Sebastian Lourido is an associate professor of biology and a member of the Whitehead Institute. Sebastian studies human pathogens and seeks to unravel the genetic pathways that help parasites like Toxoplasma gondii exist in human cells. He hopes that his work will lead to new treatments for toxoplasmosis as well as drugs that could treat diseases caused by similar parasites.

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-16-toxoplasma-and-human-host

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Christopher Palmer is an Associate Professor of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is also a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and an Affiliate with the Jameel Poverty Action Lab, based here at MIT. He studies consumer credit, and household financial decision making.

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-15-making-sense-your-dollars

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Brent Minchew is an Associate Professor of Geophysics in the department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT. He studies the behavior of glaciers in respect to environmental factors and is dedicated to understanding sea level rise and exploring viable interventions to stabilize ice sheets.

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-14-putting-glacier-its-place

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Stefanie Mueller is an associate professor with a joint appointment in MIT's Electrical and Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering departments. Her work is mostly focused on developing novel hardware and software systems that advance personal fabrication technologies. She envisions a world in which anyone can use 3D printing to create any object at any time.

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-13-future-customizable-3d-printing

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Andres Sevtsuk is an associate professor of Urban Science and Planning at MIT. His work focuses on the influence of urban design on travel behavior and quality of life, and contributes to making cities more walkable, sustainable and equitable.

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-12-making-sense-cities

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Ariel White is an associate professor of Political Science at MIT. She studies voting and voting rights, race, the criminal legal system, and bureaucratic behavior as a way to shed light on people's everyday interactions with government. Her recent work investigates how potential voters react to being affected by punitive government policies, such as incarceration and immigration enforcement, and how people can make their way back onto the voting registries after these experiences.

Links:

• Ariel White
• Political Science
• MIT Gov/Lab

Timestamps:

• (07:58) - What is actually known immediately following an election
• (10:47) - How does mail-in voting affect elections
• (13:09) - Why some people don't vote

Show notes and transcript: https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-11-get-out-vote

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Giovanni "Gio" Traverso is an associate professor in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering and a gastroenterologist at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. His work focuses on innovative methods for drug delivery, diagnostics, and biological sensing. Here, Gio speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about tackling the core challenges of taking medication, the unique perspective that comes with being both a professor and a practicing gastroenterologist, and the importance of entrepreneurship.

Links:

• The Laboratory for Translational Engineering
• MIT School of Engineering
• MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering

Timestamps:

• (04:48) - Electroceuticals
• (06:08) - The gut-brain connection's affect on appetite
• (08:29) - The challenges of adherence to medication schedules
• (15:45) - Entrepreneurship

Show notes and transcript: https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-10-making-medicine-easier-swallow

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Benedetto Marelli is a biomedical engineer by training and a materials scientist. He is an associate professor in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His work is focused on the fabrication of new biopolymers that can interact with biomolecules, living matter, and the environment. Here, Benedetto speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about the advantages of using silk-based coatings in agriculture as well as for water filtration, and why being bold and creative can lead to powerful discoveries.

Links:

• Laboratory for Advanced Biopolymers
• Civil and Environmental Engineering
• MIT Climate Project

Timestamps:

• (01:23) - The benefits of silk use for agriculture
• (06:00) - MIT’s Climate Grand Challenges
• (07:12) - Using silk to filter out forever chemicals
• (09:31) - MIT’s Climate Project

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-8-hard-facts-soft-skills

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Namrata Kala is an associate professor in applied economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She studies the value of employee training and incentives, how communities adapt to environmental change and regulation, and the returns on environmental technology investment. Here, Namrata speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about the importance of soft skills training, and the benefits of being a straight shooter.

Links: 

• MIT Sloan School of Management
• ​​”J-PAL,” the Jameel Poverty Action Lab
• MIT Climate Project

Timestamps:

• (10:07) - Communication skills and productivity
• (13:14) - Building relationships to benefit climate work
• (15:29) - MIT’s climate efforts

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-8-hard-facts-soft-skills

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Skylar Tibbits is a designer and computer scientist whose research focuses on self-assembling and programmable materials, and 3D and 4D printing. He is the founder of the MIT Self-Assembly Lab. Here, Skylar speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about the inspiration for his lab’s projects, why design at MIT is unique, and the magic in combining the creative with the technical.

Links:

• Skylar Tibbits
• Self-Assembly Lab
• Video: Cube self-folding strand
• MIT Morningside Academy for Design
• Growing Islands

Timestamps:

(01:01) 4D printing

(06:05) Self-assembly

(07:21) Growing Islands

(13:00) Design at MIT

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-7-staying-radical-and-relevant

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https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA