Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine

In this episode, hosts Kelsie, Carrie Ann, and Emma highlight six women in science who have inspired them. These women are Janaki Ammal, Barbara McClintock, Rachel Carson, Gladys West, Mae C. Jemison, and Marci Bowers. The work of these scientists spans botany, cytogenetics, science communication, computer programming, space travel, and surgical advancements.

In this episode, hosts Mallory and Kelsie discuss the challenges and history of including women in clinical trials. Particularly focusing on the lack of female inclusion in early PreP drug trials and what this means for the future of women in clinical trials.

In this episode, Kelsie interviews Dr. Jordan Sloshower, a psychiatrist and researcher at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Sloshower co-founded the Yale Psychedelic Science Group and is currently an investigator and therapist in two clinical trials of psilocybin-assisted therapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder and a clinical trial for the use of MDMA in the treatment of PTSD. In this interview, Dr. Sloshower discusses his work, the intricacies of setting up these clinical trials, and the ethnohistory of botanical psychedelics.

In this episode, Kelsie and Felicia interview the authors of an Essential Oils and Health Review, featured in YJBM’s June 2020 Medicinal Plants issue. Tyler Ramsey, Tibor Nagy, Kevin Chambers and Carrie Shropshire discuss both the benefits and concerns regarding essential oils and the role they might play in medicine. As medical students at Campbell University, Tyler and colleagues offer unique insight into the roles that clinicians can play in researching essential oils and educating their patients and peers. Link to their review: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32607090/

Although we typically cover topics that address the biomedical sciences, epidemiology, and healthcare practice, it is no secret that the systemic biases, residential segregation, violent responses to protesting, and further injustices that we see today all drive healthcare inequality and inform the topics and methods of research/practice for our audience. In light of the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Elijah McClain, among others, we’ve decided to use our platform as an avenue of communication for esteemed researchers in the fields of policing, Law, and criminal justice. In this episode, Wes interviews Dr. Monica Bell regarding race and class segregation, police reform and abolition, and minimizing harm to marginalized communities within clinical and behavioral research. Dr. Bell also shares resources, frameworks, and major questions that motivate her work and give context to recent legislation and proposals. References and Resources (informal): The Wandering Officer https://www.yalelawjournal.org/article/the-wandering-officer @BenGrunwald and @JohnMRappaport Anti-Segregation Policing https://www.nyulawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NYULawReview-Volume-95-Issue-3-Bell.pdf Twitter: @monicacbell Police Reform and the Dismantling of Legal Estrangement https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/area/center/liman/document/b.2054.bell.2150_rbbnaxd9.pdf Twitter: @monicacbell Reform and Abolition: Toward A Radical Imagination of Law https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3061917 Twitter: @orangebegum Abolition Constitutionalism https://harvardlawreview.org/2019/11/abolition-constitutionalism/ Twitter: @DorothyERoberts Critical Resistance http://criticalresistance.org Contributions by Rachel Herzing Power Over Policing http://bostonreview.net/law-justice/jocelyn-simonson-power-over-policing Twitter: @j_simonson Bail Nullification https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2879629 Twitter: @j_simonson Copwatching https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2571470 Twitter: @j_simonson Toward Democratic Police Reform: A Vision for Community Engagement Provisions in DOJ Consent Decrees https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/wflr51&div=36&id=&page= Twitter: @ProfSPatel Moonlighting: The Private Employment of Off-Duty Officers https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2830652 Twitter: @PoliceLawProf

In this episode, Wes interviews Dr. Anja Loizaga-Velder. Dr. Loizaga-Velder is a German-Mexican clinical psychologist and psychotherapist who has investigated the therapeutic potential of psychedelics in both indigenous and modern mental health contexts for over 25 years. She is also a founding member and director of research and psychotherapy at the Institute for Intercultural Medicine Nierika in Mexico. As yet another exploration into the field (no pun intended) of medicinal plants, this interview involves explorations of when and how ayahuasca may be used within the contexts of psychotherapy and as a treatment for myriad conditions and disorders. Dr. Loizaga-Velder explores some of the training concerns needed to enable the next generation of psychotherapists and psychiatrists to utilize psychedelic medicine in an informed and appropriate manner. References (formal):Loizaga-Velder, A. (2013). A psychotherapeutic view on therapeutic effects of ritual ayahuasca use in the treatment of addiction. MAPS Bulletin 23(1), 36-40. Available online: http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v23n1/v23n1_p36-40.pdf. Loizaga-Velder, A., & Loizaga, A. (2014). Therapist and patient perspectives on ayahuasca-assisted treatment for substance dependence. In B. Labate & C. Cavnar (Eds.), The therapeutic use of ayahuasca. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer (p 133-152). Loizaga-Velder, A & Verres, R. (2014). Therapeutic effects of ritual ayahuasca use in the treatment of substance dependence -qualitative results. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. 46(1), 63-72. doi: DOI:10.1080/02791072.2013.873157 Lafrance, A., Loizaga-Velder, A., Fletcher, J., Renelli, M., Files, N., & Tupper, K. W. (2017). Nourishing the Spirit: Exploratory research on Ayahuasca experiences along the continuum of recovery from eating disorders. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 49(5), 427-435. Renelli, M., Fletcher, J., Loizaga-Velder, A., Files, N., Tupper, K & Lafrance, A. (2018). Ayahuasca and the Healing of Eating Disorders. In Embodiment and Eating disorders: A Handbook of Theory, Research, Prevention and Treatment. (Edited by H. McBride and J. Kwee), Routledge Press. Renelli, M.; Fletcher, J., Tupper, K., Files, N.; Loizaga-Velder, A., Lafrance, A. , 2020: An exploratory study of experiences with conventional eating disorder treatment and ceremonial ayahuasca for the healing of eating disorders. Journal of Weight and eating disorders 25, 437–444

Remaining productive while staying at home can be difficult for graduate students who live and breathe experimental science. In this episode, Mai Ly overcomes that challenge by exercising her scientific skills through the art of cooking. Similar to the scientific method, Mai Ly envisions a dish with certain characteristics, does some prior reading on ingredient substitution, designs a protocol, and systematically modifies variables to make her vision a reality. And just like any good experimentalist, Mai Ly makes sure that her products are reproducible!

In this episode of our special series, Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine Podcast host Felicia interviews Dr. Raja Staggers-Hakim about pathways to adverse health in African-Americans due to racism and police brutality as a public health concern. Dr. Raja Staggers-Hakim is a Social & Behavioral Sciences lecturer at the Yale School of Public Health and a medical sociologist who studies racial and ethnic health inequities by examining the effects of social stratification, environmental justice, and police brutality.

In this episode, Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine Podcast hosts Emma and Elizabeth interview Dr. Lidya Tarhan, a professor in Yale’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, on her fascinating work investigating the disappearance of organisms of the Ediacaran Period from the fossil record.

Choosing a thesis laboratory is one of the most important decisions graduate students make during their research careers. In this episode, Edgar Perez, a first year PhD student at UCLA’s Molecular Biology Institute, discusses his experience in choosing a research lab despite not being able to perform research physically in the laboratory space and how both remote communication and asking the right questions – to senior students, his rotation mentors, and potential colleagues – were essential in this process.