People Behind the Science Podcast

By Dr. Marie McNeelyScience

People Behind the Science Podcast episodes

June 10, 2024 764: Dr. Robert Langer: Pioneering Innovative Solutions in Biotechnology, Engineering, and Materials Science to Advance Medicine
Dr. Robert S. Langer is the David H. Koch Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Being one of the eight Institute Professors is the highest honor that can be awarded to a faculty member at MIT. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University and his Sc.D. in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Afterwards, Bob worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Children’s Hospital Boston and at Harvard Medical School. He joined the faculty at MIT in 1978. Since then, Bob has accepted more than 220 major awards and honors, including the U.S. National Medal of Science, the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation (he is one of 3 living individuals to have received both these honors), the Charles Stark Draper Prize (often called the Engineering Nobel Prize), Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, Albany Medical Center Prize, Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, Kyoto Prize, Wolf Prize for Chemistry, Millennium Technology Prize, Priestley Medal (highest award of the American Chemical Society), Gairdner Prize, Hoover Medal, Dreyfus Prize in Chemical Sciences, BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine, Balzan Prize, and the Dr. Paul Janssen Award. In 1998, he received the Lemelson-MIT prize, the world’s largest prize for invention for being “one of history’s most prolific inventors in medicine,” and he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006. He is an elected Fellow of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Inventors, and the Royal Academy of Engineering. He has been awarded over 1,000 patents and has received 42 honorary doctorate degrees, including degrees from Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Northwestern. In our conversation, he shares more about his life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (3:50)
When he’s not working, Bob enjoys spending time with his family, taking his kids to sporting events, lifting weights, and going on walks with his wife.
The Scientific Side (4:42)
Much of Bob’s research is at the interface between materials and medicine. His lab has created nanoparticles and drug delivery systems, engineered tissues and organs for things like artificial skin for burn victims, and made organ-on-a-chip technology to help develop and test new drugs that may someday help patients.
A Dose of Motivation (5:36)
“People will tell you that your idea or your invention can’t be done — that it’s not possible. But I think that’s very rarely true. I think if you really believe in yourself and you keep trying, there’s very little that’s impossible.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (8:13)
When Bob was young, his parents gave him chemistry sets and Erector Sets, and he enjoyed playing with those. In college, he decided to pursue engineering, but he didn’t really understand what engineering was at the time. An underlying goal for him was always to find a way to use his background to help people. In the end, he thought medicine could be one way to do that. Bob continued studying chemical engineering in graduate school, and when he finished his PhD, most of the people he knew were getting jobs at oil companies. Not sure what else to do, Bob decided to apply to oil companies as well. He received multiple job offers, but he wasn’t very excited about the prospects of increasing the yield of certain chemicals by small percentages. When he tried to get an academic research position in medicine, no one would hire him. A colleague mentioned to Bob that Dr. Judah Folkman might be willing to work with him, and Bob wrote to him right away. Bob was offered a postdoc job and became the only engineer at Children’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School. Working with Judah had a major impact on Bob’s life and completely changed his career trajectory. He began working on projects that would lead to isolating the first angiogenesis (blood vessel growth) inhibitors, and this type of drug is now widely used to treat cancer and other diseases. His research with Judah also contributed to developing the first microparticles that could be used to deliver large molecules.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (14:14)
Beyond his struggles to find a job after graduate school, Bob also had difficulty finding a faculty position after his postdoc concluded. His job applications for Assistant Professor positions in chemical engineering departments kept getting rejected. However, Judah introduced him to Dr. Nevin Scrimshaw who worked in the Nutrition Department at MIT at the time. Nevin offered Bob a job, and Bob has remained at MIT ever since. When he first started as a faculty member, his first nine research grants that he submitted were not funded because people didn’t think that his work on delivery systems for certain types of molecules made sense. Despite these setbacks and many others along the way, Bob never gives up. Belief in the importance of his work, having an open mind about what might be possible, support from friends and family, and his own personal stubbornness and perseverance have kept him going through tough times over the years.
A Shining Success! (16:52)
As a professor, it has been really rewarding for Bob to see how well his students have done. Many have become professors all over the world, started successful companies and created jobs for thousands of people, and created new knowledge and new medical treatments that are having big impacts. Thinking about his own science, the angiogenesis inhibitors he worked on have led to multiple drugs and are projected to be prescribed to half a billion people. The drugs are widely used today to treat cancers and to treat blindness caused by problems in the back of the eye such as macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy. Also, the nanoparticles and microparticles they developed have been used in many new treatments, as well as the COVID vaccines. Their tissue engineering work developing new skin and blood vessels is helping burn victims and people who have been wounded in the war in Ukraine.
Book Recommendations (23:38)
The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit, and the Birth of Television by Evan Schwartz
Most Treasured Travel (27:01)
Up until the age of about 25, Bob had never been west of Buffalo, NY, or east of Boston, MA, but he has had numerous opportunities to travel all over the world throughout his scientific career since then. Bob recently visited Copenhagen (Denmark), Lund (Sweden), and Madrid (Spain). These are all wonderful cities with outstanding restaurants. Copenhagen has some of the best restaurants in the world, as well as a wonderful theme park called Tivoli Gardens.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (29:48)
Recently, Bob was invited to give a speech for a colleague for his 87th birthday celebration at one of the universities. After his speech, Bob received many kind and heartfelt notes from people who attended, and that meant a lot to him. When Bob turned 70, over 700 people came to visit and celebrate with him. It was very touching to see that as well. The lab is a lot like a giant family in many ways. They have a softball team, and Bob enjoys going to the games to cheer everyone on, and they also have an annual lab beach party on Cape Cod.
Advice For Us All (33:59)
Whatever field you’re in and whatever you’re trying to do, believe that almost anything is possible. Science is a wonderful career, and being a professor provides great opportunities to teach people, educate yourself, and give others hope and knowledge that can make a difference in the world.
Guest Bio
Bob’s work encompasses the areas of nanotechnology, drug delivery systems, and tissue engineering. His postdoctoral work at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he was the only engineer in the hospital, informed his interdisciplinary chemical engineering/design approach to create new biomaterials and understand and develop treatments for various diseases. Most recently, he has focused on work with the Gates Foundation to create better vaccines and nutrition. He has served as a Science Envoy for the U.S. State Department, has founded many companies (including Moderna) and has been awarded the United States National Medal of Science and United States National Medal of Technology and Innovation. In 2015, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Prize for Engineering. He is the most cited engineer in history. He has written over 1,500 articles, which have been cited over 424,000 times; his h-index of 321 is the highest of any engineer in history and the 3rd highest of any individual in any field. His patents have licensed or sublicensed to over 400 companies. Dr Langer served as Chairman of the FDA’s Science Board (its highest advisory board) from 1999-2002. Outside of work, Bob enjoys exercise, football, and magic. With his wife Laura, he has three children and two grandchildren.

Support for this episode of People Behind the Science was provided by Innovative Research, Inc.
The post 764: Dr. Robert Langer: Pioneering Innovative Solutions in Biotechnology, Engineering, and Materials Science to Advance Medicine appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
37 min
June 03, 2024 763: Dr. Marcie O’Malley: Researching Robotic Systems for Rehabilitation of Stroke and Spinal Cord Injury
Dr. Marcie O’Malley is the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Mechanical Engineering, as well as a Professor of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University. Marcie is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine and at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. In addition, she is Director of the Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces Lab at Rice University, Director of Rehabilitation Engineering at TIRR-Memorial Hermann Hospital, and co-founder of Houston Medical Robotics, Inc. She received her B.S. in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, and she was awarded her M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Vanderbilt University. Marcie has received recognition for her teaching and research through receipt of the George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching at Rice University, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, and an NSF CAREER Award. She has also been named a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Marcie joined us for an interview to talk about some of her experiences in life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:42)
Outside of her scientific interests, Marcie loves to travel and explore new cities. She is also a mom of eleven year old twin boys, so she spends a lot of time working on school projects, attending sporting events, going to art classes, exploring parks, and visiting museums with them.
The Scientific Side (3:58)
The goal of Marcie’s research is to use robotic systems to maximize what people can achieve. She is working on incorporating robotics to rehabilitate and restore function in people after spinal cord injury or stroke. To do this, Marcie creates wearable and interactive robots to assist with therapy. Another area of Marcie’s research focuses on the use of robots for training via surgical simulations.
A Dose of Motivation (5:40)
If you wait for it to feel like it’s the right time to do or try something, it’s probably too late.
What Got You Hooked on Science? (8:51)
Marcie’s father was always tinkering in their garage during her childhood, and as the youngest sibling, Marcie was often her dad’s assistant for his projects. This exposed her at a young age to using tools, fixing, and building things. In high school, a few of Marcie’s teachers recognized her interests in math and science and encouraged her to pursue engineering. Through one of her high school projects, Marcie learned about a mechanical frame that could be screwed into bones to induce growth of new bone cells to help people with short stature or with physical disabilities. This piqued Marcie’s interest in building mechanical things that could help people. In college, Marcie had a chance to work in a research lab that was testing artificial knee implants. Through this experience, she learned about the research process and met graduate students who encouraged her to apply to graduate school as well.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (15:21)
In science and engineering, your pile of rejected proposals and experiments that don’t work is always going to be larger than your pile of proposals that were funded and got great results. Dividing her effort across research, teaching/mentoring, and service has been really helpful in getting through difficult times. For example, if Marcie is struggling with a research project, she can take a step back and appreciate her success in mentoring or service. In addition, Marcie’s work in surgical robotics led her to an opportunity to be part of a startup company called Houston Medical Robotics. They devised an idea for a medical device, patented it, created a prototype, secured outside investment, but ultimately still do not have a commercial product. Despite this, it was a great opportunity to learn the process of creating a startup company.
A Shining Success! (27:41)
Marcie and her team have developed exoskeleton robots where a patient puts their arm through a robotic sleeve, and the robot assists them with movements in their rehabilitation training. These robots can increase the kinds of interactions therapists can have with patients who are recovering from stroke or spinal cord injuries. They used this robot to help a young man in his recovery of hand and arm function after an incomplete spinal cord injury during a motocross accident. His ability to move his hands was very limited, so he relied heavily on his family to accomplish basic everyday tasks. Marcie was initially disappointed because, according to the data, the man only experienced quantitatively modest improvements in his hand and wrist movements with their robotic protocol. She was hoping their robotics approach would have a bigger impact on his recovery. However, the patient reported that the training had a meaningful impact on his life because he was now able to independently turn over his cards and manipulate his chips when playing poker with his friends. This really emphasized to Marcie that sometimes even small improvements in function can really have a big impact in someone’s life.
Book Recommendations (30:47)
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, The Lewis Trilogy by Peter May
Most Treasured Travel (33:11)
During her sabbatical in the United Kingdom, Marcie traveled to the University of Siena and the University of Pisa to meet with colleagues at each institution to talk about her work and potentially establish collaborations. One thing that made this trip memorable is that she brought her twin sons who were about nine years old at the time. They enjoyed the cobblestone streets and cafes of Siena together, as well as the Duomo and Leaning Tower in Pisa. The twins brought backpacks full of things to do while Marcie was working and meeting with researchers at the universities, but she often found them in the lab talking to students and brainstorming ideas for experiments. This trip was a wonderful way to share her scientific passions with her kids, while also advancing her work and forming valuable collaborations.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (37:09)
During a conference trip to Daejeon, Korea, Marcie was able to explore the city with two friends who were also attending the meeting. After a long day at the conference, Marcie and her colleagues took their shoes off, rolled their pants up, and sat down to enjoy the hot spring foot baths that lined the city streets. Conferences are generally great opportunities to network, spend time with colleagues, and explore new cities. In addition, Marcie’s lab members have fun coming up with funny gifts to exchange at their annual holiday gift exchange.
Advice For Us All (42:32)
Great scientists who don’t persist don’t make it. If you believe your idea is a good one, keep at it. You will learn from the failures and experiences you have along the way. Also, Find something you’re passionate about and do things that make you happy.
Guest Bio
Marcie’s research is focused on understanding how to augment, extend, or restore human motor performance through wearable robotic systems and haptic, or touch, feedback. Her expertise comes from a variety of fields such as mechanical engineering, dynamic systems, controls, and computer science. Most recently Marcie’s work has focused on how to communicate via haptics between individuals, or between people and robots or virtual agents, to improve human performance in tasks such as surgery. Outside of work, Marcie enjoys traveling with her husband and twin boys and likes to visit Houston’s museums and parks. In the summers, you might find her on a tennis court or exploring her historic neighborhood by bike.
*This episode was originally published on July 16, 2018.
The post 763: Dr. Marcie O’Malley: Researching Robotic Systems for Rehabilitation of Stroke and Spinal Cord Injury appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
45 min
May 27, 2024 762: Dr. Ryan Martin: Understanding How Natural Selection Drives Diversity, Adaptation, and Design
Dr. Ryan Martin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Case Western Reserve University. He received a B.S. in Ecology and Evolution from the University of California, Santa Cruz and was awarded his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Afterward, Ryan conducted postdoctoral research at North Carolina State University and the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis in Knoxville, TN before accepting a faculty position at Case Western where he is today. Ryan is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (02:20)
Ryan enjoys trying new restaurants with his fiancée. They also love to go hiking with their dogs, and Ryan has been honing his photography skills.
The Scientific Side (04:12)
As an Evolutionary Ecologist, Ryan is interested in animal diversity and design. Animals seem to be well adapted to their environment, and Ryan works to understand how diversity, adaptation, and design occur through the action of natural selection. He investigates how the presence of predators, weather conditions, and other environmental features change the way animals survive and produce offspring.
A Dose of Motivation (09:40)
“It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent on each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us … There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” by Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species
What Got You Hooked on Science? (11:40)
As a kid growing up in Massachusetts, Ryan always liked being out in nature but he wasn’t exactly doing science experiments in his backyard. In school, Ryan was good at biology but wasn’t interested in working in a lab all day everyday studying cells and genetics. When he went to college at the University of Santa Cruz, he was introduced to evolutionary ecology and the excitement of research.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (24:33)
The transition from undergraduate to graduate student was challenging for Ryan. In his first year in graduate school, Ryan did an experiment on tadpoles to determine if they can recognize their kin and whether that affects how they compete for resources. The experiment worked beautifully, but there were null results and he had nowhere to go with the project. He struggled to come up with a new project, felt like he had run out of ideas, and spent an entire summer avoiding his advisor.
A Shining Success! (28:00)
This past summer was really fun for Ryan. He and his new lab members had plans to complete multiple projects, and it was a race against time because they had to wait for it to rain and then collect all their data quickly. As the start date of a conference approached, they realized there was no way to get everything done before they had to leave. However, a group of fantastic interns at the field station came to the rescue. They did a great job of wrapping up some of the projects, and the summer field season was a big success.
Book Recommendations (30:40)
Cold Mountain By Charles Frazier, H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald
Most Treasured Travel (32:25)
As a postdoc, Ryan conducted research on mosquitofish in The Bahamas. The islands had gorgeous coastlines and coral reefs, but the mosquitofish live in blue holes which are vertical, water-filled caves in the middle of the island. Getting to the interior was really difficult because it was relatively uninhabited, and they had to drive 10 miles on rough roads, followed by a 3 mile hike through dense pine and poisonwood (relative of poison ivy). However, seeing the beautiful, crystal-clear water and seemingly bottomless blue caves made it all worthwhile.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (36:00)
Ryan and his lab members are developing a unique way of sharing their successes in the laboratory. Basically if a lab member gets a paper published, grant funded, or other recognition, they have to treat the lab to lunch or dinner. The magnitude of the purchase depends on the level of the accomplishment, and they have put together a complex ranking system. This way, people are less likely to get overly jealous or competitive because everyone wins when someone in the lab is successful.
Advice For Us All (43:00)
If you have an idea that you want to pursue, don’t get to attached to it. Consider all your ideas and let the best one win out. It is also important not to get so focused on one thing that you forget how it relates to the rest of the world.
Guest Bio
Ryan’s research interests center on understanding the role of ecological interactions in phenotypic evolution. He uses a combination of measurements and observations from natural populations, manipulative experiments in both the field and lab, and meta-analytical techniques to understand how and why organisms adapt and diversify in response to ecological variation. Recent projects include studying the evolution of resource polymorphism and character displacement in spadefoot toads, divergence and speciation of freshwater fishes inhabiting Bahamas blue holes, and meta-analytical approaches to better understand the causes of natural selection in the wild.
*This episode was originally released on October 19, 2015.
The post 762: Dr. Ryan Martin: Understanding How Natural Selection Drives Diversity, Adaptation, and Design appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
47 min
May 20, 2024 761: Dr. Kim Waddell: Changing Behaviors to Improve Long-Term Health Outcomes in Adults With Neurologic Disease
Dr. Kim Waddell is an Assistant Professor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine as well as a faculty member with the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics, a Senior Fellow in the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, and Research and Innovation Manager in the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, Kim is a Research Health Scientist at the VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion. Kim received her BS in Health Science from Truman State University and her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She then attended Washington University in St. Louis where she earned her PhD in Movement Science and her Master’s degree in Clinical Investigation. Kim conducted postdoctoral research at the VA and Penn before joining the faculty there. Recently, she was awarded the 2024 Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research’s Early-Stage Investigator Award, and in our interview, she shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:47)
When she’s not working, Kim tries to go running as often as possible to clear her head and disconnect from technology. She also enjoys cooking, particularly trying new recipes, as well as watching local sports teams and traveling.
The Scientific Side (3:38)
Kim’s research focuses on behavior change and how to help motivate people to make decisions that are more aligned with their longer term goals. She is particularly interested in physical activity and using approaches from behavioral science to motivate adults who have had a stroke or have Parkinson’s disease to increase their daily activity. Another area that Kim is interested in is designing clinical decision support systems and ways to improve decision making to make sure that people are getting the right amount of the right kind of rehabilitation after stroke.
A Dose of Motivation (5:15)
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
What Got You Hooked on Science? (8:29)
Growing up, Kim enjoyed spending her time outside playing sports, and she wasn’t particularly interested in science. As an athlete, she had interacted with physical therapists before, and she liked the focus on healing and building relationships with patients. However, when she started college, Kim didn’t really know what she wanted to do for her career. After hearing about occupational therapy (OT) from an upperclassman, Kim learned more about the career and decided to become an occupational therapist. She took a job as a clinician after finishing OT school and worked as a therapist for over four years in inpatient rehabilitation. Through her work, Kim developed a question about upper limb therapy for people after stroke, and she decided to apply for a one-year research grant that was designed for clinicians who were interested in research but didn’t want to leave full-time clinical practice. This grant was Kim’s first real introduction to research, and she realized that she found it pretty exciting. Over the next few years, Kim’s mentor Dr. Catherine Lang encouraged her to pursue a PhD, and eventually Kim decided to enroll in a PhD program. At that time, she was convinced that she was only getting the additional degree so she could have the credentials to teach in an OT Program. As she progressed through the program though, Kim’s interests in research continued to grow, and now her career focuses primarily on research.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (16:50)
Being an early-career faculty member is exciting but full of challenges. In preparing her very first grant submission to the National Institutes of Health, Kim poured her heart and soul into the application, working really hard for months. She loved the idea, and she felt like she pitched it well in her writing. When the big day came to see how the grant was received, Kim was devastated that it was not discussed by reviewers. To have her application dismissed without the reviewers even talking about it was a major setback. Stepping away from the application for a few weeks and getting input and support from mentors were instrumental for helping Kim to get through this difficult time.
A Shining Success! (20:03)
Recently, Kim was thrilled to receive a favorable score on her career development grant application. This is particularly exciting because it will be a five year grant supporting her and her research, so it is a big win. Around the same time, Kim also found out that a pilot grant she had submitted last fall was also selected for funding. Having put in a lot of work last fall, it is a relief and a major accomplishment for these grants to be funded. After drying her happy tears and sharing the news with her mentor, Kim went for a walk and got some ice cream to celebrate.
Book Recommendations (21:26)
The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale by John List; The Women by Kristin Hannah
Most Treasured Travel (24:31)
One of Kim’s favorite places that she has visited multiple times over the years for conferences is San Diego, California. These meetings have provided opportunities to meet really cool scientists and investigators, and they have challenged her intellectually. In addition, there is a wonderful running path along the waterfront that Kim and a friend always use, and it is fantastic to talk about life and science while running and enjoying the ocean views. Hiking in the nearby Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve Park also provides great opportunities to be outside and enjoy some amazing scenery.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (26:33)
Kim is a sports fan, and college basketball is a particular interest after going to OT school at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill where she regularly watched the Tar Heels play. When she started in her PhD program, Kim was the only one in the lab who paid much attention to sports, but she got everyone hyped up to participate in a March Madness bracket competition. It was really funny to hear the logic that people used to select their brackets since they didn’t really know much about the teams. Her colleagues made their choices based on team colors, states they would like to visit, teams that were good in the 1980’s, or other factors that were completely unrelated to the team’s performance in the season. It ended up being a lot of fun, and they continued doing these brackets each year. Kim started up the tradition again when she came to the University of Pennsylvania, and what makes it even funnier is that it always seems to be someone who doesn’t know much about basketball who ends up winning.
Advice For Us All (32:27)
Don’t love your hypothesis so much that you don’t listen to your data. This is important because it is common in science for your data to not support your hypothesis, and you have to be open to this and ready to change how you think about your research. Also, it is better to be the first person to study something that is unknown and important than to be the hundredth person to study something that may be more established. Remember that a career in academic research can be difficult and full of rejection, but if you study something that really motivates and excites you, that will sustain you on the difficult days.
Guest Bio
Kim’s research seeks to understand how to improve the long-term health outcomes of adults with neurologic disease by leveraging insights from behavioral economics. Specifically, she focuses on applying behavioral economic principles to 1) help improve physical activity and disease self-management for adults with neurologic disease and 2) improve the translation of in-clinic improvements to daily life for adults receiving rehabilitation services. Additionally, she uses administrative data to better understand post-stroke recovery, care patterns, disability, and identifying patient populations who may benefit from remote monitoring interventions to improve overall health. Outside of work, Kim enjoys running and cooking and cheering for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. In the warmer months, you can find her outside growing flowers and trying her hand at growing vegetables, with mixed results.
The post 761: Dr. Kim Waddell: Changing Behaviors to Improve Long-Term Health Outcomes in Adults With Neurologic Disease appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
36 min
May 13, 2024 760: Dr. Francisca Ikuenobe: Unearthing Clues About Our Planet’s Past From Tiny Fossils Found in Rock
Dr. Francisca Ikuenobe is a Professor of Geology and Geophysics at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. She received her B.Sc. in Geology from the University of Ife in Nigeria (now Obafemi Awolowo University). Afterwards, Francisca worked as a production geologist and subsequently a palynologist for Shell Petroleum Development Company for a year before enrolling in graduate school. She received her M.Sc. in applied geology also from the University of Ife where she next worked as an assistant lecturer. Francisca was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship Commission Award for her Ph.D. work in Geology at Cambridge University. Following the completion of her Ph.D., Francisca joined the faculty at Missouri S&T where she is today. Francisca has received various awards and honors for her work, including being named an Honorary Global Counselor by Missouri S&T’s Office of International and Cultural Affairs, an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an African Scientific Institute Fellow, an elected fellow of the Geological Society of America, as well as receipt of the Distinguished Service Award from Goretti Old Girls International, Inc. and receipt of the Science and Technology Award from the Nigerian People’s Forum. In addition, Francisca has been awarded the Outstanding Teaching Award, Outstanding Students Leaders’ Outstanding Student Advocate Award, the Faculty Excellence Award, Sustained Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Woman of the Year Award all from Missouri S&T. Francisca joined us for an interview to talk about some of her experiences in life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (3:05)
Franca loves reading entertainment magazines like Vogue Magazine and watching entertainment news on TV. When Entertainment Tonight is about to start, she drops everything she’s doing to watch it.
The Scientific Side (4:23)
In her research, Franca studies rocks to understand the clues they can reveal about the living things, environments, and climates of the past. Franca is particularly interested in the microfossils of pollen, spores, and phytoplankton that are preserved in rock. She uses these to help determine the age of rocks and what they can tell us about the history of an area.
A Dose of Motivation (6:18)
“Life is what happens to you as you are busy planning it.”
“Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.” -Shari Barr
What Got You Hooked on Science? (10:53)
Though Franca’s mother wasn’t able to undergo any formal education where her family lived in Nigeria, she was dedicated to ensuring Fraca would. In school, Franca excelled in biology, but she also loved the humanities. Ultimately, her interests in geography, biology, math, and chemistry steered Franca towards a career in geology. In college, one of Franca’s professors introduced her to palynology, which was a relatively new subdiscipline of geology that examined dust, including pollen grains and spores. A professor at her university had expertise in this area, and Franca conducted undergraduate research in his laboratory. After completing college, Franca worked as a scientist in the corporate world before returning to school for a graduate degree. A job offer for a faculty position at Missouri S&T arrived while Franca was in the midst of her PhD, and she scrambled to finish her dissertation before she was supposed to begin teaching there.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (18:31)
The first time Franca was considered for promotion to full professor, she wasn’t successful. This was the first time in her life that she had a really major failure. It was a deeply personal and painful experience because Franca felt like she was told she wasn’t good enough. Franca met with the Chancellor for an hour, and she received helpful feedback to prepare her for the second opportunity two years later. The second attempt was a success! Some of the major lessons she learned were how to listen, how to say “no” to some of the opportunities she was given, to devote more time to herself and her research, and to shut out distractions to focus on her goal of being promoted.
A Shining Success! (21:18)
Becoming an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has been a particularly meaningful success. This honor not only recognized Franca’s career achievements, but it also highlighted her role as a mentor for students. To have an impact on the lives of students is so rewarding. However, you don’t always know you’ve made a difference right away because the students you work with leave to pursue the next stage of their careers. It’s only when you run into them 5-10 years later that you realize how much you’ve helped them.
Book Recommendations (3:43)
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Most Treasured Travel (23:35)
Franca first traveled to Western Australia in 2005 to collaborate with three brilliant female scientists from diverse backgrounds to study the waters, sediment, and microbial life in salt lakes. They planned to use their data as an analog for the conditions and life on the planet Mars. The results of the study were fascinating! There were remarkable similarities between sediments in these salt lakes and those from the Opportunity rover sent to Mars. As a result, they were successful in receiving additional funding to return to Australia to conduct further research. Their findings were displayed in an exhibit at the Saint Louis Science Center for six years, and it is now a permanent exhibit at Missouri S&T. In addition to Western Australia, Franca has traveled several times to South Africa, and it is her favorite place in the world. On her first trip to South Africa, she witnessed the end of the Apartheid there, and it was a remarkable cultural moment. Franca also taught and did research there for a month as part of the University of Missouri South African exchange program, and she is still involved in this program.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (29:00)
Geologists spend a fair amount of time doing field research which means you are living in close quarters with colleagues for weeks, so a lot of funny things happen. For one project early in her career, Franca spent eight weeks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on a drillship off the coast of Ghana. Her goal was to better understand how the Atlantic Ocean formed. They drilled 1 km below the sea floor and discovered lake sediments. This suggests the Atlantic Ocean began as a lake that gradually spread apart. The project was interesting, but eight weeks is a long time to be in an isolated location with a hundred other scientists, drillers, and ship staff from across the world. There wasn’t much to do for fun when they weren’t working their 12-hour shifts, but they would sit on the deck watching whales and everyone would gather to wave at the occasional ships that passed. Franca learned a lot about herself, grew as a person, and was exposed to wonderful collaboration opportunities on this trip.
Advice For Us All (34:58)
Be true to yourself, and ask for help when you need help. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Instead, it is a chance for you to learn and advance. Also, be proud of every contribution you make in life, whether it is in your science, relationships, or other aspects of your life. Do not allow others to define your success.
Guest Bio
Franca uses her training in sedimentology to conduct research in palynology, a sub-discipline of paleontology that uses organic-walled microfossils such as pollen, spores, dinoflagellates, and acritarchs preserved in sediments and sedimentary rocks to unravel the history of the Earth. These microfossils can provide information about the relative age and prevailing climatic conditions when a particular sedimentary sequence was deposited. She also integrates particulate organic matter components with the physical and geochemical characteristics of sediments and rocks to reconstruct depositional environments. Although majority of her research projects have focused on the past 120 million years, she has studied rocks as old as 500 million years. She has conducted research in Africa (Niger Delta, offshore Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana, Cape Basin, Egypt, Ethiopia), the United States (Missouri, Florida, Gulf Coast, Western Interior Basin), South America (Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela), and Australia. Franca also loves traveling with her family.

*This episode was originally published May 21, 2018.
The post 760: Dr. Francisca Ikuenobe: Unearthing Clues About Our Planet’s Past From Tiny Fossils Found in Rock appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
38 min
May 06, 2024 759: Dr. John Majercak: Dedicated to Antibody Discovery and Development for Research and Therapeutics
Dr. John Majercak is Head of Antibody Discovery at Lampire Biological Laboratories, a life science company at the forefront of innovation and discovery. John received his PhD in Biochemistry from Rutgers University. Afterwards, he completed an industry postdoctoral fellowship at Novartis. Over the next nearly two decades, John worked at several companies, rising in the ranks to hold various positions at Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Molecular Templates before joining the team at Lampire in 2023. In our interview, John shares more about his life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:16)
When he’s not at work, John enjoys listening to podcasts and exploring other scientific fields, including physics, astronomy, and space exploration. He also spends his free time doing home renovations, and he’s currently working on a bathroom remodel.
The Scientific Side (3:34)
At Lampire Biological Laboratories, John works primarily with antibodies, a type of blood protein. He generates new antibodies and provides existing antibodies to companies and academic institutions for use in research, development of antibody therapeutics, and other applications. Antibody therapeutics can be used to treat cancer and immune-related diseases.
A Dose of Motivation (5:15)
“Recognize your challenges, but also celebrate your victories.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (9:31)
As an undergraduate student, John worked part-time in lab services doing general tasks like stocking supplies and fixing glassware. A new faculty member joined the department, and John started getting more involved in the lab where they were studying biological rhythms in fruit flies. John really loved being in a lab and exploring the unknown, and he had a chance to get involved in research as an undergraduate. This cemented his interest in pursuing a career in science, and he completed his graduate studies in the same lab before launching his career in industry.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (25:39)
When he was working at Merck, John and his team were trying to develop new therapeutics for neuropathic pain (nerve pain). Some of the therapeutic targets they were examining were in the Nav sodium channel family. Targeting Nav sodium channels was promising because there was potential to create non-addictive and very effective treatments for certain kinds of pain. John was tasked with developing assays to look at the properties of the Nav sodium channels across different model systems to see if the small molecule therapeutics they were developing could selectively binding to particular Nav sodium channels. There was one Nav sodium channel that John just couldn’t get to work. They were able to express the protein, but it wasn’t functional, and they couldn’t figure out why. After a lot of troubleshooting, John realized that the public genetic sequence database had an error in the sequence provided. Out of about a thousand amino acids, one of the amino acids was incorrect in the listing, and it turned out that this amino acid was critical for the protein’s function. Ultimately, they were able to find the solution and finish the project.
A Shining Success! (29:28)
For John and the teams he has worked with, a major goal is to see a therapeutic through to clinical trials and have it become available for people to use in the clinic to treat a disease. While working at Molecular Templates, he and his team were working on immunotoxins (e.g. an antibody bound to a toxic substance to treat cancer). They developed an innovative immunotoxin that targeted a particular cancer-related cell type, and this molecule is now being explored in the clinic for therapeutic use as a cancer treatment. The process is still ongoing, but a lot of progress was made over a period of three to four years.
Book and Podcast Recommendations (32:32)
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, Sean Carroll’s Mindscape Podcast, and the Lex Fridman Podcast.
Most Treasured Travel (33:45)
Several years ago, John had an opportunity to travel to Madrid in Spain for a scientific conference. Since their room wasn’t ready when they arrived, they were upgraded to a gorgeous suite. The city of Madrid and the surrounding countryside were beautiful. While they were there, John and his wife enjoyed seeing a variety of cultural sites, old castles, and picturesque landscapes. John also had a wonderful time traveling to Paris for a nanobody conference last fall with his daughter, who is also a scientist. His daughter spoke French and was able to serve as an interpreter while they navigated and explored the city.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (36:01)
John was a student at Rutgers University in the 1990s when most people still had slow dial-up internet connections at home, but the university had high-speed internet. This helped a lot with transferring data and connecting lab equipment to their computers for data analysis. John and one of his colleagues were really into video games. They decided to install a video game called Quake on one of the lab computers, and they ran a Quake server from the lab. They could log on at home and use the broadband server to play the game with high-speed internet. Though John’s advisor would have frowned upon it if he knew, it was a lot of fun.
Advice For Us All (40:35)
Don’t be afraid to fail, especially early in your career. Turn failures into opportunities to learn, and apply what you’ve learned to be successful. Also, don’t be afraid of something new. This could be a new career, a new work direction, or a new place of work. Over the years, John has faced many new changes and challenges, and this has always resulted in meeting new people and learning new things, really enriching his career.
Guest Bio
John’s journey into biopharmaceuticals began with a passion for scientific exploration, driven by early curiosity and a commitment to revolutionize the life sciences. He earned his PhD in Biochemistry from Rutgers University. After completing his doctoral studies, he pursued a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Functional Genomics at Novartis. During this fellowship, his research focused on Genome-wide cDNA and RNAi libraries, as well as cell-based and in vivo models to study neuro-diseases. Throughout his career, Dr. Majercak has specialized in single B-cell antibody development, holding roles at Merck and leadership positions at Boehringer Ingelheim and Johnson & Johnson. In August 2023, he became Head of Antibody Development at LAMPIRE Biological Laboratories, a milestone for both him and the company. Dr. Majercak’s expertise aligns with LAMPIRE’s commitment to innovative scientific approaches, including the unique sequence-first approach pioneered exclusively at LAMPIRE. Spearheading antibody research, he aims to redefine possibilities in biopharmaceuticals, leveraging LAMPIRE’s global presence. Founded in 1977 by Gregory F. Krug, LAMPIRE Biological Laboratories has emerged as a global leader in the field, renowned for its dedication to research and innovation. Dr. Majercak’s journey serves as an inspiration to the biopharmaceutical world, highlighting the transformative power of dedication and scientific curiosity.

Support for this episode of People Behind the Science was provided by LAMPIRE Biological Laboratories.
The post 759: Dr. John Majercak: Dedicated to Antibody Discovery and Development for Research and Therapeutics appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
43 min
April 29, 2024 758: Dr. Adam Gazzaley: Keeping Your Brain in the Game: Creating Interventions to Optimize Cognition
Dr. Adam Gazzaley is a Professor of Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry and the Founding Director of the Neuroscience Imaging Center at the University of California, San Francisco. Adam is also Co-Founder and Chief Science Advisor of Akili Interactive Labs, a company that is developing therapeutic video games. He received his M.D. And Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Adam then completed his Internship in Medicine and Clinical Residency in Neurology at the University of Pennyslvania, followed by postdoctoral training in Cognitive Neuroscience at UC, Berkeley before joining the faculty at UCSF where he is today. Adam is the recipient of the Pfizer/AFAR Innovations in Aging Award, the Ellison Foundation New Scholar Award in Aging, the Harold Brenner Pepinsky Early Career Award in Neurobehavioral Science, and the UCSF 150th Anniversary Alumni Excellence Award. He is also an elected Member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Adam is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (02:39)
In his free time, Adam can be found spending quality time with friends and family. He is a fan of hanging out over dinner, enjoying live music, hiking, camping, and getting outdoors.
The Scientific Side (03:40)
Much of the research in Adam’s lab focuses on aging and how aspects of cognition, like memory and attention, change over our lifespan. They are working to develop new, innovative tools, including engaging video games, to enhance brain function, improve cognition, and improve quality of life.
A Dose of Motivation (04:51)
“All of life is a celebration of life.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (07:27)
Adam remembers being fascinated with how a water gun worked when he was a kid. When his dad told him that scientists were responsible for designing water guns, Adam decided that being a scientist was the path for him. Though Adam didn’t know any scientists growing up, and he was one of the first in his family to go to college, he followed his curiosity and became intrigued by during one of his college courses.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (19:55)
The projects in Adam’s lab often take a long time to develop, require collecting data in individuals over periods of time, are expensive, and a lot of work goes into each experiment. A single project can easily take years to complete. There have been times where they have invested so much, but they don’t get any useful results out of it and end up having to start over. This can be really discouraging, especially when students are depending on these studies for their degrees.
A Shining Success! (24:40)
Adam and his colleagues created a video game called Neuroracer that took a year to build and four years to complete the research study. This was a high risk project and was difficult to get funded. They overcame many obstacles and were successful in getting really interesting results. The manuscript was written up and accepted in the journal Nature in 2013, and an image of the game was used for the Journal cover for that issue. This was a huge win for the lab, and they celebrated this exciting success with a big party at Adam’s loft with all of the team members who had contributed to the project over the years.
Book Recommendations (27:51)
The Void Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton
Most Treasured Travel (30:40)
Adam travels substantially for science. Last year alone he gave a total of 74 presentations around the world. This year, he gave two talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was an interesting experience to step outside of his comfort zone and go to a place that was very culturally different than what he was used to. Adam really connected with his welcoming hosts and the people he was able to speak to.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (34:00)
In Adam’s lab, playing games is an essential part of the culture and daily life since it is an important aspect of their research. They get to play and test all of the games they design, and it is fun to see lab competitions spring up around these games, including a rhythm training game created in collaboration with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead.
Advice For Us All (38:45)
In the lab, Adam tries to focus his attention on the people who are stepping up, working hard, and doing well because he finds that this motivates others to try to do their best too. In addition, Adam discusses how being fearless and taking a big leap in science, instead of taking small, incremental steps, can be empowering. You may be able to do great things for society if you aren’t afraid to take a chance.
Guest Bio
Adam’s laboratory studies neural mechanisms of perception, attention and memory, with an emphasis on the impact of distraction and multitasking on these abilities. His unique research approach utilizes a powerful combination of human neurophysiological tools, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial magnetic and electrical stimulation (TMS & TES). A major accomplishment of his research has been to expand our understanding of alterations in the aging brain that lead to cognitive decline. His most recent studies explore neuroplasticity and how we can optimize our cognitive abilities via engagement with custom-designed video games, and how this can be bolstered by closed loop systems using neurofeedback and TES. He has filed multiple patents for his inventions, authored over 110 scientific articles, and delivered over 425 invited presentations around the world. His research and perspectives have been consistently profiled in high-impact media, such as The New York Times, New York Times Magazine, New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, TIME, Discover, Wired, PBS, NPR, CNN and NBC Nightly News. He wrote and hosted the nationally televised, PBS special “The Distracted Mind with Dr. Adam Gazzaley”. National Awards and honors for his research include the Pfizer/AFAR Innovations in Aging Award, the Ellison Foundation New Scholar Award in Aging, and the Harold Brenner Pepinsky Early Career Award in Neurobehavioral Science.

*This episode was originally published November 2, 2015.
The post 758: Dr. Adam Gazzaley: Keeping Your Brain in the Game: Creating Interventions to Optimize Cognition appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
43 min
April 22, 2024 757: Dr. Lin Tian: Developing Molecular Biotechnology Tools for Neural Dynamics Research and Novel Therapeutics
Dr. Lin Tian is a Scientific Director at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience and Clinical Professor at the University of California, Davis. She earned her B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of Science and Technology of China and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Molecular, and Cellular Biology from Northwestern University. She then completed postdoctoral training at Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus. Lin remained at HHMI as a Research Specialist before joining the faculty at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine in 2012. She began her current position at Max Planck in 2023. Lin has received multiple awards and honors, including an NIH New Innovator Award, the W.M. Keck Foundation Award, the Human Frontier Science Program Young Investigator Award, and she has been named a Rita Allen Scholar and Hartwell Scholar. In our interview, she shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:55)
In addition to her scientific and leadership roles, Lin is a mom, wife, and daughter. She often spends her free time with her family, driving her two sons to different activities, cheering for them at their swim meets and baseball games, and helping them with homework. Lin also enjoys walking her dog and doing things around the house.
The Scientific Side (4:58)
The main goal of Lin’s lab is to develop, leverage, and also share novel optical and molecular tools that can help us characterize neural signaling and find new treatment targets for neuropsychiatric disorders. For example, her lab developed lab-based biosensors that allow researchers to optically measure the brain’s activity during behavior.
A Dose of Motivation (6:48)
“Progress in science depends on new techniques, new discoveries, and new ideas, probably in that order.” – Sydney Brenner
What Got You Hooked on Science? (9:07)
Lin grew up in China, and her father always encouraged her to travel, to study abroad, and to see the world. In her school years, Lin focused on science, and she attended the University of Science and Technology of China for her undergraduate studies. After graduating from college, she enrolled in graduate school in the United States and worked on a project related to cell signaling. Lin became fascinated with the idea of being able to visualize proteins while they are being transported or performing functions in cells. This curiosity led her to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus for her postdoctoral fellowship, and it was there that she really began to see technology and interdisciplinary science as critical for driving new discoveries. Lin’s work developing a calcium indicator to visualize neuronal activity in living, behaving animals launched her independent research career with her first faculty position at UC, Davis.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (24:02)
Troubleshooting in science can take a really long time, but reaching out to colleagues and collaborators can help you work through problems in the lab. Lin always tries to think positively and embrace challenges and changes. Last year, she moved her lab and her team from California to Florida. This was a big change that required a lot of work and coordination, but everyone pitched in to help. The lab is now back up and running again, but it took a lot of time and effort to get to this point.
A Shining Success! (27:35)
Becoming a Scientific Director at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience has been a meaningful success. Transitioning from a public university focused on education to a private institute that focuses on research has been an exciting experience. While education and mentoring are still important to Lin, having support and an environment where she can focus on addressing some really difficult challenges in the field is a unique opportunity. Lin looks forward to developing an in-depth, computational understanding of how our brain works, and she sees this as a path to developing new therapeutics, particularly for mental health problems which have widespread impacts on society today.
Book Recommendations (31:08)
Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind by Joyce Meyer
Most Treasured Travel (32:34)
Recently, Lin visited Portland to attend the Max Planck Section Meeting, and then afterwards she went to Rome for the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Investigator Meeting. These were both great meetings. The ASAP meeting brings together people from various disciplines to figure out better ways to accelerate the pace of discovery and find a cure for Parkinson’s disease. While in Rome, Lin and a few colleagues went out together to sample the local gelato and tiramisu, as well as visit historic sites like the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums, and the Sistine Chapel. For personal travel, Lin loves to visit the Hawaiian Island of Maui, and she travels there almost every year.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (36:03)
Scientists are just normal people who do research for their careers. Lin and her colleagues have many other facets to their life, and they like to do a variety of nonscientific things as well. In Lin’s lab, the group goes out to eat together and they celebrate holidays together as well. For example, for Chinese New Year, Lin invited everyone over to her house for a potluck dinner and game night. They also have a lab logo, matching lab t-shirts, and they have fun together and support each other. Building a strong team and fostering collaboration between team members are really important to Lin.
Advice For Us All (40:37)
Never give up, be positive, and learn how to multitask. Persistence and a positive attitude are key for overcoming challenges in both life and science. Also, everyone has to juggle multiple responsibilities in their lives, so multitasking is an important skill. Lin draws inspiration from her colleagues and trainees, and it is really rewarding to be able to push the boundaries of the field and to help trainees cultivate their interests and careers.
Guest Bio
Lin specializes in engineering biosensors and optical probes to monitor and control brain activity in living research animals. Lin and her team have made significant advancements in the field, developing calcium indicators to record neural signaling and creating a new class of genetically encoded indicators to detect neuromodulators such as serotonin, dopamine and glutamate. These innovations allow for precise measurement of neurotransmitter release dynamics, offering insights into brain mechanisms that control behaviors in healthy and disease states. Her lab also develops drug discovery platforms that can help identify new potential medications for neuropsychiatric conditions such as depression and Parkinson’s disease.

Support for this episode of People Behind the Science was provided by Innovative Research, Inc.
The post 757: Dr. Lin Tian: Developing Molecular Biotechnology Tools for Neural Dynamics Research and Novel Therapeutics appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
44 min
April 15, 2024 756: Dr. Maureen Murphy: Passionately Pursuing Projects on the P53 Tumor Suppressor Protein
Dr. Maureen Murphy is a Professor and Program Leader in the Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program of the Wistar Institute Cancer Center in Philadelphia. She is also the Associate Vice president for Faculty Affairs and Associate Director For Education and Career Development there. Maureen received her B.S. in biochemistry from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. After graduate school, she completed postdoctoral research at Princeton University. Maureen served on the faculty at the Fox Chase Cancer Center before accepting her current position at the Wistar Institute. Maureen is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science
When she’s not in the lab, you can find Maureen hiking outside with her dogs. She loves nature and thinks dogs are wonderful for reminding us to take a break from our hectic schedules to enjoy life. Maureen is also a fan of traveling, cycling, and yoga.
The Scientific Side
She is a researcher at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, which is a small biomedical research institute with about 30 scientists. Maureen’s research is aimed at understanding and developing cures for cancer. Specifically, they focus on the p53 tumor suppressor protein that is responsible for stopping tumors from forming.
A Dose of Motivation
“To be successful, first fall in love with your work.”
What Got You Hooked on Science?
Maureen has dreamed of curing cancer since she was about 12 years old. At that time, she knew she had a lot of energy and enthusiasm and was looking for a career she could pour all of this energy into. Maureen briefly considered a career as a nun since she was a student in a Catholic school, but something about cancer research piqued her interest. In college, Maureen was also passionate about literature and writing, so she started pursuing a dual major in English and Biology. However, a later course in Molecular Biology convinced her to dedicate her efforts to a career in science.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges
The most difficult thing for today’s scientists is to get funding for their research. Right now is probably the tightest time for NIH funding in U.S. history, and funding rates at the National Cancer institute are only 9% for cancer research. These dismal rates have persisted now for about 10 years, and many passionate, excellent scientists doing cutting-edge research are dropping out of science. Maureen has benefited from the collaborative environment at Wistar in terms of submitting large, collaborative grants, but securing funding is still a challenge for researchers there.
A Shining Success!
One of the big transition moments that shaped Maureen’s career was when she decided to work with mouse models, rather than limiting her research to cell cultures in test tubes and Petri dishes. It has been thrilling to successfully create models of different p53 tumor suppressor protein variants. They were surprised to discover that one of the p53 variants they were studying seems to play a part in curing diabetes, and this was an exciting and unexpected success that they are working on publishing now.
Book Recommendations
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, Letters To A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Most Treasured Travel
The International p53Workshop is one meeting Maureen particularly enjoys. A group of researchers studying the p53 protein get together every two years, and this meeting has allowed her to travel to Greece, Scotland, China, Australia, and other exciting destinations. Her favorite place that the meeting was convened was New Zealand. The beautiful scenery, friendly people, and diverse geography were wonderful to experience, and she will never forget the dolphins they saw when visiting a picturesque saltwater lake there.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories
In research labs, there is a constant flux of people joining and leaving the lab to go on to new things. When someone is ready to leave Maureen’s lab, they are given the book Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss. All the lab members cover the pages of the book with pictures, messages, memories, and advice for that person so they can carry it with them to their next adventure.
Advice For Us All
If you think of your life like a pie, you should make sure to make all of the pieces of your life (family, work, fitness, finance, etc) are as big as you want them. Always review your pie and make the necessary adjustments to ensure you are keeping everything in balance. Also, make sure one of the pieces in your pie is volunteering so you can give back to your community.
Guest Bio
Maureen Murphy received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1993, where she worked with Dr. Donna L. George, the discoverer of the MDM2 oncogene. Maureen performed post-doctoral work at Princeton University working with Dr. Arnold J. Levine, the discoverer of the p53 tumor suppressor protein. At Princeton Maureen studied how p53 induced programmed cell death, with funding by the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Cancer Research. In 1998 Maureen obtained a position on the faculty of the Fox Chase Cancer Center, where she obtained tenure in 2003, and became a full Professor in 2011. In 2011 Maureen moved her laboratory to a position at The Wistar Institute. There, Maureen gets to engage in her three passions: discovering ways to reduce the burden of human cancer, training the next generation of cancer researchers, and helping mentor the junior faculty at Wistar. In her private time Maureen enjoys reading, running, cycling, and most particularly hiking through the woods with her partner Kami and their little dog, Rupert.

*This episode was originally published on August 3, 2015.
The post 756: Dr. Maureen Murphy: Passionately Pursuing Projects on the P53 Tumor Suppressor Protein appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
51 min
April 08, 2024 755: Dr. Carlos Portela: Designing, Creating, and Testing Novel Materials with Unique Properties
Dr. Carlos Portela is the Brit and Alex d’Arbeloff Career Development Professor in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He received his bachelor’s degrees in aerospace engineering and physics from the University of Southern California, his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Carlos remained at Caltech to conduct postdoctoral research before joining the faculty at MIT. He was the recipient of an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, and he has also been named among MIT Tech Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35. In this interview, he shares more about his life and research.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:10)
When he’s not working, Carlos likes to stay active by running, playing golf, and playing a variety of team sports. He also enjoys exploring new restaurants in Boston, particularly places that serve Asian-Spanish fusion food.
The Scientific Side (3:10)
Carlos’s research involves designing, making, and testing new types of materials that have unconventional properties. To do this, they rearrange the components of existing materials in three dimensions at the micro or nano scale to create new architected materials. For example, the new materials may absorb a lot of energy upon impact, or be extremely lightweight, but also very stiff.
A Dose of Motivation (4:47)
“It doesn’t get easier, you just get better.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (7:58)
A fascination with airplanes starting around the age of about three years old marked the beginning of Carlos’s interests in science and engineering. When he discovered the field of aerospace engineering and realized that he could make a career studying and designing aircraft, he was convinced that this would be a perfect fit. During college, Carlos double-majored in aerospace engineering and physics. Relatively late in his undergraduate studies, Carlos got involved in research in a lab that studied nanomechanics, the mechanical properties of materials with nanoscale features. His initial plan after graduation was to get a job at an aerospace company, but a conversation with his advisor completely changed his career trajectory. Carlos’s mentor mentioned that he would do well in graduate school, and Carlos decided to apply. He was excited to be admitted to Caltech, and he learned a lot working with two excellent mentors there. It wasn’t until Carlos was working on writing and preparing the presentation for his thesis defense that he realized that he really enjoyed the process of academic research, and he decided to apply for academic research positions.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (16:34)
In his research on architected materials, Carlos works with microscopic samples. The features of these samples are too small to see with your eyes, and even a scanning electron microscope only provides superficial images of the surface of these materials. During his PhD, Carlos was working on a project examining the dynamic response of architected materials. In his experiment, he used accelerated micro-particles to provide information about the characteristics of the architected materials during impact. He gathered a lot of data using this method, and then later proceeded to a more in-depth analysis that involved cutting the materials in half using a special tool. Doing these cuts was time- and labor-intensive. As he looked at the data, Carlos realized that many of his samples were actually defective, so all of the tests that they had done over the past year produced data that they ultimately couldn’t use. This was a major blow to his self-esteem, and it set him back in his PhD timeline. However, Carlos persevered. He started again from scratch on the data collection and was successful in the next round of experiments.
A Shining Success! (20:23)
A few months ago, Carlos published a paper on a new technique developed in his lab to do high throughput characterization of materials. This area of work was completely different from the kinds of research he had been doing thus far in his career. By bringing in expertise from the laser optics field, they were able to develop a method that does not damage the materials being tested, but instead gathers data based on the nanoscale vibrations of the materials when excited by a laser. In addition to being non-destructive, the process is very fast and has potential applications for identifying and quantifying defects in the microstructure of materials that are being manufactured at scale.
Book Recommendations (24:17)
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
Most Treasured Travel (25:13)
Carlos had an opportunity to spend a summer in Switzerland doing research. This trip was the first time he had been to Switzerland, and it was wonderful to explore the country and the city of Zurich where he stayed. While he was there, Carlos was able to participate in the annual tradition each summer where people are allowed to swim across Lake Zurich, and this was a memorable and unique experience. Hiking and enjoying the scenery of the Swiss Alps were also fantastic, and it was fun to be immersed in European culture, both scientifically and in daily life.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (27:32)
At Caltech, there was a tradition of cake baking for the birthdays of everyone in the research group. Whoever was making a cake always tried to incorporate the personality of the recipient, and this resulted in some innovative creations. They had cakes made entirely of fruit, high protein cakes, and other fun confections. In his own lab, Carlos and his lab members do secret Santa gift exchanges, and these have been a great way to celebrate everyone in the lab.
Advice For Us All (31:09)
It can be difficult to figure out how to best devote your efforts. Don’t try to do everything. It’s okay to say “no” sometimes. Also, you don’t have to do everything perfectly all of the time. There are a lot of situations where doing a good job is good enough, and then you can focus your extra time and effort on other important endeavors. For parents, teachers, and younger listeners, it is never too early for people to get involved in research and science. Engaging in science gives you a unique perspective, even if you decide not to pursue a scientific career. Another important lesson is that we are always the harshest critics of our work. Science is a learning process, and the first products you create in science aren’t going to be perfect. Learn along the way, and work towards improving with every iteration. Be nice to yourself, and embrace opportunities to learn and improve.
Guest Bio
Carlos’ research lies at the intersection of solid mechanics, materials science, and nano/microfabrication. Besides understanding the mechanical response of new advanced materials such as mechanical metamaterials, his research focuses on enabling the widespread application of these materials beyond laboratory settings. Specifically, he is passionate about enabling scalable fabrication of advanced nanomaterials without the need for costly research equipment, and also uncovering the response of these materials under real-world conditions (such as dynamic impact). Beyond his scientific interests, Carlos enjoys running, cooking, and playing sports such as golf and squash.
The post 755: Dr. Carlos Portela: Designing, Creating, and Testing Novel Materials with Unique Properties appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
36 min

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