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

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.

Dr. Sandra Encalada is the Arlene and Arnold Goldstein Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine and a Dorris Neuroscience Center Investigator at Scripps Research Institute in California. Sandra is a cell biologist whose research focuses on how proteins and other materials travel from the cell bodies of nerve cells all the way to the tips of the nerve cells. This process (called “transport” or “trafficking”) is critical for proper function of nerve cells, and it is highly regulated by a set of nonomachines called molecular motors. Sandra’s lab studies transport in healthy neurons and also how failures in transport may be related to or contribute to neurodegenerative disease. Lately, Sandra has been enjoying reading, playing games, and bonding with her 5 year old daughter. She also likes to spend her free time swimming in the ocean with her “pod” of fellow swimmers and practicing jazz improvisation on the piano. She received her bachelor’s degree in physics from Earlham College, her M.S. in population genetics from the University of Florida, and her Ph.D. in molecular genetics from the University of Oregon. Afterwards, she was awarded a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research at the University of California, San Diego. Next, Sandra worked as an Assistant Project Scientist and Neuroplasticity of Aging Fellow at the University of California before joining the faculty at Scripps Research. She has received numerous awards and honors over the course of her career, including The Glenn Foundation’s Glenn Award for Research in Biological Mechanisms of Aging, The Baxter Foundation Young Faculty Award, and The Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholar in Aging Award. In our interview, Sandra shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Russell Foster is Professor and Chair of Circadian Neuroscience, Supernumerary Fellow in Circadian Neuroscience, Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, a Nicholas Kurti Senior Fellow, Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Head of The Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at Brasenose college at the University of Oxford. Research in Russell’s lab focuses on how body clocks, circadian rhythms, and sleep/wake cycles are are generated within the central nervous system, how they are regulated, and how these systems are regulated by light. He examines these questions related to normal functioning, as well as in the context of disease. Russell spends his free time enjoying the company of his family and listening to music. He is particularly fond of opera and Mozart’s symphonies. In addition, Russell likes to escape the hectic hustle and bustle of life in science by visiting his cottage by the sea in Lyme Regis. While there, he enjoys swimming and sea kayaking. Russell received his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Bristol. He worked at the National Science Foundation Center for Biological Timing at the University of Virginia, and afterward served on the faculty at Imperial College before accepting a position at the University of Oxford. Russell is a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 2015, he received the honor of an appointment of Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Russell has received many other national and international awards for his accomplishments in science including Japan's Honma Prize, the USA's Cogan Award, Harvard University's Farrell Prize in Sleep Medicine, as well as the UK's Zoological Society Scientific Medal and Edridge-Green Medal from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. In addition, Russell is the author of the popular science books Rhythms of Life, Seasons of Life, and Sleep: a very short introduction. In this interview, Russell shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Spencer Barrett is the University Professor, Canada Research Chair, and Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. He is an Evolutionary Biologist who specializes in ecological and evolutionary genetics, as well as plant reproductive biology. He also considers himself a plant explorer because he is able to go out to exotic places to find cool plants. Spencer loves exploring new places. When he's at home, he enjoys spending time in his garden with his wife. He completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Botany from the University of Reading in England and received his PhD in Botany from the University of California, Berkeley before joining the faculty at the University of Toronto. Spencer has received many awards and honors during his career, including being named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an Extraordinary Professor by the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. He has also received the Lawson Medal from the Canadian Botanical Association, Premier's Discovery Award for Life Sciences and Medicine from the Ontario Government, and the Sewall Wright Award from the American Society of Naturalists, among others. Spencer is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Jill Pruetz is a Professor of Anthropology at Iowa State University and a National Geographic Society Emerging Explorer. In addition, Jill is the founder of the non-profit organization NeighborApe that she founded in 2008. Jill is an anthropologist who studies chimpanzees as a model system to understand behaviors in species that are related to us that existed millions of years ago. Jill loves being outdoors, whether it’s spending time with chimpanzees in the field or hiking near home. She also enjoys traveling traveling to tropical places, reading books, and spend time with her three dogs. She received her BA in Anthropology from Texas State University and her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jill then conducted postdoctoral research at Miami University before joining the faculty at Iowa State where she is today. Jill and her excellent research have been featured by NPR, BBC, CBC, National Geographic, New Scientist Magazine, The Today Show, and others. She is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Sophia Hayes is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. In the lab, Sophia studies the chemistry, physics, and engineering of materials we encounter in daily life like plastics and semiconductors. As a materials scientist, she is using a technique called nuclear magnetic resonance to learn more about these materials.Sophia's time away from science is spent with her family and her two newly adopted dogs. She enjoys sailing and skiing with her husband and daughter. Sophia received her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and worked for a few years afterward as an associate for a management consulting firm specializing in energy efficiency, environmental assessments, and energy generation. Sophia interned at the Sandia National Laboratories before entering graduate school. She received her PhD in Chemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She then completed a Directorate Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and UC Berkeley. She also served as an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Physics at the University of Dortmund in Germany before joining the faculty at Washington University. Sophia has received a number of awards and honors during her career, including, an NSF CAREER Award, a Washington University Graduate Student Senate Excellence in Mentoring Award, an Alfred Sloan Research Fellowship, and the Regitze R. Vold Memorial Prize from the Alpine Solid-State NMR Conference. Sophia is with us today to tell us about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Glenn Rall is a Professor at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. He is also the Leader of the Inflammation Working Group there and Co-Leader of the Immune Cell Development and Host Defense Program. In addition, Glenn is the Associate Chief Academic Officer and Director of the Postdoctoral Program. Glenn also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Microbiology and Immunology departments at Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University, and Drexel University. Glenn's lab studies viruses in the brain. His goal is to understand how our immune system recognizes and tries to get rid of those infections. Glenn enjoys spending his free time doing community service with his wife and getting involved in their neighborhood. He is also a big fan of listening to classical music. Glenn received his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Vanderbilt University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute before accepting a position at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Glenn is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Stephanie Wear is a Senior Scientist and Strategy Advisor at The Nature Conservancy, as well as a Visiting Fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and a Visiting Scientist at Duke University Marine Lab. Stephanie’s career has been dedicated to conservation, and her work has spanned a variety of threats to marine ecosystems, including overfishing and management, the impacts of climate change, and sewage pollution. When she’s not at work, Stephanie enjoys spending time out in nature with her husband and two kids, and lately they’ve been spending a lot of time hiking and searching for salamanders. Stephanie received her B.A. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia and her M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Marine Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She began working with The Nature Conservancy in 2001. Stephanie and her work have been featured in numerous media outlets, and she has been named one of Women's Health Magazine's "Clean and Green Pioneers" and Babble.com's "Moms Who are Changing the World". In addition, she was selected as a member of the inaugural class of NatureNet Science Fellows—a program sponsored by The Nature Conservancy and six leading universities that brings new approaches to solving global challenges surrounding sustainable provision of food, energy, and water. In our interview, Stephanie shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Eric Green is the Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Eric works in the field of genomics. Everything from cars to houses has a blueprint of information that defines its creation and operation. The field of genomics studies DNA, the information molecule of living cells, to understand how living organisms are created and operate. While his research can be time consuming, Eric loves digital photography because of the technological science involved. His two teenagers also keep him busy, and he is a diehard Cardinals baseball fan. He received his B.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and his M.D. and Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Washington University in St. Louis. Afterward, Eric completed his residency at Washington University in Laboratory Medicine and as part of his residency he did a postdoctoral research in genetics. Eric served on the faculty and as co-investigator in the Human Genome Center at Washington University School of Medicine before accepting a position at the National Institutes of Health where he has been now for over 20 years. Eric has been the recipient of many awards and honors during his career, including the NIH Director’s Award (multiple times), the Alumni Achievement and the Distinguished Alumni Awards from Washington University School of Medicine, as well as a Ladue Horton Watkins High School Distinguished Alumni Award. He is also a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. Eric is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Mariana Wolfner is the Goldwin Smith Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics and a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell University. Mariana studies reproduction, focusing on interactions between male and female molecules throughout the reproductive process and how these interactions evolved. Also, how does an egg switch from being a differentiated egg cell to a brand new organism that is going to divide and make every kind of cell in the organism. Outside science, Mariana enjoys spending time with her family including her two grown children. They like to go hiking, birdwatching, and generally being out in nature. When the weather’s not cooperating, Mariana stays inside doing crossword puzzles and other kinds of puzzles as well as baking sweet treats. We were also delighted to discover our shared love of terrible puns. She received her BA in Genetics and Chemistry from Cornell University, and her PhD in Biochemistry from Stanford University. She did postdoctoral work at UCSD, before joining the Cornell faculty in 1983. Mariana has received many awards and honors during her career. For example, she is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was a Lady Davis Fellow. She has given numerous named or distinguished lectures, and has also received awards for her teaching and advising of students. In addition to research, teaching, and advising, Mariana is very active in service to her field, serving on many Society Boards, Editorial Boards and organizing many conferences. Mariana is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Cassandra Quave holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor of Dermatology in the Emory University School of Medicine and Emory Center for the Study of Human Health. She is also Director/Curator of the Emory University Herbarium, CEO of CLQ Botanicals (a company providing consulting services on botanicals for personal care, skin health, and cosmetics), CEO and Chief Scientist of PhytoTEK LLC (a start-up biotech company dedicated to R&D and commercialization of novel anti-infective technologies), host of the Foodie Pharmacology Podcast, and author of the recently released book The Plant Hunter: A Scientist's Quest for Nature's Next Medicines. As a medical ethnobotanist, Cassandra studies how people relate to plants, and how they use plants as medicine. Her research takes her around the world to document traditional medicinal practices and collect plant samples. In her lab, Cassandra and her team analyze plant samples to assess their pharmacological activity against infectious disease targets. When she’s not working in the lab or out in the field, Cassandra loves spending time with her husband and their four kids, going to sporting events, hiking, canoeing, swimming, and relaxing with a good book. Cassandra received B.S. degrees in Biology as well as Anthropology and Human Biology from Emory University, and she was awarded her PhD in Biology with a focus in ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology from Florida International University. Next, Cassandra conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University. She joined the faculty at Emory University in 2013, and she has been awarded the Emory Williams Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award for her excellence in teaching. In our interview, Cassandra shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Michael Dickinson is the Esther M. and Abe M. Zarem Professor of Bioengineering  at the California Institute of Technology. His work focuses on the biomechanics and the biophysics of life with a particular focus on how animals fly. He looks at these questions through a neuroscientific lens, trying to understand behavior and flight control. In addition to being an excellent scientist, Michael is quite the enthusiastic musician. He played guitar for many years, and has been strumming on the ukulele for about 10 years as well. Much of his free time is spent gardening native plants and enjoying the company of his family. He received his PhD in Zoology from the University of Washington and afterwards worked briefly at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany. Michael has received numerous awards and honors during his career, including the Larry Sandler Award from the Genetics Society of America, the Bartholemew Award for Comparative Physiology from the American Society of Zoologists, a Packard Foundation Fellowship in Science and Engineering, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and the Quantrell award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from the University of Chicago. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Michael shares more about his journey through life and science in this interview.

Dr. Michael Archer is a Professor of Paleobiology in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales in Australia. Mike is a paleontologist who is fascinated with understanding the continuity of life over billions of years. He spends his free time watching Sci-Fi movies, including classics like Jurassic Park (one of his all-time favorites). Mike received his undergraduate education from Princeton University in Geology and Biology. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Australia and remained there to earn his PhD in Zoology from the University of Western Australia. Mike has since worked at the Western Australian, Queensland, and Australian Museums, and he joined the faculty at the University of New South Wales in 1978. Mike has received many awards and honors, including being named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Sydney in 2008, receipt of the Riversleigh Society Medal, the TH Huxley Award from the Australian Museum, and the Australian Centennial Medal from the Federal Government of Australia. He is a Member of the Australia Institute of Biology, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, the World Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Australian College of Educators, The Australian Academy of Science, the Royal Society of New South Wales, and Australia 21. In this interview, Mike tells us more about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Nancy Mills was a Murchison Professor (2011-2014) at Trinity University. She works at a primarily undergraduate institution as an organic chemist. Typically organic chemists make things like drugs or polymers. When trying to make things, they really focus on making stable compounds. Nancy has actually created a rare unstable (anti-aromatic) compound that does not turn into a stable one. In addition to her love of science, Nancy enjoys reading mystery books, cooking, and ultralight backpacking. She received her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Arizona and she spent a few years teaching at Carleton College in Minnesota before joining the faculty at Trinity. Nancy has received many awards and honors during her career, including selection as a Council on Undergraduate Research Fellow, the Distinguished Achievement Award in Scholarship from Trinity University, the American Chemical Society Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution, and the Piper Professor state-wide teaching award. She has also been elected as a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Z. T. Scott Faculty Fellow at Trinity in recognition of outstanding teaching. Nancy joined us for an interview to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. James Pipas is the Herbert W. and Grace Boyer Chair in Molecular Biology and Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Jim's lab studies how viruses work, how they interact with us, and where they come from. They also use viruses as tools to understand how our own biology works. For example, they study viruses that cause cancer. Outside of science, Jim's passions include entertaining and exploring. He composes music, sings, and produces shows with his brother all over the world. The other activity that brings him great joy is immersing himself in nature in remote forests and mountains. He received his PhD in Molecular Biophysics from Florida State University and completed his postdoctoral training at Baylor College and the John Hopkins School of Medicine. Jim has been a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh now for over 30 years. Jim joined us for an interview to tell us more about his life and science.

Dr. Autumn-Lynn Harrison is Program Manager of the Migratory Connectivity Project and a Research Ecologist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Duke University and an Affiliate Professor at George Mason University. Her research focuses on the migration of marine animals such as seabirds and seals. In order to help manage and conserve these animals, she uses data from small tracking tags to understand where these animals go, the habitats they depend on, and the places that are important to them. When she’s not working, Autumn-Lynn loves to be out on the water paddling in a canoe or kayak. She also enjoys watching college football as well as playing the flute and piccolo in a community band. Autumn-Lynn received her B.S. degrees in Environmental Science and Fisheries and Wildlife Science from Virginia Tech, a Graduate Diploma of Science in Tropical Marine Ecology and Fisheries Science from James Cook University in Australia, and her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She worked for the Society for Conservation Biology for 11 years prior to accepting a postdoctoral fellowship with the Institute for Parks at Clemson University. Next, Autumn-Lynn joined the team at the Smithsonian Institution in 2014. In our interview, she shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Jennifer Grandis is a Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Director of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and Associate Vice Chancellor of Clinical and Translational Research at the University of California, San Francisco. She is also an American Cancer Society Professor. Jennifer is a Cancer Biologist as well as a head and neck surgeon. Her research revolves around understanding the key features of head and neck cancer that can be used to develop more effective treatments. Jennifer and her husband like to go running every morning with their dogs near their home in San Francisco. She makes sure to dedicate time in her day for reading, and she also listens to books on her phone when traveling. Reading and cooking are two activities that bring Jennifer great happiness. Jennifer received her B.A. in Biology and Art History at Swarthmore College and was awarded her M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She completed her residency and an Infectious Disease Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and went on to serve on the faculty there for over 20 years before accepting her current position at UCSF. Jennifer has received many honors and awards during her career, including the Peggy Wheelock Award for Excellence in Research, Mentoring, and Promotion of Women in Science from the University of Nebraska, as well as the University of Pittsburgh’s Provost’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring, Philip Hench Distinguished Alumnus Award, Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award, Scientific Leadership Award, promotion to Distinguished Professor of Otolaryngology, and more. Jennifer is also an Elected Member of the Association of American Physicians, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Jennifer joined us in this interview to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Robert C. Malenka is the Pritzker Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Director of the Pritzker Laboratory, and Deputy Director of the Stanford Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University. Rob's research focuses on how brain cells communicate with each other through chemical and electrical signals. They examine how the connections between neurons (synapses) work at a molecular level. He also studies the molecular mechanisms involved in changes to our nervous system (plasticity). Rob is an avid tennis player, and he likes to get out on the court 2-3 times per week. He also spends his free time watching sci fi and spy thriller movies, as well as sampling and collecting wines. Travel is a big part of Rob’s life, and he enjoys immersing himself in different cultures, meeting people, and navigating public transportation systems. He received his Bachelor's degree from Harvard College and his MD and PhD in Neuroscience from the Stanford University School of Medicine. Rob conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco and completed his residency in Psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He served on the Faculty at the University of California, San Francisco for 10 years before joining the faculty at Stanford where he is today. Rob is a recipient of the Medical Research Award in Neuropsychiatry from the Pasarow Foundation, the Julius Axelrod Mentorship Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and the NARSAD Goldman-Rakic Prize for Outstanding Cognitive Neuroscience Research. In addition, Rob is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. In our conversation, Rob tells us more about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Wendy Chung is the Herbert Irving Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine and Director of Clinical Genetics at Columbia University. As a human molecular geneticist, she seeks out rare and unexpected causes behind health problems in people. Her laboratory works to identify genes that cause human diseases and use this information to inform the creation of novel treatments in the future. Wendy spends most of her free time with her family. She has two sons, and they like to get outside to go hiking, swimming, and bicycling. They can also frequently be found working through puzzles and going on mystery scavenger hunts together. She received her undergraduate training at Cornell University and went on to receive her PhD in Molecular Genetics from Rockefeller University and her M.D. from Cornell University. Afterward, Wendy completed her Internship and Residency in Pediatrics, a Fellowship in Clinical Genetics, and a Fellowship in Molecular Genetics at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Wendy is the recipient of an American Academy of Pediatrics Young Investigator Award, the Charles W. Bohmfalk Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching in the Clinical Years, the Medical Achievement Award from Bonei Olam, as well as the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching from Columbia University. In our interview, Wendy discusses her journey through life and science.

Dr. Randi Martin is the Elma Schneider Professor in the Department of Psychology at Rice University and an Adjunct Professor of Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Science at Baylor College of Medicine. Randi's lab studies how the brain carries out language and memory functions. To do this, they work with people who have had damage to specific areas in the brain (a stroke, for example) to see what abilities are affected and unaffected. This allows them to map problems in language and memory function to the specific areas of the brain that have been injured. Randi loves to dance when she's not hard at work in the lab. She and her husband go out to to dance country western, swing, salsa, ballroom, and other styles. However, she also enjoys a quiet evening with a good mystery novel. She received her Master's Degree and PhD in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University. Randi served as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of California, Santa Cruz and an Associate Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University before joining the faculty at Rice. She has received many honors and awards during her career, including being named a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, a Fellow of the American Psychological Society, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as election to the Society of Experimental Psychologists. In our interview, Randi shares more about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Gabriella Vigliocco is Professor of Psychology and Language Sciences in the Department of Experimental Psychology at University College London. There, she is also Director of the Cognition and Language Laboratory and Director of the Leverhulme Doctoral Training Programme in the Ecological Study of the Brain. In addition, Gabriella is a Scientist in Residence at the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute in Philadelphia. Gabriella’s lab studies how children learn language and how adults use language. She is interested in determining the mechanisms in the brain that allow us to produce language, understand language, and represent knowledge and ideas in our thoughts. Her work spans spoken languages and sign language, and she also works in various populations to better understand how language abilities break down after brain damage. When she’s not working, Gabriella enjoys spending time with her 15 year old son, cooking delicious Italian and fusion dishes for family and friends, reading science fiction and fantasy books, and listening to classical music concerts. Gabriella completed her Bachelor of Science at Padua University and Ph.D. degree at the University of Trieste in Italy. Afterwards, she conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Arizona. Before joining the faculty at UCL, Gabriella served as a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin and a visiting scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. Throughout her career, Gabriella has received various awards and honors, including being awarded a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award, being named a Fellow of the Cognitive Science Society, and being named a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Sciences.

Dr. Jim Hudspeth is the F.M. Kirby Professor at The Rockefeller University, and he leads the Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience there. In addition, he is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. In the lab, Jim studies hearing to address common hearing problems and to understand how the ear is able to accomplish impressive feats such as allowing us to hear very high frequencies, sensing extremely small vibrations, and  detecting sounds across a large range of amplitude or power. As a resident of New York City, Jim enjoys spending his free time taking in the spectacular art work at the Metropolitan Museum, the Neue Galerie, and the Museum of Modern Art. He and his wife also like to sample great restaurants in the city and indulge in excellent theater performances. Jim received his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, as well as his MD and PhD, from Harvard University. Afterward, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Jim has since served on the faculty at California Institute of Technology, the University of California, San Francisco, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center before joining the faculty at Rockefeller. Jim has received the Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievements in Health and the W. Alden Spencer Award from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Additionally, he is a recipient of the Ralph W. Gerard Prize from the Society for Neuroscience, the K.S. Cole Award in membrane biophysics from the Biophysical Society, the Award of Merit from the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, and the Guyot Prize from the University of Groningen. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In our interview, Jim shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Vic Arcus is a Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Waikato in New Zealand. In the lab, Vic works as a biochemist to understand the function of enzymes both within and outside of cells. Lately, he has also been studying the evolution of enzymes. Vic's interests outside of science include music and exercise. He is an amateur triathlete and also takes a piano lessons once a week. He received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Organic Chemistry from the University of Waikato and his PhD in Molecular Biology from Cambridge. Afterward, Vic became a fellow of Trinity College, and then served on the faculty at Auckland University before returning to Waikato where he is today. Vic joined us for an interview to tell us more about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Jennifer Graham-Engeland is an Associate Professor in the Biobehavioral Health Department at The Pennsylvania State University. Jennifer investigates how psychological stress affects physical health. Though there are some instances where stress can be beneficial, severe or chronic stress can be harmful and debilitating. Jennifer’s research has focused on how people with chronic pain respond to stress and how psychological, behavioral, and physiological changes may explain the connection between stress and chronic pain. Jennifer believes that it is very important to have balance in your life as a scientist. She spends much of her time with her two children, renovating her home, hiking in the mountains, and getting out of the house to enjoy her town and explore other cities. She graduated from Cornell University majoring in Psychology and English and went on to receive her M.A. and Ph.D. in Social and Health Psychology from Stony Brook University. Jennifer then conducted postdoctoral research at The Ohio State University before joining the faculty where she is today at Penn State. She has been awarded the American Psychosomatic Society Scholar Research Award as well as the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society Scholars Award. In our interview, Jennifer shares more about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Fan-Gang Zeng is Director of the Center for Hearing Research and Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Biomedical Engineering, Cognitive Sciences and Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California, Irvine. The goal of Fan-Gang's work is to help people with hearing impairments hear better. He does this using an electronic device (cochlear implant) that can stimulate a nerve to allow people with hearing loss to hear again. He also works to solve a hearing problem on the other end of the spectrum called tinnitus where people hear sounds that are not present in the environment. In his free time, Fan-Gang likes to get outdoors, play basketball, hang out with his kids, and cook. He received a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China and his Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering at the Institute of Physiology Academia Sinica in Shanghai. Fan-Gang then went on to earn his PhD in Hearing Science from Syracuse University. He served as a research Associate at the House Ear Institute and an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland before joining the faculty at UC, Irvine where he is today. Fan-Gang is a member of the Acoustical Society of America, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Fan-Gang is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Hélène Morlon is a Research Scientist with the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) at the Institute of Biology at the Ecole Nomale Supérieure in Paris. She is also affiliated to the Interdisciplinary Center for Research in Biology at the Collège de France. Hélène studies biodiversity and is interested in understanding questions like why there are more species in certain regions of the planet and why some groups of organisms are more diverse than others. She studies a variety of organisms to elucidate the general principles underlying evolution and biodiversity.When Hélène is not hard at work in the lab, she enjoys rock climbing, scuba diving, surfing, skiing, snowboarding, and particularly kitesurfing. These challenging extreme sports keep her connected with nature and give her a sense of freedom. She received her M.S. in Ecology from the University of Paris and her Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Bordeaux. Helene conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Merced, the University of Oregon, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California, Berkeley. She was hired by the CNRS afterwards and worked at the Center of Applied Mathematics at Ecole Polytechnique before accepting her current position. Hélène is the recipient of the 2012 CNRS Prize for Outstanding Research and the 2015 CNRS Bronze Medal. In our interview, Hélène shares more about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Ed Belbruno is a professional artist, specializing in abstract expressionist paintings, Clinical Professor of Mathematics at Yeshiva University, a Visiting Research Associate in the Astrophysics Department at Princeton University, and President and Founder of the company Innovative Orbital Design. Ed is a mathematician who applies his work to answer questions in celestial mechanics, the branch of astronomy that examines how rockets, asteroids, moons, and other objects move in space. In particular, he focuses on delicate, complicated motions called chaos motions (based on chaos theory). Calculations of chaos motions are relevant for studying trajectories of spacecraft to the moon and other destinations, how the moon was created, the origins of the universe, and other questions in astrophysics. Art is one of Ed’s passions outside of math and science. Since his first serious oil painting of a view of Saturn from the moon of Titan at the age of seven, Ed has created a large portfolio of paintings, and he continues to be a prolific professional artist today. Ed received his associate degree from Mitchell College and his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics from New York University. He then worked as a faculty member at Boston University for about five years before accepting a position as a trajectory analyst at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). After leaving JPL, Ed held positions at Pomona College and The Geometry Center at the University of Minnesota. Throughout his career, Ed and his work have been recognized with various awards and honors. He received Germany's Humboldt Research Award in Mathematics, received the Laurels Award from Aviation Week Space and Technology Magazine, was named one of the "Top 10 Most Influential Space Thinkers" by New Scientist, and was the subject of a feature documentary movie entitled "Painting the Way to the Moon". In our interview, Ed shares more about his life and research.

Dr. Andrea Califano is the Clyde and Helen Wu Professor of Chemical Systems Biology in the Departments of Systems Biology, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, and Biomedical Informatics at Columbia University. He is Founding Chair of the Department of Systems Biology, Director of the JP Sulzberger Columbia Genome Center, and Associate Director for Bioinformatics of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. In the lab, Andrea is trying to develop what we can think of as a blueprint or assembly manual for cells. He is using genetic and genomic information to reconstruct models of regulatory systems in normal cells and cells in disease states. They are learning about the proteins that regulate cellular changes in diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Andrea and his family enjoy family outings to the botanical gardens, the zoo, and musical events. He also spends his down time playing tennis, skiing, watching movies, and reading. He completed his doctoral studies in physics at the University of Florence in Italy and his postdoctoral studies at MIT. Afterward, Andrea worked at the IBM TJ Watson Research Center, and he subsequently became Program Director of the IBM Computational Biology Center. In 2000, Andrea co-founded First Genetic Trust, Inc and founded another company called Therasys in 2008 before joining the faculty where he is today at Columbia University. Andrea is with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Sharon Antonucci is a clinical researcher, speech-language pathologist, and Director of the MossRehab Aphasia Center. She works primarily with people who have a language impairment called aphasia as a result of a stroke. Sharon is particularly interested in understanding how information related to the meaning of words can be accessed in people with aphasia and how this may influence a person’s ability to retrieve words. Another line of research she is working on examines word retrieval in the context of conversation. In addition, Sharon is excited about the animal-assisted therapy work they have been doing in people with aphasia. When she’s not at work, Sharon loves to spend her time reading, watching TV, singing, and volunteering with shelter dogs, and hanging out with her two dogs Maggie and Hulk. She was awarded her B.A. in child development and Italian from Connecticut College, her master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Columbia University, and her Ph.D. in speech and hearing sciences from the University of Arizona. Prior to accepting her position at MossRehab, Sharon served on the faculty at Worcester State University. She has received the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Distinguished Scholar Award for her excellence in aphasia research, and in our interview today, she shares more about her science and her life.

Dr. Jan Westpheling is a Professor of Genetics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia. In the lab, Jan is dedicated to her research on biofuels. Her lab works to engineer bacteria that help convert non-food crop plants like switchgrass into useful fuels like ethanol. Jan lives on eight acres of old-growth forest and loves gardening. She has been planting specific trees to attract birds and also putting out bird feeders. As a result, her property is like a bird sanctuary, with owls and migratory birds coming through each year. Jan loves spending her time outside enjoying nature and the wildlife around her. She received her B.S. degree in Microbiology from Purdue University. Jan worked as a  Research Technician at Eli Lilly before going back to graduate school to earn her Ph.D. in Genetics from the John Innes Institute. She worked for a year for Biogen in Geneva, conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University, and served on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School before joining the faculty at the University of Georgia where she is today. Jan is a two-time recipient of the Creative Research Medal from the University of Georgia, and she served as a Member of the National Research Council Committee on the Development and Acquisition of Medical Countermeasures against Biological Warfare Agents in 2005. During our interview, Jan shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Ricardo Araneda is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland. In the lab, Ricardo is dedicated to studying the sense of smell. Smells are important for communication for a lot of animals, and there is a strong link between smell and taste. He studies the cells in the brain that help us determine what we are smelling and make decisions about how to respond to it. Ricardo has a variety of hobbies outside of science, including painting, photography, and bicycling. He also likes taking his dog out to the beach for a run. He completed his undergraduate studies in Biochemistry at the University of Concepcion in Chile and his undergraduate thesis project at the Catholic University in Santiago. Afterward, he came to the U.S. and conduct research at St. Louis University. Ricardo received his PhD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and served as a postdoctoral fellow and then Associate research scientist at Columbia University before joining the faculty of the University of Maryland. Ricardo is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Paul Schimmel is Professor of Molecular Medicine and of Chemistry at Scripps Research Institute. He also holds an appointment with the Institute for Advanced Study at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, is the author of a widely used three volume textbook on biophysical chemistry, and is a co-founder or founding director of eleven biotechnology companies that develop new therapies for human diseases and disorders. Though Paul began his studies intent on becoming a medical doctor, he became fascinated by the fields of biophysics and biophysical chemistry along the way. His research answers fundamental questions about the origin of life and the genetic code. In his work with a variety of biotech companies, Paul is also translating his laboratory research to create new medicines that leverage key processes, mechanisms, and molecules employed naturally by our bodies. When he’s not hard at work, Paul loves getting out on the water on his powerboat. For over two decades, he and his wife have enjoyed exploring the islands and coasts of the Pacific Northwest. Paul earned his B.A. in Pre-Medicine from Ohio Wesleyan University and his Ph.D. in biochemistry and biophysics at MIT. He did a short postdoc at Stanford before joining the faculty at MIT. Paul served on the faculty at MIT for 30 years, and prior to coming to Scripps, he was the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the Department of Biology there. Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards and honors, including being named an elected Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Inventors. In addition, Paul received the American Chemical Society's 2020 Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success, the 2020 Scientist of the Year Award from the San Diego Chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation, the Harvard University Frank Westheimer Medal, the American Chemical Society's Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry, the Biophysical Society’s Emily M. Gray Award for Significant Contributions to Education in Biophysics, the Chinese Biopharmaceutical Association Brilliant Achievement Award, the Stein and Moore Award of the Protein Society, and an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and the Kellogg School of Science and Technology at Scripps Research. In our interview, Paul shares insights from his life and science.

Dr. Wakenda Tyler is an Associate Professor in Orthopaedic Oncology and Metabolic Bone Disease and Adult Reconstruction at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Wakenda is an orthopedic surgical oncologist. She is an orthopedic surgeon with a clinical and research focus on cancerous tumours found in bones, tendon, soft tissue, ligament, and muscles. Wakenda spends her time outside of the science and medicine doing a wide variety of activities. For her, running is a great way to relax and she enjoys running in races, especially charity events. She also likes to go snowboarding, skiing, hiking, scuba diving, and traveling to new places. She was awarded her M.D. And M.P.H. from John Hopkins University and completed residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Wakenda then completed a fellowship in musculoskeletal oncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center before joining the faculty at the University of Rochester where she is today. Wakenda is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Shailesh Kantak is a clinician scientist, an Institute Scientist, and Director of the Neuroplasticity and Motor Behavior Laboratory at Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI). He is also a recently tenured Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Arcadia University. Shailesh is dedicated to helping people with neurological injuries recover better and more quickly. He is interested in understanding why some people respond well to treatments and recover more fully, while others do not. Cooking and sharing homemade meals with friends are two things that bring Shailesh a lot of joy. He also enjoys gardening and traveling (though he hasn’t been able to travel much lately). Shailesh received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Therapy from Seth G.S. Medical College and KEM Hospital at Mumbai University. He went on to earn his Master of Science degree in Physical Therapy with a specialization in Neurologic Physical Therapy from Mumbai University as well. Afterwards, Shailesh attended the University of Southern California where he was awarded his PhD in Biokinesiology. Next, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and subsequently the University of Maryland, Baltimore. In our interview, Shailesh shares more about his life and research.