In the Spotlight

Countless questions need to be answered about cancer, but we also need to think deeply about the tools that we choose to answer those questions. PhD student Bernat Navarro shares with us what makes pancreatic cancer particularly scary, and how cancer tumor organoids might be the perfect method to balance many scientific needs when we study cancer. You're sure to leave this episode feeling inspired to trust the process of science!

If you want to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, check out: 

• Organoids: Method of the Year (article)
• Detecting pancreatic cancer earlier (podcast episode)
• Growing tumors in a dish, scientists try to personalize pancreatic cancer treatment (news article)

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @SpotlightThePod to stay up-to-date on all news and episode releases!

Learn more about Northwestern University SPOT on Twitter @SPOTForceNU or at our website spot.northwestern.edu

Podcast artwork created by Edie Jiang, available at her website https://ediejiang.weebly.com/ or on Instagram @ediejiang

Music in this episode: Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_earthMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/5yIbZVOv438

If we want to slow climate change and reduce our carbon outputs, humans need an entire toolkit to approach the problem in different ways - including hydrogen fuel! University of California - Berkeley PhD student Julie Fornaciari tells us about the things she likes most about chemical engineering, what gaps in technology hydrogen fuels could solve, and what areas of research are still needed to make these tools more efficient and accessible. 

If you want to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, check out: 

• The Future is H2 (news article)
• The Gospel of Hydrogen Power (news article)
• What is green hydrogen and will it power the future? (video)
• The Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (infographic)

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @SpotlightThePod to stay up-to-date on all news and episode releases!

Learn more about Northwestern University SPOT on Twitter @SPOTForceNU or at our website spot.northwestern.edu

Podcast artwork created by Edie Jiang, available at her website https://ediejiang.weebly.com/ or on Instagram @ediejiang

Music in this episode: Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_earthMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/5yIbZVOv438

Scientists do a lot of interesting research, but it all means nothing if it's not communicated properly to non-scientists - ESPECIALLY during the COVID-19 pandemic. Neurobiology graduate student and science communication enthusiast Nicolas Scrutton Alvarado weighs in on the toughest questions about science communication that we've all been wondering, and lends some great advice on how to become better communicators in our own lives. 

If you want to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, check out: 

• Join NPR SciCommers or ComSciCon if you're interested in science communication!
• How I switched from academia to science communication (news article)
• 10 Tips for effective science communication (blog post)
• What we've learned from communicating our science during the pandemic (article)
• Readable - the tool for making your science writing, well, readable!
• This COVID-vaccine designer is tackling vaccine hesitancy — in churches and on Twitter (news article)
• Science audiences, misinformation, and fake news (scientific article)
• This Podcast Will Kill You: COVID-19 episode series (podcast)

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @SpotlightThePod to stay up-to-date on all news and episode releases!

Learn more about Northwestern University SPOT on Twitter @SPOTForceNU or at our website spot.northwestern.edu

Podcast artwork created by Edie Jiang, available at her website https://ediejiang.weebly.com/ or on Instagram @ediejiang

Music in this episode: Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_earthMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/5yIbZVOv438

This episode, we're tackling the science behind autoimmune disorders like Celiac and Crohn's disease with Columbia PhD student Alyssa Shearer! Alyssa shares more about her research studying the genetics behind these diseases, the science policies she hopes to see for patients, and how she got involved in science advocacy. For our science PhD friends feeling burned out by the lab, Alyssa is here to inspire!

If you want to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, check out: 

• March for Science NYC website
• Lack of diversity in genetic research a problem (news article)
• Doctors once thought bananas cured Celiac Disease. They saved kids' lives - at a cost. (news article)
• Genetics of Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity (blog post)
• What are lncRNAs and lincRNAs? (website)

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @SpotlightThePod to stay up-to-date on all news and episode releases!

Learn more about Northwestern University SPOT on Twitter @SPOTForceNU or at our website spot.northwestern.edu

Podcast artwork created by Edie Jiang, available at her website https://ediejiang.weebly.com/ or on Instagram @ediejiang

Music in this episode: Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_earthMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/5yIbZVOv438

Maximilien Peroux, a postdoc in theoretical mathematics, has some important messages for us about math: math is social, and math is FUN! Maximilien tells us more about what goes into math research, why ongoing math research matters, and what types of problems his math research could solve. Spoiler alert: even if you hated math in school, you'll find this fascinating!

If you want to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, check out: 

• Digital Neuroscientist of the Future (TedX Talk)
• What in the world is topological quantum matter? (Ted Talk)
• With Category Theory, mathematics escapes from equality (news article) 
• Secret link uncovered between pure math and physics (news article)
• Why do people get so anxious about math? (TedED Talk)
• Example of topology based data analysis on breast cancer patients mentioned in the episode (scientific article)

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @SpotlightThePod to stay up-to-date on all news and episode releases!

Learn more about Northwestern University SPOT on Twitter @SPOTForceNU or at our website spot.northwestern.edu

Podcast artwork created by Edie Jiang, available at her website https://ediejiang.weebly.com/ or on Instagram @ediejiang

Music in this episode: Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_earthMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/5yIbZVOv438

As humans, we have countless questions about the universe, but it's not always clear HOW we can answer those questions. Physicist and mathematician PhD student Grace Chesmore talks about her work developing the instrumentation of telescopes that can detect the first light of the universe (!!!) and how this technology intersects with other important science policy topics, like the use of 5G. For all of those scientists who never thought they could do math, this episode goes out to you!

If you want to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, check out: 

• Simons Observatory website
• Cosmic Microwave Background Explained! (video)
• Does 5G pose health risks? (news article)
• Head of NOAA says 5G deployment could set weather forecasts back 40 years. The wireless industry denies it. (news article)

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @SpotlightThePod to stay up-to-date on all news and episode releases!

Learn more about Northwestern University SPOT on Twitter @SPOTForceNU or at our website spot.northwestern.edu

Podcast artwork created by Edie Jiang, available at her website https://ediejiang.weebly.com/ or on Instagram @ediejiang

Music in this episode: Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_earthMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/5yIbZVOv438

How do neuroscientists tackle important questions about the brain? In this episode, Neuroscience PhD student Chiaki Santiago instils her wisdom about how we make discoveries about the brain, the nature vs. nurture debate, and common misconceptions we might have about the field. Discoveries about learning and memory in the brain may even be used to inform education policy - there's so much to unpack!

If you want to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, check out: 

• So You Want to be a Neuroscientist? by Ashley Juavinett (book)
• "Experience-dependent structural synaptic plasticity in the mammalian brain" in Nature Reviews (scientific article)
• "Growing evidence of brain plasticity" by Michael Merzenich (TedTalk)
• Stories of WiN (Women in Neuroscience) Podcast: Episode with Brenda Bloodgood (podcast)

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @SpotlightThePod to stay up-to-date on all news and episode releases!

Learn more about Northwestern University SPOT on Twitter @SPOTForceNU or at our website spot.northwestern.edu

Podcast artwork created by Edie Jiang, available at her website https://ediejiang.weebly.com/ or on Instagram @ediejiang

Music in this episode: Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_earthMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/5yIbZVOv438

Do psychologists consider themselves to be scientists, and why is that a complicated question to answer? How do we develop our sense of identity during childhood? What is white racial identity, and why is it important to be studied? Ursula Moffitt, a postdoc at Northwestern University, will tackle all of these questions and much more during this episode about the psychology behind racial identity development. 

If you want to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, check out: 

• "Seeing White" (podcast)
• Is my skin brown because I drank chocolate milk? by Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum (TedX Talk)
• "Nice White Parents" (podcast)
• White Supremacists Who Stormed the Capitol are Only the Most Visible Product of Racism (news article)

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @SpotlightThePod to stay up-to-date on all news and episode releases!

Learn more about Northwestern University SPOT on Twitter @SPOTForceNU or at our website spot.northwestern.edu

Podcast artwork created by Edie Jiang, available at her website https://ediejiang.weebly.com/ or on Instagram @ediejiang

Music in this episode: Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_earthMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/5yIbZVOv438

Would we even be a science podcast if we didn't discuss cancer? Researchers like George Lin want to answer fundamental questions about how cancer cells work so that doctors can prescribe the best drugs possible for each patient. 

If you want to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, check out: 

• Open-source cancer research (TedTalk)
• The Billion Dollar Molecule: One Company's Quest for the Perfect Drug by Barry Werth (book)

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @SpotlightThePod to stay up-to-date on all news and episode releases!

Learn more about Northwestern University SPOT on Twitter @SPOTForceNU or at our website spot.northwestern.edu

Podcast artwork created by Edie Jiang, available at her website https://ediejiang.weebly.com/ or on Instagram @ediejiang

Music in this episode: Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_earthMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/5yIbZVOv438

To many scientists, statistics is just a means to an end, but to PhD student Abby Smith, it's the most interesting part! Abby tells us more about what it means to study Applied Statistics and how designing more thorough statistical modeling of social networks can make the scientific outcomes that much better. 
If you want to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, check out: 

• Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez (book)
• The Hidden Influence of Social Networks (TedTalk)
• How We Make Sure That Nobody Is Counted Twice: A Peek Into HRDAG's Record De-Duplication (article)
• Has Large-Scale Named-Entity Network Analysis Been Resting on a Flawed Assumption? (scientific article)
  
  

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @SpotlightThePod to stay up-to-date on all news and episode releases!
Learn more about Northwestern University SPOT on Twitter @SPOTForceNU or at our website spot.northwestern.edu

Podcast artwork created by Edie Jiang, available at her website https://ediejiang.weebly.com/ or on Instagram @ediejiang
Music in this episode: Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_earthMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/5yIbZVOv438