Inspiration Dissemination

There are many adjectives used to describe the taste of different kinds of cheese: mild, tangy, buttery, nutty, sharp, smoky. Our preferences between these different characteristics will then drive what cheese we look for in stores and buy. But I would wager that most people (or dare I say anyone?) are rarely looking for a bitter cheese. Paige Benson is a first year Master’s student advised by Dr. David Dallas in the Food Science Department. For her research, Paige is trying to understand how starter cultures affect the bitterness in aged gouda and cheddar cheeses. Want to learn more? tune into this “gouda” conversation about cheese!

When you think of a coral reef, what do you picture? Perhaps you imagine colorful branching structures jutting out of rock and the sea floor, with flourishing communities of fish swimming about. Or if you’ve been paying attention to news about global warming for the past decade or two, maybe you picture desolate expanses of bleached corals, their bone-like structures eerily reminiscent of a mass graveyard. What you might not picture is a zoomed-in view of the coral ecosystem: the multitude of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and algae that occupy the intricate crevices of every coral. Our guest this week is Emily Schmeltzer, a fifth year PhD candidate in the Microbiology department. Emily studies the metagenomes of the coral holobiont and shares her story with us. Hosted by Grace Deitzler and trainee Gabriel Sunday Ayayia.

Janelle Layton is a second-year master's student continuing on for a PhD in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences. Janelle studies grouper fish, traveling to a large spawning site in the Cayman Islands to collect larvae of the Nassau grouper. In the lab, she investigates the relationship between heat-shock proteins and larvae survival for clues as to the adaptability of this species to warming waters. We speak about her journey to OSU and her experiences as a Black woman in marine science. Hosted by Grace Deitzler and Joseph Valencia.

This week we have a Fisheries and Wildlife Master’s student and ODFW employee, Gabriella Brill, joining us to discuss her research investigating the impact of dams on the movement and reproduction habits of the White Sturgeon here in Oregon. Despite being able to lay millions of eggs at a time, the White Sturgeon will only do so if the conditions are right. This fish Goldilocks’ its way through the river systems, looking for a river bed that’s just right. If it doesn’t like what it sees, the fish can just choose not to lay the eggs and will wait for another year. Tune in to learn more about these finicky fish! Hosted by Bryan Lynn and Jenna Fryer

Everardo Gonzalez joins the show this week to talk about his research on multi-agent robotic systems, or swarms. Swarms of robots can be used to accomplish tasks that it would be difficult for one robot to complete alone, but swarming robots also come with other challenges: directing individual members of the swarm, and how to assess which members accomplished the swarm so that future feedback can incorporate more information. This episode is hosted by Bryan Lynn and Grace Deitzler.

We are pleased to introduce our upcoming guest, Christopher Cousins, a fourth-year PhD student in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, advised by Prof. Tiffany Garcia. Cousins is researching torrent salamanders, a family of small amphibians endemic to the Pacific Northwest. Tune in to hear more about his journey, what it is like to explore the Mt. St. Helens eruption zone, and what motivates him to work with this threatened species!

Dr. Andrew Carpenter is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Joe Baio and joins us to talk about using lasers to study protein-lipid interactions. Andrew’s research seeks a better understanding of a protein called dysferlin, which plays a critical role in repairing muscle cells. Muscles undergo constant strain as they expand and contract, leading to tears in the sarcolemmas — thin membranes that surround muscle fibers. Dysferlin is responsible for recruiting vesicles to the site of these tears for a process called vesicle fusion to take place. Check out the episode for more about how laser technology is powering the discovery of dysferlin's underlying mechanisms, and to hear about how a postdoc is different from a PhD. This episode is hosted by Joseph Valencia and Grace Deitzler.

Charles Nye is a masters (soon to be PhD) student in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Oregon State University. Stationed at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, OR. Charles studies the dietary habits of whales and the impact of their surrounding environment through their fecal matter. How does one study the poop of whales? And why should we care? Find out on this episode of Inspiration Dissemination! Hosted by Bryan Lynn and Jenna Fryer

What to do with all the whey? Whey, a byproduct of cheesemaking, is a nutritious liquid filled with proteins and sugars - and for every pound of cheese made, there are 9 pounds of excess whey produced. Some of this whey can be used for making protein powder, and some can be fed to livestock, but there is a massive amount leftover that cannot be easily discarded due to its high acidity. Food Science master's student Alyssa Thibodeau joins us to discuss her idea for a whey-based fermented drink similar to kombucha, which she affectionately terms "cowbucha". Check out the episode to learn more about the science behind whey fermentation and Alyssa's experience as a single parent in graduate school! Hosted by Lisa Hildebrand and Grace Deitzler.

Olivia Williams is a 3rd year PhD student in Geology, advised by Christo Buizert. She uses ice core samples to study polar summer temperatures from thousands of years ago. We speak with Olivia about her novel methods for extracting noble gases from ice cores, finding scientific inspiration from her grandfather, and more. Hosted by Lisa Hildebrand and Joseph Valencia.