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

Dr. Marie McNeely, featuring top scientists speaking about their life and c

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Mar 28, 2022 • 37min

649: Fascinated by the Forces and Features that Contribute to Flow in Rocks and Ice - Dr. Christine McCarthy

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.
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Mar 21, 2022 • 46min

648: Investigating Interactions Between Neurons and Glial Cells in Health and Disease - Dr. Nathan Smith

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.
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Mar 14, 2022 • 48min

647: Advancing Microbial Applications in Agricultural Management - Dr. Louis Schipper

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.
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Mar 7, 2022 • 41min

646: Examining the Genetic Basis of the Evolution of Plant Innovations - Dr. Verónica Di Stilio

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.
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Feb 28, 2022 • 39min

645: Laboring to Understand the Interactions Between Pregnancy and the Immune System - Dr. Elizabeth Bonney

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.
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Feb 21, 2022 • 45min

644: Wired for Innovation: Modifying the Manufacturing of Microelectrode Arrays for Cochlear Implants - Dr. Angelique Johnson

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.
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Feb 14, 2022 • 48min

643: Modifying Microbes for a Multitude of Applications from Healthcare to Biofuels - Dr. Cullen Buie

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.
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Feb 7, 2022 • 40min

642: Expressing Her Creativity Making Epigenetic Machinery and Designing Biological Devices - Dr. Karmella Haynes

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.
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Jan 31, 2022 • 37min

641: Comparing the Cognitive Capacity of Canines, Humans, and Other Primates - Dr. Laurie Santos

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.
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Jan 24, 2022 • 43min

640: A Pathway to Success: Studying Signal Transduction in Cancer and Other Diseases - Dr. Lewis Cantley

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.

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