of Western Sydney. Later, he earned a Master of Research and PhD in Pediatric Pain Science from Macquarie University. In our interview, Josh shares more about his life and science. 

Dr. Christina (Naomi) Tague is an Associate Professor of ecoHydrology in the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Naomi is an ecohydrologist who studies how water, vegetation, and climate interact. She uses computer models and simulations to integrate different systems and understand landscapes as a whole. When she's not hard at work in the lab, Naomi really enjoys dancing has gotten into a particular form of dance that also includes elements of martial arts. She received her Bachelor degree from the University of Waterloo in Systems Design Engineering and her MS and PhD degrees in Geography from the University of Toronto and completed postdoctoral research with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Naomi then spent five years as a member of the faculty at San Diego State University before moving to UC Santa Barbara. Naomi joined us for an interview to share more about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Susan Krumdieck is a Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Advanced Energy and Material Systems Lab at the University of Canterbury. She is also Research Leader with the Geothermal Energy Conversion Research Group, Founder of the Global Association for Transition Engineering, and Director of the From the Ground Up Research Consortium. She is an engineer, and her goal is to observe the world, learn about it, improve it, and ultimately make things work. A focus for Susan is re-thinking and re-engineering things we have created in order to address future energy and societal needs (Transition Engineering). She also does work in materials engineering, and her lab creates new materials to address particular problems in energy and other areas. Susan spends a great deal of her free time gardening, including growing vegetables. She is also an active cyclist and a member of a choir that sings music that is hundreds of years old. She received her B.S. and M.S. Degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Energy Systems Engineering from Arizona State University and her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Susan is the recipient of the Gold and Silver Sustainability Awards from the University of Canterbury, as well as a Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand and former Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand President's Energy Panel. In this interview, Susan discusses her life and science.

Dr. Lee Cronin is the Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow. Lee is answering a variety of questions that involve chemistry. He is particularly interested in determining how life started and how we can make new life forms from scratch. Other areas of research include molecular devices and self assembly. He spends his time outside of work running, reading, and playing with technology like 3D printers and drones. Since his childhood, he has enjoyed tinkering and taking things apart, and now he is able to share these activities with his own kids. He received his Bsc in Pure Chemistry with First Class Honors as well as his PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from York University. Afterward, he served as a Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow, and a Lecturer at the University of Birmingham before joining the faculty at Glasgow University where he is today. Lee is an accomplished chemist who has been honored with many awards including recognition as one of the United Kingdom's top 10 Inspiring Scientists and Engineers by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in 2014 and one of the top 100 United Kingdom practicing Scientists by the UK Science Council. He received the Royal Society of Chemistry's Corday Morgan Medal and Prize in 2012 and Tilden Prize for pure research in 2015. In addition, Lee is a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and recipient of the Royal Society's 2013 BP Hutton Prize for Energy Innovation for applied research. In our interview, Lee shares stories about his life and science.

Dr. Emily Darling is Director of Coral Reef Conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. Emily’s research focuses on how coral reefs around the world will survive climate change. She examines the different types of corals that are on a reef, as well as the patterns of disturbance, recovery, and influences of climate change. Emily works with large datasets, conducts underwater field research, and works with other researchers, local communities, fishers, governments, and policy experts to try to understand and conserve coral reef communities. When she’s not working, Emily loves having fun outdoor adventures with friends. She was an avid rock climber in the past, and she has more recently joined a community sailing club. Lately, Emily has been exploring the Great Lakes on her new sailboat with her puppy Jayne. Emily received her B.Sc. Degree in Biology from Queen’s University and her PhD in Marine Ecology and Conservation from Simon Fraser University. Afterwards, she was awarded the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Subsequently, Emily was awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship to work at the University of Toronto. Emily has been awarded the Early Career Scientist Award from the International Coral Reef Society and the Early Career Award from the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution. In this interview, Emily shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Gail Ashley is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Rutgers University. She is Undergraduate Program Director and Director of the Quaternary Studies Graduate Certificate Program. Early humans are known to have originated in East Africa. Gail works alongside paleoanthropologists to uncover and better understand records of these early humans. As a geologist, Gail focuses on providing context about the environment these early hominins lived in, including the climate, potential foods, and water sources. Gail lives on a property in New Jersey with plentiful woods, and she heats her home with a wood-burning stove. One of the things that helps Gail relax is spending time outside splitting, stacking, and storing firewood. She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geology from the University of Massachusetts and completed her Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia. After receiving her Ph.D., Gail accepted a faculty position at Rutgers, and she has been a faculty member there for 39 years. Gail has received many awards and honors during her career including the Sedimentary Geology Division of the Geological Society of America’s Laurence L. Sloss award for her lifetime achievements in sedimentary geology, as well as an Outstanding teaching award from the Association of Women Geoscientists. She has also served as President of the Society for Sedimentary Geologists, President of the Geological Society of America, President of the Society of Economic and Petroleum Mineralogists, and President of the American Geosciences Institute. In addition, Gail has served as Editor-in Chief of the Journal of Sedimentary Research. In our interview, Gail tells us more 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. JC is an ecologist who studies interactions between plants and their environment. His research seeks to understand how plants interact in their pursuit of food, as well as how communities respond to environmental change. Some of JC's hobbies outside of science include playing tennis, cooking, strumming the guitar, and spending time with his family. 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. In this interview, JC shares more about his life and his science.

Dr. Mita Dasog is an Associate Professor and the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Research Chair in the Department of Chemistry at Dalhousie University in Canada. Mita’s lab conducts basic research to examine how different nanomaterials form, what dictates their size and shape, and how these features influence their properties. They also do applied research developing nanomaterials to address major global challenges such as energy production, fuel production, and desalination to help with the water crisis. When she’s not doing science, you can often find Mita listening to CoComelon with her kid, reading a great mystery novel, painting, or cooking delicious Indian, Thai, Chinese, or Mexican cuisine. Mita received her BSc in chemistry from the University of Saskatchewan and her PhD in chemistry from the University of Alberta. Next, she worked at the Technical University of Munich in Germany for about half a year as a Green Talents Visiting Scholar. Afterwards, Mita was awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada postdoctoral fellowship to conduct research at California Institute of Technology. Mita has been recognized with numerous awards and honors including the Nova Scotia Discovery Centre Emerging Professional Award and the President’s Emerging Investigator Research Excellence Award. She is also an elected Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada and a Member of the Global Young Academy. In our interview, Mita shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Jennifer Jenkins is the Atkinson Chair of Early Child Development and Education and the Interim Academic Director of the Frazer Mustard Institute of Human Development at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on things that influence the development of mental health and early learning problems in children. For example, she examines biological, genetic, prenatal risks, and perinatal risks and focuses on how these influence the family relationships that children develop. These relationships in turn can influence mental health issues that children may develop. Jenny likes to spend her time with her family and a close group of friends she has known for over 30 years. She also enjoys going on daily walks with a friend and fellow faculty member at the University of Toronto. She received her Bachelor's degree in Developmental Psychology from the University of Sussex, her Master's degree in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Nottingham, and her PhD in Psychology from the University of London. Afterwards, she worked as a Senior Clinical Psychologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and then as a Lecturer at Stirling University before joining the faculty at the University of Toronto. In this interview, Jenny shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman is a Research Space Scientist with NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Shawn spends his days looking for ways to detect signs of alien life. He uses a wide variety of techniques, including mass spectrometers to measure the ratios of isotopes on the surface of Mars or spectrographs to measure the abundance of planetary gases. He spends a lot of his free time being a parent to his 16 month old daughter. When he's not spending quality time with his family, Shawn also likes to play basketball, water polo, and video games, as well as blog. Shawn 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. In this interview, Shawn shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Karen James is a staff scientist at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Maine. She is trained in genetics, and she applies her skills to environmental, conservation, and restoration research. In particular, Karen uses DNA to identify animals and plants, including those collected by citizen scientists for conservation and restoration projects. Karen spends her free time outside on the trails of Acadia National Park near where she lives. She does a lot of gardening, hiking, biking,  and cross country skiing to get as much time outdoors as possible. 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. In this interview, Karen shares more about her life and science. 

Dr. Olaf Andersen is a Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Director of the Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program in New York City. His research aims to understand all of the mechanisms by which small molecules can manipulate the functions of cells or whole organisms. How do these molecules work and what are they doing? These questions are particularly relevant for pharmacology and toxicity. When he's not doing science, Olaf keeps busy reading and brewing beer. His ambition as a brewer is to make a beer with a deep beer flavor but really low alcohol percentage. Olaf keeps a brewing diary that holds 20 years worth of notes on each batch he has ever brewed. He was awarded his MD from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Copenhagen and Rockefeller University before joining the faculty at Cornell University. Olaf has received many awards and honors including being named a Foreign Member of The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, receipt of the K. S. Cole Medal from the Biophysical Society, being named an Honorary Fellow of the Cornell University Weill Medical College Alumni Association, receipt Distinguished Service Award from the Biophysical Society, and receipt the Inaugural Bruce Ballard Mentoring Award. In this interview, Olaf shares more about his life and science. 

Dr. C. Robin Buell is a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Chair in Crop Genomics in the Department of Crop & Soil Sciences and the Center for Applied Genetic Technologies at the University of Georgia. Robin studies the DNA of plants to better understand how plants do things like grow, respond to stress, reproduce, and evolve. Her work spans a wide variety of plants including crop plants (corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes), medicinal plants (those that make anti-cancer drugs), and other plants with interesting properties (basil, oregano, catnip, and cat mint). In her free time, Robin enjoys tending to the vegetables in her garden, watching college basketball and football games, and spending time with her two rescue dogs. She received her BSc in biology from the University of Maryland, her MSc in plant pathology from Washington State University, and her PhD in biological sciences/molecular biology from Utah State University. Afterwards, she conducted postdoctoral research at Michigan State University and at the Carnegie Institution of Washington (Stanford University). She served on the faculty at Louisiana State University, The Institute for Genomic Research, and Michigan State University before joining the faculty at UGA last year. Robin has been elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement for Science and the American Society of Plant Biologists. In addition, she was awarded the 2022 McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies by the Maize Genetics Cooperation Advocacy Committee. In our interview, she shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Rupal Patel is a Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders as well as the College of Computer and Information Science at Northeastern University. She is also Director of the Communication Analysis and Design Laboratory and a Co-Founder and Core Faculty member of the interdisciplinary doctoral program in Personal Health Informatics there. Her research focuses on understanding normal speech production as well as problems that can interfere with speech production. She works to help people with speech impairments communicate better and investigates ways that computers can be used to mediate communication. Rupal likes to spend her free time with her family. Her two kids are a great source of inspiration and ideas, and Rupal loves hearing about how they interpret the world. She received her B.Sc. in Neuropsychology from the University of Calgary and her M.H.Sc. and Ph.D. in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Toronto. Afterwards, Rupal completed postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a faculty member at Columbia University before joining the faculty at Northeastern University where she is today. In this interview, Rupal shares more about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Michael Clegg is a Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine. He is also the past Foreign Secretary of the US National Academy of Sciences, and just recently finished serving in his third consecutive term. Mike studies how genes change through time and uses that information to understand the historical relationships between organisms. When not engrossed in science, Mike likes to likes to read history books. He also has a fascination with airplanes that goes all the way back to his youth. Currently, he owns and flies two different airplanes. Some of Mike's other favorite activities are traveling and spending time with his family. Mike received his PhD in Genetics from the University of California, Davis. He served on the faculty at Brown University, the University of Georgia, and the University of California, Riverside before accepting a position at UC, Irvine. Mike has a long list of career and research accolades. He was elected as a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Member of the American Philosophical Society, a Fellow of the Global Academy of Sciences, an Honorary Member of the Palestinian Academy of Sciences, a Foreign Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science, and a Corresponding Member of multiple other international Academies. He is also a Senior Fellow of the California Council on Science and Technology and has been awarded the Darwin Prize from Edinburgh University. In this interview, Mike shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Howard Rosenbaum is a Senior Conservation Scientist and Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Ocean Giants Program, which aims to secure the future of whales, dolphins, and other marine species. He is also a Senior Scientist at the American Museum of Natural History, core faculty member at Columbia University in the Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology Department, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Cetacean Specialist Group and Important Marine Mammal Areas Task Force, and a member of the International Whaling Commission’s Scientific Committee. In addition, Howard is a member of New York’s (NYSERDA) Environmental Technical Working Group and on the Specialist Committee for Best Management Practices related to Offshore Wind Development. He has also been a subject matter expert for two past BOEM workshops related to marine mammals and Offshore Wind Development, an invited member of the Regional Wildlife Science Entity’s Marine Mammal subcommittee, and he recently served on IUCN’s panel on Mitigating Biodiversity Impacts to Wind Energy Development. When he’s not working, Howard loves spending time outdoors. Some of his favorite outdoor activities are skiing in the winter, cycling, kayaking, sailing, going for walks with his dog, and spending time with his wife and kids out in nature. Howard is a conservation biologist who uses novel scientific approaches and techniques to better understand marine mammals and their environments with the ultimate goal of improving conservation of these animals and environmental practices. Howard received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College and afterwards spent two years conducting research as a recipient of a Thomas J. Wat­son Fel­low­ship. Next, he enrolled in graduate school at Yale University where he was awarded his Ph.D. in biology. Upon graduating, Howard began a postdoctoral fellowship with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the American Museum of Natural History where he would ultimately continue working for over 20 years. In this interview, Howard shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is a Professor of Psychology and Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University. In the lab, she compares brains to find out what they are made of and what difference that makes for the organism in terms of its abilities. She is interested in finding out how many neurons and other cell types brains have, determining whether brain size matters, and examining how numbers of cells correspond to cognitive abilities. Suzana is not only a scientist, but also a musician. From an early age, she received formal training in classical music, including the piano and flute. While Suzana was a graduate student in Cleveland, she decided to learn to play the cello. In addition, Suzana also previously self-taught herself to play classical guitar and just recently started taking formal lessons. She received her B.S. in Biology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and completed her M.S. in Neuroscience at Case Western Reserve University. She was awarded her PhD in Neuroscience from Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, and conducted part of her graduate work at the Max-Planck Institute for Brain Research. Suzana served on the faculty of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt where she is today. She is the recipient of the Scholar Award in Understanding Human Cognition from the James S. McDonnell Foundation, as well as the José Reis Prize of Science Communication. In addition, Suzana has authored seven books for the general public on neuroscience, including her recently published book The Human Advantage: A New Understanding of How Our Brain Became Remarkable. She has written and presented the TV series Neurológica, has contributed over 260 to the Folha de São Paulo newspaper, and has written for the Scientific American Brazil magazine. In our interview, Suzana shares stories from her life and science.

Dr. Stanley Maloy is Dean of the College of Sciences, Associate Director of the Center for Microbial Sciences, and Professor in Biology at San Diego State University. Stanley’s lab is working on a new approach for delivering vaccines that may be beneficial for the development of new types of vaccines. They are also collaborating with colleagues in the biotech industry to investigate new approaches for developing antibiotics. When he's not working, Stanley loves traveling, reading, cooking, hiking, and enjoying the ocean. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the University of California, Irvine and conducted postdoctoral research in Genetics at the University of Utah. Stanley then served on the faculty at the university of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign for about 18 years before accepting a position where he is today at San Diego State University. Stanley is a former President of the American Society for Microbiology, is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, has authored several books on microbial genetics, and has been widely recognized for his excellence in teaching. In this episode, Stanley tells us more about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Tara Alvarez is Professor of Bio-Medical Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology and Chief Scientific Officer at OculoMotor Technologies. Tara’s research focuses on how we move our eyes, how visual information is brought in through our visual system, and how the brain changes. In particular, she studies a condition called convergence insufficiency. In this condition, people have difficulty and discomfort when reading or maintaining focus on near objects. She is working to better understand convergence insufficiency and how the brain changes during visual therapy, resulting in reduced symptoms. In her free time, Tara loves spending time with her kids, doing renovation projects at home, cooking, and gardening. She was awarded her B.S. in Electrical Engineering and her Ph.D. in Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering from Rutgers University. Afterwards, she conducted postdoctoral research at Bell Labs before joining the faculty at New Jersey Institute of Technology. She has received numerous awards and honors in her career, including an NSF Career Award, the Founding Members Award for Science from the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association, an Edison Patent Award, the NJIT Excellence in Research Award, and Augmented World Expo’s Auggie Awards for Women XR Laureate and for Most Innovative Breakthrough. She has also been named an Outstanding Woman Scientist of NJ, a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. In this interview, Tara shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Malia Gehan is an Assistant Member at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Her research examines how to improve crops in terms of their response to temperature stress and other abiotic stresses. She is does this through examining natural variation in plants. There are many plants that are highly resilient in different environmental conditions but are not edible. Malia is investigating how to take useful traits from these hardy, weedy plants and incorporate them into crops. Outside of science, Malia spends her free time with her two cats and her husband, who is also a scientist. They enjoy lounging around at home, as well as walking around their neighborhood near the Missouri Botanical Garden. Malia also has fun cooking, going to the movies, and watching TV. She received her undergraduate training in Biology from Willamette University and her PhD in Plant Biology from Michigan State University. Afterwards, Malia was awarded a National Science Foundation Plant Genome Initiative Postdoctoral Fellowship working at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and she subsequently worked as a Research Scientist there before accepting her new position. Malia is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar is the Smith and Lucille Gibson Professor of Medicine, Director of the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, Co-Director of the American Heart Association Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, and a Distinguished University Scholar at the University of Louisville. Much of Aruni’s work has focused on understanding how the heart and blood vessels work and how they become diseased. He developed a new field called environmental cardiology where he examines how exposure and environmental conditions may impact heart function and heart health. When he’s not at work, Aruni enjoys exploring his creativity through art, reading, and writing. He has spent a lot of time painting, and lately, he has been writing songs and poems. He was awarded his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Kanpur in India and he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston before joining the faculty at the University of Louisville in 1998. Aruni has received numerous awards and honors over the course of his career, including being named a Fellow of the American Heart Association in 2005. He also received the President’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity from the University of Louisville, the Partner in Healthcare Award, the Outstanding Faculty Mentor of Graduate Students and the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools, and he was designated Research Exemplar by Washington University in St. Louis. In our interview, Aruni shares more about his life and his science.

Dr. Franck Polleux is a Professor of Neuroscience and member of the Zuckerman Mind, Brain, Behavior Institute at Columbia University. Franck’s research focuses on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie brain and neuronal development, how neural connectivity may be different in the human brain compared to other mammals, and signaling pathways affected in the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Outside of his research, Franck is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys bicycling, playing tennis, and shooting hoops on the basketball court. Franck has two children, and he spends most of his free time with his family riding bikes, going to the theater, and reading together. He completed his undergraduate degree as well as his PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Claude Bernard in Lyon, France. Afterward, he travelled to Johns Hopkins University for his postdoctoral fellowship. Franck served on the faculty at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA before joining the faculty at Columbia University where he is today. Franck is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Pat Hutchings is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Museum Research Institute. She is a marine biologist who studies sea worms called polychaetes. Pat describes new species and works to understand where they live, what they do, and how diverse they are. These worms play an important role in the food chain and she has been devoted to studying them her entire career. Outside of science, Pat tries to spend her free time outdoors with activities like sailing and gardening. She also enjoys cooking with fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as spending time with friends. She received her B.Sc. with Special Honors from Queen Mary's College of the University of London and her Ph.D. and D.Sc. in reproductive biology of a sea worm from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Pat is a Fellow and Senior Vice President of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Whales. She is Past president of the Australian Coral Reef Society, Former Councillor of the Australian Marine Sciences Association, Past President of the International Polychaete Association, and Former Vice President of the Coast and Wetlands Society. In addition, she was the recipient of the Silver Jubilee Medal from the Australian Marine Science Association for her contributions to marine sciences. In this interview, Pat shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Nicholas Oberlies is the Patricia A. Sullivan Distinguished Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Nick’s lab is working to discover compounds in fungi that may be able to be used for medicines, particularly new therapeutics to treat cancer in humans. Outside of research, Nick’s interests include exercising, playing soccer, and playing guitar. He also enjoys reading a wide variety of books. Nick was awarded his B.S. in Chemistry from Miami University (of Ohio) and his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy from Purdue University. Afterwards, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at American Cyanamid. He then joined the Natural Products Laboratory at Research Triangle Institute, rising through the ranks to become Director of the Natural Products Laboratory. He joined the faculty at UNCG in 2009. Nick has received various awards and honors throughout his career including the Matt Suffness Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Pharmacognosy, the 40 Under 40 Leadership Award from the Triangle Business Journal, and the North Carolina Distinguished Speaker Award from the NC Section of the American Chemical Society. He was also recently the president of the American Society of Pharmacognosy. In our interview, he shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Christine McCarthy is the Lamont Assistant Research Professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. She studies the mechanical and geological features of ice and rocks. Even though on the surface rocks appear static, deep within the earth they undergo dynamic deformations, and she studies these processes, as well as how ice moves and flows. Outside of work, Christine enjoys visiting zoos, museums, and playgrounds with her family. Some of her other favorite pastimes have been rock climbing, camping, and other outdoor activities. She received her B.S. in Geophysics from the University of Oregon and went on to receive her M.Sc. and PhD in Geological Science from Brown University. Afterward, Christine conducted postdoctoral research at the Earthquake Research Institute at the University of Tokyo in Japan. She was awarded a Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Postdoctoral Fellowship, followed by a NASA Early Career Fellowship, before joining the faculty at Columbia where she is today. Christine is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Nathan Smith will soon be starting his new roles as Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion in Research and Research Education as well as Associate Professor of Neuroscience in the School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester. Currently, Nathan is Director of Basic Neuroscience Research and a Principal Investigator in the Center for Neuroscience Research at Children's National Research Institute as well as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacology & Physiology at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Nathan studies a type of cell in the brain that helps the brain perform certain tasks like managing blood flow. These cells also help other cells in the brain, such as neurons, communicate with each other. Nathan focuses particularly on interactions between neurons and glial cells in healthy brains and in models of diseases like ADHD, Depression, and epilepsy. When he's not working in the lab, Nathan enjoys practicing martial arts. He is a black belt in Seidokan Karate, and this has been a passion for Nathan since graduate school that helps him keep his life in balance. He received his B.S. in Biology from Xavier University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. When he graduated in 2013, Nathan was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester. Afterwards, Nathan conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Utah and Boston University, as well as at Children's National Hospital. Nathan has received numerous honors and awards in his career including being named a 2021 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), receipt of the 2019 Neuroscience Alumni Award from the University of Rochester, and receipt of the 2018 Children's National President's Award for Innovation in Research. In our interview, Nathan shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Louis Schipper is a Professor in the School of Science at the University of Waikato. Research in Louis’s group focuses on how we can work with the land to achieve the food and other things we need while minimizing negative environmental impacts. To do this he looks at microorganisms in the soil and the cycling of nutrients in soil. Louis likes to spend his free time with his family. He and his wife are involved in Cub Scouts with their two kids, and they enjoy getting outdoors, hiking, and camping with the group. Louis also works outside restoring native vegetation and gardening at home. He received his undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD degrees in biology from the University of Waikato. Afterward, he accepted a postdoctoral position at the University of Florida before returning to New Zealand to work as a scientist for Landcare Research. Louis joined the faculty at the University of Waikato in 2005. Louis is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America as well as a Fellow of the New Zealand Soil Science Society, and is an author on two patents. In this episode, Louis shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Verónica Di Stilio is a full Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington. As a plant evolutionary biologist, Verónica is interested in understanding how the diversity of plant life came to be. In particular, she studies the evolution of plant innovations, like fruits and flowers. She is working to identify how the gene networks for these innovations evolved as well as how specific innovations related to fruits and flowers have evolved. When she’s not at work, Verónica enjoys tending to the beautiful flowers in her garden, going on walks with her husband and her dog, cooking, and dancing to music while she cooks. She attended the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina where she completed her undergraduate studies in biology, specializing in plant ecology. After graduating, Verónica worked for two years there as a teaching assistant and pollination biologist. Next, she pursued her Ph.D. degree in plant biology at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst). Verónica conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Massachusetts and Harvard University before joining the faculty at the University of Washington in 2003. In this interview, she shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Bonney is a Professor and Director of the Research Division in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Vermont. She studies the immune systems of pregnant women. Dr. Bonney is trying to understand why the female body doesn't reject the growing baby, even though it carries unfamiliar proteins from the father. Elizabeth is an enthusiastic gardener in her spare time. She has been cultivating carrots, radishes, herbs, mint, and more in her garden. She received her Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and went on to earn her MD from Stanford University. Afterward, Dr. Bonney completed her Residency at Harvard University followed by a Fellowship in Immunology at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bonney served on the faculty at Emory University before joining the faculty at the University of Vermont. She recently received her MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Bonney is a Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and has been awarded the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology Teaching Award. Dr. Bonney joined us to talk more about her life and her work.

Dr. Angelique C. Johnson is Founder and CEO of the startup company MEMStim LLC which is dedicated to reducing the cost of cochlear implants to treat hearing loss. She is also an adjunct faculty member in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Louisville. Angelique develops microfabricated arrays of wires for use in cochlear implants that can restore hearing loss and speech recognition. When she has free time, she loves engaging in great conversations with friends, enjoying a cup of coffee together, and hanging out. She also spends her free time salsa dancing, going out for morning runs, competing in marathons, relaxing, and listening to music. Angelique received her undergraduate training in computer engineering and mathematics from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Angelique completed her MSE and PhD in Electrical Engineering at the University of Michigan (NSF Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSystems, which is now the Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSensing and Systems). She has received many awards and honors for her work, including the Pryor-Hale award for Best Business at the Michigan Business Challenge, funding from the NSF Innovation Corps program, as well as NIH phase I and phase II SBIR grants. In this interview, Angelique shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Cullen Buie is an Associate Professor and the Esther and Harold E. Egerton Career Development Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In Cullen’s lab, they are working on a variety of projects that involve putting new nucleic acids or DNA into cells. For the most part, they use bacteria or other microbial cells and insert DNA that allow the cells to produce different things. When he’s not working, Cullen likes spending time with his wife and three kids. He takes advantage of down time to catch up on sleep and also to indulge in watching stand-up comedy. One of his favorite comedians is Jim Gaffigan. Cullen is also a big college football fan, and he is always rooting for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. Afterwards, Cullen was awarded a University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research at the University of California-Berkeley. Cullen joined the faculty at MIT in 2010. He has received many awards and honors in his career, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the DARPA Young Faculty Award, the DuPont Young Professor Award, and the NSF CAREER Award. Cullen was also named a Stanford Distinguished Alumni Scholar, and, in 2016, Cullen was named one of the 100 Most Influential African Americans by The Root. Cullen is joining us to give us an inside look into his life and science.

Since recording this episode, Dr. Karmella Haynes has joined the faculty in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech School of Engineering and Emory University School of Medicine. At the time of recording, Karmella was an Assistant Professor in the Ira A. Fulton School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering at Arizona State University. She was also a senior judge for the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition. Karmella studies synthetic biology, which involves synthesizing DNA outside of a cell and designing those new pieces of DNA so that they can be used for different purposes like stopping cancer cells from growing or helping stimulate tissue regeneration. She enjoys engaging her creative side within the lab as well as outside of the lab. When she is not working, Karmella likes to look at art and to paint paint with oil or acrylic on canvas. She received her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to joining the faculty at ASU, Karmella was awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Teaching and Research fellowship at Davidson College, followed by an NIH postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School. Karmella joined us for an interview to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Laurie Santos is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Comparative Cognition Laboratory at Yale University. She studies the cognitive abilities, strategies, and decision-making processes we use to see if any non-human species share these, or whether they are uniquely human. In her free time, Lori enjoys nature through leisurely hikes. She is also fascinated by celebrity autobiographies and memoirs, and she likes singing karaoke. Laurie received her B.A. in Psychology and Biology from Harvard and Radcliffe College, and went on to complete her M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology from Harvard University. Among Laurie’s many awards and honors, she has received the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contributions to Psychology, the Lex Hixton Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Social Sciences, the Arthur Greer Memorial Prize for Outstanding Junior Faculty at Yale, the Stanton Prize from the Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and she has been named one of TIME Magazine’s “Leading Campus Celebrities”. Laurie and her research have been featured by The Today Show, BBC News, NPR News, NBC News, The New York Times, and many other media outlets. She is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Lewis Cantley is the Director of the Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medical College as well as the Stanton Clinical Cancer Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. In addition, he is Co-Founder of Petra Pharma and Agios Pharmaceuticals. His research investigates signal transduction. He has spent most of his career trying to improve our understanding of cell signaling pathways at a molecular level since many diseases, such as cancer, involve defects in signaling. Outside science, he is an avid reader of science fiction, mystery, and history books. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from West Virginia Wesleyan College and his Ph.D. in Biophysical Chemistry from Cornell University. Lewis conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University, and served on the faculty at Harvard University, as well as Tufts University before joining the faculty at Cornell. Lewis has received many awards and honors during his career, including the 2005 Pezcoller Foundation-American Association for Cancer Research International Award for Cancer Research, the 2013 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the 2015 Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine, the 2015 Wolf Prize, the 2015 Association of American Cancer Institutes Distinguished Scientist Award, the 2015 Canada Cairdner award, and he was named one of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” in 2015 by Thomson Reuter. Lewis is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, and the European Life Sciences Academy. Lewis is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Jon Butterworth is a Professor of Physics at University College London. He works on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva. They are smashing particles together at extremely high energies and measuring what happens. Collecting data on these particle collisions provides information about the smallest and most basic components of our universe. Outside of science, Jon has two kids, and he spends most of his leisure time hanging out with them. He is also an avid writer and finds that writing is a good way to relax. At the same time, Jon enjoys activities like skiing and giving guitar performances. He received his B.A. in Physics and his Ph.D. in Particle Physics from the University of Oxford. Afterwards, Jon was hired by Pennsylvania State University to conduct postdoctoral research at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg, Germany before joining the faculty at UCL where he is today. John is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and recipient of their Chadwick Prize. He has also been awarded a Wolfson Research Merit Award from the Royal Society, an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, and a Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council Senior Research Fellowship. In addition, Jon is the author of the book Most Wanted Particle and author of a blog for The Guardian called Life and Physics. In this interview, Jon shares more about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Maria Marco is an Associate Professor in The Department of Food Science & Technology at The University of California, Davis. Research in Maria’s lab focuses on understanding the good bacteria in the food that we eat. People tend to only think of the bacteria that can make us sick, but there are a lot of useful microbes in foods like yogurt and sauerkraut. Maria tries to identify the bacteria that are present in food and understand how they help change our food and contribute to our health. Maria likes to go for camping and backpacking with her family in the Sierra Mountains in California. She has also spends her free time jogging, doing yoga, and watching her two sons play soccer. She received her BS at The Pennsylvania State University and her PhD in Microbiology at the University of California, Berkeley. She went on to work as a postdoc and then as a project scientist at NIZO food research and TI Food & Nutrition in The Netherlands before accepting a faculty position at UC, Davis where she is today. Maria is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.