LSU Experimental

LSU alumna, Tiffany Simms Lindsey, puts skills learned in her intro biology course to good use - crafting unique and tasty beers at Fighting Hand Brewery in Pineville, Louisiana. Tiffany and her husband opened the brewery in May 2021 and it is here where her expertise as a lab manager, chemical engineer, and food chemist merge to bring hoppy-beverages to life. In this episode, Tiffany shares how her experience in science led her on this path, how she’s gone “all in”, and upcoming inspirations for creating a welcoming space for her customers.

You can learn more about Tiffany and her story on Science Next, the official blog of the LSU College of Science.

COVID-19 has upended our lives in how we interact and function. As of September 2021, the Centers for Disease Control estimate over 40 million people have been sick and approximately 652,000 people have died in the United States. We see that vaccines and mask-wearing are effective in controlling the spread, but people are still getting sick. We can’t fully eradicate COVID, but what if we could more effectively treat the symptoms of those infected and shorten the duration of their illness? LSU alumna, Darnisha Harrison, the Founder, President & CEO of Ennaid Therapeutics is working to answer that question. In this episode, Darnisha shares the inception of her company and the driving, divine mission to tackle diseases and identify treatments suitable for all of society.

Catch more of Darnisha Harrison's story on a previous post on Science Next, "Will it take more than a vaccine to beat the Coronavirus?"

Learn about Ennaid Therapeutics: https://ennaidthera.com/

What information does the biodiversity of your area hold? Potentially, it tells a story about the mechanisms, processes, and traits of organisms that inhabit the space. In this episode, we are talking to Kyle Harms from LSU College of Science Department of Biological Sciences about biodiversity. From deep in the Panamanian rainforest to right in our Louisiana Pine savannas, Kyle has travelled to many locations in pursuit of understanding the relationships of biodiversity and evolution in how they shape ecosystems.

Has there been a time where you’ve had to push through frustration, panic, or fear? Most likely the answer is yes! And this is also true for our researchers because keeping your cool is crucial for both your research AND your own safe. In this minisode of Craziest, Weirdest, and Most Dangerous (recorded in the summer of 2020), we spotlight Prosanta Chakrabarty’s tight squeezes during his cave explorations and Meagan Moore’s NASA payload recovery adventures as moments when calm, patience and creativity were needed to face fears and collect the data.

Details are key to research, but what happens when those small details are overlooked, or worse, ignored? We are back with another mini episode of Craziest, Weirdest and Most Dangerous and this time we are exploring those particular, small details that are critical to research. That’s right we are talking about the Minute Detail and it’s a Post-it Note Apocalypse involving governmental records! We’re revisiting the experience of our LSU Research Librarians, Hayley Johnson and Sarah Simms, at the National Archives where they were researching Japanese Internment Camps.

Sometimes our head gets the best of us, causing us to panic, hallucinate, or give us pause about what is happening. This mini episode of Craziest Weirdest, and Most Dangerous is all about those moments where our thoughts and even dreams have created a hiccup in our study process. We feature Valerie Stampley and Heidi Novokowski and when their wondering minds resulted in some exciting moments.

By now you’ve heard all about COVID-19—the insidious virus responsible for the global pandemic—from its severe symptoms to the demographics of those at risk. The statistics are frightening, but they’re not as relatable as a personal account.

After contracting the virus in early March, Cindy Nguyen, a medical student at LSU Health New Orleans and graduate from the College of Science and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, joined us for an interview—even with lingering COVID-19 effects. In this episode she describes the testing process she went through along with her symptoms, like water tasting sweet, and how she’s recovering. We also catch-up on her medical school program, her exciting internship and ways this experience is influencing the physician she aspires to become.

What happens when you include art in science, technology, engineering and math? You create STEAM or, in this case, Meagan the Maker. Meagan Moore, a senior in biological engineering at LSU, is a creative force using her wealth of unique artistic and problem-solving talents to find solutions for everything from prototyping PPE for healthcare professionals during the pandemic to fabricating life sizes 3D phantoms used in breast cancer research. She joins me via Zoom where we dive into her research projects and what she aspires to tackle next.

We’ve heard some amazing stories from our LSU researchers, but we’ve also heard stories that have tested our guests’ resolve and ability to keep their cool in order to collect that data. Over the next few months, we will look back at the different stories in this special series: Craziest, Weirdest, and Most Dangerous Things Done in the Name of Research.

Get ready, because in the second episode we explore dangerous encounters with people from Peter Clift’s tea time interruption to the aggressive Coast Guard that approached Heather McKillop’s team. We’re also sharing our own people experiences, as Kyle and I discuss some of the dangers of research that are not alway anticipated.

We’ve heard some amazing stories from our LSU researchers, but we’ve also heard stories that have tested our guests’ resolve and ability to keep their cool in order to collect that data. Over the next few months, we will look back at the different stories in this special series: Craziest, Weirdest, and Most Dangerous Things Done in the Name of Research.

When asked about their craziest, weirdest, and most dangerous moments, Zack Rodriguez, Allison Barbato, and Whitney Kroschel all had one thing in common - racing toward their target or high tailing it outta there. That’s why the first episode in this miniseries is all about The Runners. Kyle and I share our reactions to these wild experiences and share a couple of our own too.