People Behind the Science Podcast

By Dr. Marie McNeelyScience

People Behind the Science Podcast episodes

September 19, 2022 674: Dr. Madhur Anand: Piecing Together the Patterns and Processes that are Impacting Ecosystems
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Dr. Madhur Anand is a Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph. She received her BSc and PhD from Western University and went on to conduct postdoctoral research at the University of Trieste, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Utrecht University, and the University of New Mexico. Madhur served on the faculty at Laurentian University before accepting a position at the University of Guelph where she is today. Madhur is the recipient of many awards and honors, including Premier’s Research Excellence Award, two Canada Research Chairs, Western University’s Young Alumni Award of Merit, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Female Professional of the Year Award, and she was named a Young Scientist of the World Economic Forum. In addition to the accolades she has received for her science, Madhur is also an accomplished poet. Her first book of poems A New Index for Predicting Catastrophes was published in 2015 by was published by McClelland and Stewart/Penguin Random House Canada and nominated for a Trillium Book award for poetry in 2016. In our interview, Madhur shares excellent stories from her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:19)
When she’s not working on science, Madhur likes to read, cook, drink wine, spend time with her family, watch movies, and write poetry. In fact, her first book of poems was published recently, and this collection combines elements from both her life and science.
The Scientific Side (6:27)
Madhur is an ecologist and a professor. Her research examines the impacts of global ecological changes on ecosystems. This includes studying how things like climate change, pollution, invasive species, and land use changes affect biodiversity, ecosystem services, ecosystem functioning, and ecosystem stability. Madhur conducts research primarily in Canada in boreal, temperate, and mixed forests, but she also works with collaborators on projects in Brazil and India.
A Dose of Motivation (8:02)
“Chance favors the prepared mind.” – Louis Pasteur
What Got You Hooked on Science? (10:06)
Madhur always enjoyed scientific topics in school, even as early as grade school, but she wasn’t necessarily pursuing science at that point. Since she took a wide variety of courses in high school, she could have gone into any area in college, but her parents really encouraged her to go into science. At the end of each year, Madhur had to make decisions that led her to specialize further and further into her discipline of choice. At the end of her fourth year, Madhur accepted a fellowship in a lab. She loved this first research experience and decided to continue on to complete graduate school in the lab.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (17:27)
Rejection is one aspect of science that takes some getting used to, and learning to deal with rejection is important. Having her early papers rejected from scientific journals was disheartening because she felt like they were great, but the feedback from reviewers said otherwise. This kind of rejection is not unique to science though, as Madhur has also faced similar criticisms and rejection in writing poetry.
A Shining Success! (20:38)
Seeing her own students excel and achieve their potential is rewarding for Madhur. Specifically, one of the students she mentored was just recently awarded a tenure-track faculty position in the United States, and this was a really exciting victory since it is challenging to land these positions.
Book Recommendations (4:46)
View with a Grain of Sand by Wislawa Szymborska, How to Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method by G. Polya
Most Treasured Travel (23:28)
The most impactful travel Madhur experienced as a scientist was living and working in Israel during her postdoctoral fellowship. Madhur appreciated the cultural significance of this country, diversity in natural landscapes, the history, and all of the amazing sites she was able to see while she was there. It was also really interesting to do field work in a desert after spending most of her early career working in lush forests.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (26:08)
When Madhur first went to Brazil, she was surprised by their traditions surrounding drinking tea. Mate tea is popular, and the people she worked with would carry a thermos full of hot water to make it. The tea was made in a wooden vessel and sipped through a metal straw. Drinking tea was a social ritual, and once the tea was made, it would be passed around to everyone in the group and they would all drink from the same straw.
Advice For Us All (30:39)
Try to seek opportunities to travel internationally. In particular, it can be eye-opening to work in a lab in a different country to see how science is done and appreciate the different challenges scientists face in other places in the world. Also, science and art are not mutually exclusive. You can do both, so keep your options open.
Guest Bio
Madhur Anand is an award-winning ecology professor and University Research Chair in Sustainability Science at the University of Guelph. The goal of Madhur’s research is to provide knowledge and tools to better understand natural and human-related impacts on ecosystems and to enhance long-term coupled human-environment sustainability. She studies ecological change from local to global scales and from decades to millennia. Her datasets primarily represent forest ecosystems from temperate to taiga in Ontario, Canada and sub-tropical and tropical forests in Brazil, but she collaborates with scientists in many other parts of Canada and the world including Brazil, China, India, USA, Argentina and France. Empirical work in the lab examines the effects of stress (e.g., pollution or climate change) and disturbance (e.g. windthrow, grazing, logging or fire), and their interactions, on ecosystems. Madhur and her colleagues also develop models and statistical tools to understand complex patterns and processes in natural and human-impacted ecosystems. She has co-authored over 80 peer-reviewed scientific articles and a textbook entitled Climate Change Biology (CABI, 2009). Her debut collection of poems is A New Index for Predicting Catastrophes (McClelland & Stewart, 2015) which was nominated for the 2016 Trillium Book Award for Poetry.
*This episode was originally published on July 25, 2016.
The post 674: Dr. Madhur Anand: Piecing Together the Patterns and Processes that are Impacting Ecosystems appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
35 min
September 12, 2022 673: Dr. Joshua Pate: Exploring Pain Science Education and Pain Management in Children
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Dr. Joshua Pate is a Lecturer in Physiotherapy at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. He is also a pain researcher, children’s book author, and co-founder of One Thing, a video platform where pain experts share key insights that can help people with pain. Josh received his Bachelor of Health Science and Master of Physiotherapy degrees from the University of Western Sydney. Later, he earned a Master of Research and PhD in Pediatric Pain Science from Macquarie University. In our interview, Josh shares more about his life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:14)
In addition to his work, Josh enjoys balancing his roles as a husband, dad, and uncle. When he has free time, he likes to spend it with his kids, nieces, and nephews. They’ve been having fun visiting the zoo, checking out local museums, and playing hide and seek in the park.
The Scientific Side (2:59)
Many people don’t realize that chronic pain is relatively common in children. Josh studies how kids think about pain and how that impacts their lives and the lives of others in their household. He is interested in understanding how educating kids about pain and helping them manage their pain might impact chronic pain issues when people are young and also later in life.
A Dose of Motivation (5:18)
“Accumulate small wins.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (8:57)
Josh’s interest in science began with his passion for physical therapy. In his physical therapy degree program, he was trained to take a very structurally focused approach to pain. If he moved parts of the body in a particular way, he learned, then the patient should experience less pain. However, as he got more experience in clinical practice, Josh began to wonder why some patients did not get better despite physical intervention, and other patients got better without any physical intervention. He attended a course on pain education and the potential benefits for chronic pain patients, and this was really transformative. It made him want to read more and contribute to the research in this area. Josh decided to go back to school to pursue research while also continuing to do clinical work. He had phenomenal mentors, and he was captivated by the idea of discussing and investigating ideas that had never been explored before.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (21:23)
When Josh was submitting his first few papers for publication, the practice of pre-registering clinical studies was less common, and he didn’t know about it. As he was going through the process of reviewing and analyzing his data, it was tempting to keep analyzing more and more variables. The problem with this approach is that the more variables you look at, the more likely it is that some of them will appear to change significantly after an intervention due purely to chance. Learning to be more statistically rigorous and understanding how to prospectively plan data analyses took a little time. It was also difficult to winnow down all of his ideas to figure out what the most important pieces of the puzzle were to put in his early papers. This is something that Josh continues to hone, and he has gotten much better at creating really focused aims by learning through experience and getting feedback from other experts and mentors.
A Shining Success! (25:05)
The first time Josh published a peer-reviewed research paper, it felt like a major success. During the peer review process, it is common for papers to be rejected from a journal or to receive a lot of constructive feedback from reviewers. Getting through all the hoops to that final acceptance message was really rewarding. Over time, Josh has become more familiar with the frequent failures and rejections in science and recognizes that it is a necessary part of a rigorous scientific community. Another exciting success has been working with a talented team to create an educational series of children’s books about pain. It is really meaningful for Josh to be able to disseminate his work to the public and help kids learn more about pain in a fun and engaging way.
Book Recommendations (29:56)
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
Most Treasured Travel (31:12)
A few years ago, Josh had an opportunity to visit a pediatric pain lab in Toronto, Canada. Coming from a hot summer in Australia, the cold Canadian winter was a striking contrast. He had seen snow before, but Josh was not quite prepared for the snowy and icy walks to the lab without boots. However, once he got in the building, it was amazing how much a lab on the other side of the world could feel like home. Talking to other scientists who were excited about the same things was energizing, and he also enjoyed seeing Niagara falls and some of the other local sights.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (33:39)
There have been a few interesting cultural differences that Josh has noticed working with scientists and clinicians around the world. He was surprised when he visited America and realized that it was normal for health professionals to wear white coats while they worked. In his experience, people in Australia generally only wore white coats while working at the bench in wet labs. In another lab where he worked previously, the group had a fun tradition where each member would bring in their own cake to share on their birthday.
Advice For Us All (37:19)
Accumulate small wins. Try to chip away at things that are worthwhile, rather than trying to solve all of the really big problems.
Guest Bio
Josh’s PhD focused on a child’s concept of pain. Josh is fascinated by how re-conceptualizing pain according to contemporary science may change the way pain is treated. He has collaborated with many leading international pain experts, heading toward the long-term dream he mentioned on the podcast of ‘a conceptual revolution about pain for the next generation’. Josh is on the Scientific Program Committee for the Australian Pain Society and has been an invited speaker at several international scientific conferences. By day he is an Assistant Professor (‘Lecturer’ in Australian terms) and researcher at the University of Technology Sydney, and by night he works on disseminating pain science education; including TED-Ed animations with millions of views, a pain science interview platform (‘One Thing’), and an upcoming series of children’s books that each explain a key idea about the complexity of pain. The book series is titled Zoe and Zak’s Pain Hacks and the publisher is Noigroup Publications – so, if you or your kids are wanting to learn more about pain and neuroscience, then Josh thinks those books are a great starting point! Josh is very happy to hear from you. You can reach out to him at joshuawpate.com or via Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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39 min
September 05, 2022 672: Dr. Naomi Tague: Scientific Simulations in Stream and Ecosystem Synergies
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Dr. Christina (Naomi) Tague is an Associate Professor of ecoHydrology in the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She received her Bachelor degree from the University of Waterloo in Systems Design Engineering and her MS and PhD degrees in Geography from the University of Toronto and completed postdoctoral research with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Naomi then spent five years as a member of the faculty at San Diego State University before moving to UC Santa Barbara. Naomi joined us for an interview to share more about her journey through life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science
When she’s not hard at work in the lab, Naomi really enjoys dancing has gotten into a particular form of dance that also includes elements of martial arts.
The Scientific Side
Naomi is an ecohydrologist who studies how water, vegetation, and climate interact. She uses computer models and simulations to integrate different systems and understand landscapes as a whole.
A Dose of Motivation
Integrity is the integration of who you are with what you know.
What Got You Hooked on Science?
As a kid, Naomi always liked mathematics and computer modeling, particularly the design aspects of computer modeling. A love of nature motivated her to go into a scientific field where she could apply her work to understand nature.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges
Naomi talks about the challenges of getting papers and proposals rejected and gives good advice in how to become more comfortable with these failures, harsh criticisms, and rejections in your science career.
A Shining Success!
Chance conversations can often lead to fascinating collaborations, and this was the case at one meeting where she and a colleague began to discuss how geology may affect how sensitive systems are to climate change. They reflected on how little researchers had investigated the role of soils and rock types in different processes. With this mission in mind, Naomi has gone on to publish papers demonstrating the importance of geology, and many people are now interested in this topic.
Book Recommendations
The Functional Art: An introduction to information graphics and visualization by Albert Cairo
Most Treasured Travel
Naomi’s favorite place is deep within the mountains within a thick conifer forest. She and her colleagues stumbled upon it when they were attempting to locate the source of a river while doing field work. The beautiful waterfall they discovered pouring out of a solid rock wall was truly breath-taking! It was sourced from an underground stream, but appeared as though it was coming from solid rock. She and her colleagues have promised not to reveal the location of this place, but the savvy naturalist might just be able to track it down using her clues.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories
One of the traditions that spans generations in Naomi’s lab is to get together each year at the annual American Geophysical Union meeting. They always reserve one night for the whole lab to get together, and it is a lot of fun for new students to meet people who came through the lab years before.
Advice For Us All
You have to take the time to make your work fun. Make sure to escape from your busy schedule every now and then to remind yourself that you’re doing this because you really love it.
Guest Bio
Naomi’s research is about integration and relationships: how different components of landscapes influence one another to create a dynamic system. She investigates how water, climate, soil and vegetation all interact and how human activities influence, and are influenced by these interactions. Her “system-oriented” perspective allows her to better understand and predict the impacts of climate and vegetation change, as well as urban design and development, on the environment. This includes looking at impacts on water supply and water quality, forest health and productivity, carbon sequestration, and vulnerability and response to disturbances such as drought and fire. Naomi uses cutting edge data science and informatics to develop this systems perspective. She specializes in the development and application of spatial, process-based simulation models. Her goal is to design models that can offer a flexible, adaptive framework for linking science-based understanding with data from a variety of sources, including intensive field-based monitoring/experimentation and remote sensing. Dr. Tague is the chief architect of RHESSys, the Regional Hydro-Ecologic Simulation System. Current projects include modeling climate change impacts on snowpacks, forest growth and mortality, summer streamflow patterns in mountain environments in the Western US and Europe, and examining how urbanization alters drainage patterns and associated biogeochemical cycling in urban systems. More information about her current projects can be found on her lab website.
*This episode was originally released on April 10, 2015.
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39 min
August 29, 2022 671: Dr. Susan Krumdieck: Dedicating Her Energy to Engineering Solutions to Fuel Our Future
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Dr. Susan Krumdieck is a Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Advanced Energy and Material Systems Lab at the University of Canterbury. She is also Research Leader with the Geothermal Energy Conversion Research Group, Founder of the Global Association for Transition Engineering, and Director of the From the Ground Up Research Consortium. She received her B.S. and M.S. Degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Energy Systems Engineering from Arizona State University and her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Susan is the recipient of the Gold and Silver Sustainability Awards from the University of Canterbury, as well as a Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand and former Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand President’s Energy Panel. In this interview, Susan discusses her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (02:15)
Susan spends a great deal of her free time gardening, including growing vegetables. She is also an active cyclist and a member of a choir that sings music that is hundreds of years old.
The Scientific Side (03:30)
She is an engineer, and her goal is to observe the world, learn about it, improve it, and ultimately make things work. A focus for Susan is re-thinking and re-engineering things we have created in order to address future energy and societal needs (Transition Engineering). She also does work in materials engineering, and her lab creates new materials to address particular problems in energy and other areas.
A Dose of Motivation (05:20)
“The only thing that we know works for sure is to stop doing what doesn’t work.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (09:21)
Her father was a high school science teacher, and she grew up in a rural area of Colorado, surrounded by archaeology. Susan initially planned to become an archaeologist to understand the great mysteries of past civilizations. However, in the 70s when the energy crisis hit in the U.S., she was struck by how much better people in rural areas like hers adjusted to scarcity compared to people in big cities. This sparked her interest in energy systems. Based on her interest in energy and excellent math skills, a high school teacher guided her to pursue engineering.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (23:20)
One frustration for Susan is that, though a number of her projects have worked spectacularly in the lab, they were never widely adopted. Her group developed a bio ceramic material that can be used to coat metal implants like hips or elbows. Because this is the same material that is used to make the hard parts of your bones, your body will heal up to the material, rather than away from it. From an engineering perspective, the material was perfect. However, there were still many hurdles for this kind of medical application, including animal model work and clinical trials that her lab was not really prepared for.
A Shining Success! (27:25)
Developing the field of Transition Engineering, which involves engineering for the future, has been a big success for Susan. She has really enjoyed thinking about how the things we do right now can change the future, and it has been rewarding to teach others how to think this way as well.
Book Recommendations (36:09)
A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Most Treasured Travel (39:16)
A very memorable travel experience for Susan was visiting the island of Rotuma in Fiji with one of her PhD students. They planned a visit in response to an email from a young girl who asked Susan how to use coconuts to make diesel fuel. They were able to work with the local people to assess the link between the costs and benefits to their society of different levels of energy technology development. It turned out that converting coconuts to diesel was not the ideal solution in this case.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (43:13)
As part of her job, Susan gets to work with remarkable young people from all over the world. She has enjoyed taking groups of her students on trips to the mountains. For some of her students, this is the first time that they have ever really experienced the wonders of nature like walking on dirt and seeing the stars at night.
Advice For Us All (50:46)
Do what you want to do.
Guest Bio
Susan has been at Canterbury University since 2000. Her research focuses on developing the engineering methods and innovative technologies for adaptation to reduced fossil fuel production and consumption. She is an expert in developing new ideas for dealing with oil supply issues in transportation systems and urban planning. She is the leader of a group of engineering professionals and academics working to establish the Global Association for Transition Engineering (GATE). Transition Engineering is an emerging field that works on fossil fuel reduction change projects for industry and the public sector. She was appointed to the RSNZ Energy Panel in 2005, was selected as the IET prestige lecturer in 2010, and won the CU Gold Sustainability Award in 2011 for organizing Signs of Change, the first national no-travel conference, and Silver Sustainability award in 2013 for her work on From the Ground Up, an urban re-development approach. She has worked with Professor Frank Kreith on the first energy engineering text with coverage of Transition Engineering. Susan has published over 115 peer-reviewed papers, supervised a total of 15 PhD student completions, and been awarded over $5M in research grants as principal investigator.
*This episode was originally released on August 26, 2015.
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54 min
August 22, 2022 670: Dr. Lee Cronin: Chemistry is Key: Studying Self Assembly and the Origins of Life
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Dr. Lee Cronin is the Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow. He received his Bsc in Pure Chemistry with First Class Honors as well as his PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from York University. Afterward, he served as a Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow, and a Lecturer at the University of Birmingham before joining the faculty at Glasgow University where he is today. Lee is an accomplished chemist who has been honored with many awards including recognition as one of the United Kingdom’s top 10 Inspiring Scientists and Engineers by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in 2014 and one of the top 100 United Kingdom practicing Scientists by the UK Science Council. He received the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Corday Morgan Medal and Prize in 2012 and Tilden Prize for pure research in 2015. In addition, Lee is a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and recipient of the Royal Society’s 2013 BP Hutton Prize for Energy Innovation for applied research. In our interview, Lee shares stories about his life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:29)
Lee spends his time outside of work running, reading, and playing with technology like 3D printers and drones. Since his childhood, he has enjoyed tinkering and taking things apart, and now he is able to share these activities with his own kids.
The Scientific Side (4:31)
In the lab, Lee is answering a variety of questions that involve chemistry. He is particularly interested in determining how life started and how we can make new life forms from scratch. Other areas of research include molecular devices and self assembly.
A Dose of Motivation (5:40)
Lee is strongly motivated by the desire to answer the question “Why?”.
What Got You Hooked on Science? (8:57)
When he was young, Lee was fascinated by the world around him and was obsessed with minimality. He assembled small survival kits with the minimum number of things he needed to survive, including the necessities to start fires, have clean water, and catch food. On one occasion this obsession left Lee contemplating his assured survival while sipping his less-than-delicious, pinkish (but bacteria-free!) water supply. Lee describes how he went from a curious kid in the learning difficulty group in school to the prominent scientist he is today.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (23:50)
At the moment Lee’s lab is starting to work in a well-established area in chemistry where the new phenomena they have discovered, related to the origins of life, are being met with mixed reviews. His colleagues seem to either dismiss the lab’s work as obvious or discount his findings as impossible. Not only is he facing rejection from fellow scientists in the field, but his papers and proposals are also being rejected.
A Shining Success! (29:47)
One of the accomplishments Lee is most proud of is when his lab discovered a completely new way to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Papers on two different forms of this new water splitting process were published in the prestigious journals Nature Chemistry and Science. The lab determined a way to make the process safer and more durable, and Lee has started a company to commercialized this technology to make a new type of gas generator.
Book Recommendations (3:39)
Mortal Engines by Stanislaw Lem, Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Most Treasured Travel (35:18)
Japan is one of the fascinating places Lee has been that really stands out. The science and the hill climbing in Hokkaido were great, but getting lost in Electric Town is one of his fondest memories from the trip. He stumbled across a cheap robot that he brought back, programmed, and has been using in the lab. This provided an entirely new and unexpected spinoff for his research.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (37:29)
Lee and his lab group are known as “The Cronies”. As the lab got bigger and it became harder for lab members to discuss mundane lab happenings with Lee, he decided it would be a great idea to make a lab email list so they could easily discuss issues. The email list he created wasn’t really being used, and Lee was surprised and proud to discover that the lab members had made their own list called “The Cronies minus Lee” to work out many of the lab issues amongst themselves.
Advice For Us All (43:13)
Make sure you are interested in what you are doing and keep doing it. Also, if people take the time to give you criticism, appreciate it and act on it.
Guest Bio
The focus of Lee’s work is understanding and controlling self-assembly and self-organization in Chemistry to develop functional molecular and nano-molecular chemical systems (including solar fuel systems); linking architectural design with function and recently engineering system-level functions (e.g. coupled catalytic self-assembly, emergence of inorganic materials and fabrication of inorganic cells that allow complex cooperative behaviors). Much of this work is converging on exploring the assembly and engineering of emergent chemical systems aiming towards ‘inorganic biology’. This work has been presented in over 300 papers and 250 lectures worldwide. It is also worth pointing out that the expertise in the Cronin group (which numbers over 50 people and > £10 M in funding) is unique bringing together inorganic/synthetic chemists, chemical engineers, complex system modelling, evolutionary theory, robotics and artificial intelligence.
*This episode was originally released on July 15, 2015.
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46 min
August 15, 2022 669: Dr. Emily Darling: Conducting Research to Conserve Coral Reefs
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Dr. Emily Darling is Director of Coral Reef Conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. Emily received her B.Sc. Degree in Biology from Queen’s University and her PhD in Marine Ecology and Conservation from Simon Fraser University. Afterwards, she was awarded the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Subsequently, Emily was awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship to work at the University of Toronto. Emily has been awarded the Early Career Scientist Award from the International Coral Reef Society and the Early Career Award from the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution. In this interview, Emily shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:30)
When she’s not working, Emily loves having fun outdoor adventures with friends. She was an avid rock climber in the past, and she has more recently joined a community sailing club. Lately, Emily has been exploring the Great Lakes on her new sailboat with her puppy Jayne.
The Scientific Side (4:25)
Emily’s research focuses on how coral reefs around the world will survive climate change. She examines the different types of corals that are on a reef, as well as the patterns of disturbance, recovery, and influences of climate change. Emily works with large datasets, conducts underwater field research, and works with other researchers, local communities, fishers, governments, and policy experts to try to understand and conserve coral reef communities.
A Dose of Motivation (6:01)
“There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” – Madeleine Albright
What Got You Hooked on Science? (10:56)
When she was eight years old, Emily became fascinated with fish. At that time, she was living in Indonesia, and her father worked at one of the museums there. While learning Indonesian grammar was a struggle, Emily picked up numbers quickly, and her parents allowed her to visit the local markets to shop and bargain with the locals selling fruits, vegetables, and other foods. When Emily ventured to the back corners of the market, she was blown away by the variety of octopus, squid, and brightly colored fish she saw there. She was amazed that these incredible creatures lived in the nearby ocean and helped fuel the vibrant local markets. This sparked Emily’s interest in fish and the ocean, and her interests were further solidified during college when she took a coral reef field ecology course. As part of the course, Emily learned about corals, sampled transects, and performed surveys at a field station in Belize. She enjoyed it so much, she stayed on after the course to work as a research assistant. Emily decided she wanted to continue studying fisheries and coral reefs, and she has been passionate about this research ever since.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (23:40)
During graduate school, Emily helped develop a project that involved transplanting corals from a marine park in Kenya to reefs outside of the marine park. The goal was to understand how the fish within the protected marine parks may be helping corals grow. This was her first big experiment, and after long months of planning, Emily was excited to start. As the project unfolded, Emily faced a frustrating string of failures. The corals they collected died, they temporarily lost mesh nets full of their study corals at sea (though they were later recovered!), and it was extremely challenging to attach the corals to the reef for the transplants. Ultimately, they weren’t able to answer the question they set out to answer, but Emily still learned some valuable lessons. Through conversations with a local fisherman, she realized that her project wasn’t asking the best and most useful question to begin with. Scientists don’t necessarily always have to come up with their own research questions. People in the local communities they are working with have important insights and can help identify the most critical issues they are facing related to their reefs and the fish there.
A Shining Success! (30:27)
Emily recently participated in the United Nations Oceans Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. This was her first United Nations Conference, and it brought together governments, non-governmental organizations, policy experts, conservation practitioners, and scientists who were all focused on solving global issues involving our oceans. As part of this conference, Emily and her colleagues organized a side event on blue foods for coral reefs. Blue foods are sources of food from aquatic environments, and they were specifically interested in what people eat from coral reefs, and what nutrition people get from small fisheries that use coral reefs. The speakers at the event included funding organizations and individuals involved in local fishing communities and related organizations. Emily is passionate about bringing together various perspectives from different people to figure out how we can save the world, so this was a particularly meaningful event, and it was a major success.
Book Recommendations (33:47)
The Expanse Series by James S. A. Corey, The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews, and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Most Treasured Travel (34:59)
A particularly memorable trip for Emily was a visit to the Solomon Islands with Stacy Jupiter, a fellow Wildlife Conservation Society scientist. This experience opened Emily’s eyes to a new context and way of thinking about and doing conservation in the Pacific. She was surprised to discover that they did not have a word for conservation in their language there because it is so ingrained in the culture to take care of resources and make sure they are there for future generations. The scenery was stunningly beautiful, and it was amazing to survey the coral reefs there and spend time with the wonderful people in the village of Munda. Emily will never forget their morning ritual of sipping coffee while watching the resident saltwater crocodile (affectionately named “Bob”) return to the river after the previous night’s hunt on the reef.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (40:14)
In graduate school, Emily and her labmates worked hard and did great science, but they always had fun as well. One winter, Emily helped with another student’s research project that involved diving experiments in the Bahamas. The ocean around the Bahamas was cold in January, but Emily was feeling extra prepared with the 14 mm ultra thick wetsuit she packed. The group had a tradition of performing a dance off as they loaded up all their gear and supplies into the boat, and there was one day where (in the heat of the dance-off), Emily forgot to load her wetsuit onto the boat. She didn’t notice her wetsuit was missing until they were already at the dive site, and there was no time to go back for it. Fortunately, Emily only had to do short 5-7 minute dives, but it was cold! They joked that she could continue dancing underwater to keep warm, and that memory has stayed with her over the years.
Advice For Us All (45:40)
It’s not a zero sum game. If other people are winning, it doesn’t mean that you are losing. You’re not competing against everyone else. You can work together, collaborate, and everyone can contribute. There is so much to be gained by working with others, celebrating their successes, and having others celebrate your accomplishments as well.
Guest Bio
Emily’s research focuses on how coral reefs will survive climate change. Along the way, she’s worked with Kenyan fishers on food security, social scientists on the connections between people and conservation, and software engineers on a new technology for coral reef data called MERMAID. Trained as a plucky field biologist and inspired by fish markets from an early age, Emily is passionate about the importance of connecting underwater science to the people who manage their ocean resources. She is inspired every day by the scientists she works with around the world to measure the impact of coral reef conservation, and is passionate about improving opportunities for equity in conservation (pro tip: there’s still work to be done). In her spare time, she is (still) learning to sail, reads sci-fi, and lives on a 39’ sailboat called Lor’ Tunderin with her beloved if often mischievous first mate, Jayne the puppy.
The post 669: Dr. Emily Darling: Conducting Research to Conserve Coral Reefs appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
49 min
August 08, 2022 668: Dr. Gail Ashley: Searching the Sediments to Uncover Sources of Food and Water for Early Humans
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Dr. Gail Ashley is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Rutgers University. She is Undergraduate Program Director and Director of the Quaternary Studies Graduate Certificate Program. She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geology from the University of Massachusetts and completed her Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia. After receiving her Ph.D., Gail accepted a faculty position at Rutgers, and she has been a faculty member there for 39 years. Gail has received many awards and honors during her career including the Sedimentary Geology Division of the Geological Society of America’s Laurence L. Sloss award for her lifetime achievements in sedimentary geology, as well as an Outstanding teaching award from the Association of Women Geoscientists. She has also served as President of the Society for Sedimentary Geologists, President of the Geological Society of America, President of the Society of Economic and Petroleum Mineralogists, and President of the American Geosciences Institute. In addition, Gail has served as Editor-in Chief of the Journal of Sedimentary Research. In our interview, Gail tells us more about her journey through life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:10)
Gail lives on a property in New Jersey with plentiful woods, and she heats her home with a wood-burning stove. One of the things that helps Gail relax is spending time outside splitting, stacking, and storing firewood.
The Scientific Side (3:05)
Early humans are known to have originated in East Africa. Gail works alongside paleoanthropologists to uncover and better understand records of these early humans. As a geologist, Gail focuses on providing context about the environment these early hominins lived in, including the climate, potential foods, and water sources.
A Dose of Motivation (4:00)
“Pull up your socks, and get on with your life.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (7:41)
She first became aware of science in eighth grade when she took her first science class. It was her favorite class. Fortuitously, Gail’s neighbor at the time was a geologist and university professor. She began asking him about his travels to Alaska, and she was impressed by the photos and souvenirs he brought back. As Gail’s interests and inquiries in geology developed, he recommended books for her and would answer her questions about what she was reading. Gail was passionate about geology, but was dissuaded from taking earth science in high school because she was told it was not a real science. However, once Gail enrolled in college, she pursued geology as a major and also became involved in rock climbing, hiking, spelunking, and other outdoor activities that exposed her to geology in the real world.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (14:28)
Earlier in her career, Gail was part of an interdisciplinary, international research team working in East Africa. She was abruptly fired (via a group email) after participating in this project for about 6 years. This was a complete shock, and it took Gail 1-2 years to re-organize her research program and recover. She suspects that challenges with personalities, politics, and differing viewpoints on the science contributed to the rift, but also her willingness to stand up for her female students who had been bullied and treated poorly in the field.
A Shining Success! (18:13)
For about 4 years, Gail has been examining the early environment of the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, where remains and artifacts of early hominins were found 50 years ago. The reason for why the remains were found there has always been a mystery. She collaborated with a PhD student who was interested in analyzing the organic material in the soil, and this student discovered that 2 million years ago, the site where the artifacts were found was a dense woodland with an adjacent spring and wetland. They recently published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science describing this early human habitat, including the water sources and potential edible plants.
Book Recommendations (27:08)
West with the Night by Beryl Markham
Most Treasured Travel (28:03)
The Brooks Range in Northern Alaska is a beautiful small mountain range where Gail has spent several summers studying the sedimentology and records of early humans coming into North America. It is a pristine and remote area where they have to be dropped off by a small plane and then use boats to travel up rivers. Seeing wildlife like wolves, muskox, and other animals in their natural environment was phenomenal. At the end of one of these trips, their pick-up flight was delayed by 3-4 days due to necessary repairs, and the group was left stranded without food or supplies. It was remarkable to appreciate what it was like to live in the wild without readily available food.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (34:37)
During one of her trips for field work in the Olduvai Gorge in East Africa, Gail and her colleagues were surveying the area looking for geological exposures that may contain artifacts or bones. As they rounded a corner, they were stunned to stumble upon a herd of elephants. They were only about 50 yards away from these creatures, and Gail wasn’t sure if it was best to run, climb a tree, sneak away slowly, or something else entirely. Ultimately they backed away slowly and the elephants didn’t seem to mind, but it gave her a new respect for the unexpected dangers early hominins encountered in their environment.
Advice For Us All (40:06)
You make good decisions. Go with them, and trust yourself. Also, follow your interests, even if other people think you should do something different or if circumstances in your life delay you. You will be a happier person if you can follow your passion.
Guest Bio
Gail has been at Rutgers for 39 years and supervised 38 graduate students and 25 undergraduates. She has published more than 100 peer reviewed papers. Gail’s husband and daughter are geologists, and her son is a rock star with the band “Firewater”. She always likes a challenge and enjoys solving problems. Keeping the old adage in mind that there is “no substitute for water,” her current research is focused on determining the water resources used by humans in Africa responding to climate change as they “followed-the-water” northward and eventually migrating out of Africa and into Europe and Asia.
*This episode was originally published July 11, 2016.
The post 668: Dr. Gail Ashley: Searching the Sediments to Uncover Sources of Food and Water for Early Humans appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
45 min
August 01, 2022 667: Dr. James Cahill: Roving Roots! Plants Behave More Like Animals than We May Realize
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Dr. James (JC) Cahill is a Professor of Ecology in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta. He received his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Pennsylvania. Afterward, he served briefly as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Ursinus College and then on the faculty at the University of Delaware before joining the faculty at the University of Alberta where he has been for about 15 years. In this interview, JC shares more about his life and his science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science
Some of JC’s hobbies outside of science include playing tennis, cooking, strumming the guitar, and spending time with his family.
The Scientific Side
JC is an ecologist who studies interactions between plants and their environment. His research seeks to understand how plants interact in their pursuit of food, as well as how communities respond to environmental change.
A Dose of Motivation
Don’t worry, it’s going to work out.
What Got You Hooked on Science?
JC’s family really valued education. He grew up surrounded by education and science and was planning to pursue a career in science from an early age. He was good at solving problems, but didn’t have great grades in college. Fortunately, a faculty member at his small college recognized his potential and brought him into the lab. This was an eye opening experience to see what a career in science could be.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges
In science, a lot of experiments fail. It is just part of the process, and JC recognizes this. He mentions examples where results don’t come out as expected or rodents eat all of his seeds in a field experiment, but he doesn’t let these setbacks bring him down.
A Shining Success!
Some of the most meaningful successes for JC are seeing his students go on to pursue careers that they are passionate about. A few of his students have gotten tenure track job offers, and one of his early PhD students was just recently awarded tenure.
Book Recommendations
Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis – Lessons from a Master by Brad Gilbert and Steve Jamison
Most Treasured Travel
One of JC’s fondest travel memories is from a six week trip to Holland for a sabbatical. He was enthralled by the Netherlands, especially Amsterdam. While he was in Amsterdam, he immersed him self in the culture by walking through the city, appreciating the architecture, visiting fantastic museums, and stopping by some charming cafes.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories
Since JC’s lab studies competition, they have been know to initiate competitive endeavors, challenging other labs to a soccer match or organizing sporting events for the whole ecology group.
Advice For Us All
Everything is negotiable. In a university setting, almost any problem that you are faced with can be solved.
Guest Bio
JC is a plant ecologist, with a particular fondness for trying to understand how plants forage for resource, cope with enemies, and alter competitive strategies over ecological and evolutionary timescales. A key goal of this work is to understand how these social and behavioral interactions impact patterns of biodiversity, and the functioning of natural systems. JC and his research team use an experimental approach to addressing these issues, both in the field and in the greenhouse. As with most research in ecology, JC’s work has a number of implications for conservation, particularly in the context of invasive species and climate change. Above all else, JC’s interests are predominantly focused on helping develop the research skills of the team of researchers he works with – be they high school students, undergraduates, graduate students, or postdocs.
*This episode was originally released on January 30, 2015.
The post 667: Dr. James Cahill: Roving Roots! Plants Behave More Like Animals than We May Realize appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
41 min
July 25, 2022 666: Dr. Mita Dasog: Developing Nanomaterials to Help Solve Global Energy, Fuel, and Fresh Water Issues
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Dr. Mita Dasog is an Associate Professor and the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Research Chair in the Department of Chemistry at Dalhousie University in Canada. She received her BSc in chemistry from the University of Saskatchewan and her PhD in chemistry from the University of Alberta. Next, she worked at the Technical University of Munich in Germany for about half a year as a Green Talents Visiting Scholar. Afterwards, Mita was awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada postdoctoral fellowship to conduct research at California Institute of Technology. Mita has been recognized with numerous awards and honors including the Nova Scotia Discovery Centre Emerging Professional Award and the President’s Emerging Investigator Research Excellence Award. She is also an elected Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada and a Member of the Global Young Academy. In our interview, Mita shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:22)
When she’s not doing science, you can often find Mita listening to CoComelon with her kid, reading a great mystery novel, painting, or cooking delicious Indian, Thai, Chinese, or Mexican cuisine.
The Scientific Side (4:08)
Mita’s lab conducts basic research to examine how different nanomaterials form, what dictates their size and shape, and how these features influence their properties. They also do applied research developing nanomaterials to address major global challenges such as energy production, fuel production, and desalination to help with the water crisis.
A Dose of Motivation (5:22)
“You don’t need to be perfect to inspire others. Let people get inspired by how you deal with your imperfections.” – unknown
What Got You Hooked on Science? (6:26)
Since her father was a scientist and professor, Mita was exposed to science and lab life from an early age. Though she visited her father’s lab often during her childhood, Mita didn’t fully understand what science or research really were. She thought science was a series of facts that had already been figured out and that scientists just focused on applying what was already known. During middle school, Mita had a great science teacher who piqued her interest in biology. Around the same time, she had an opportunity to travel with her dad to do field work for a project she found fascinating. They were trying to engineer crops that could grow in salt water because there wasn’t enough fresh water for farmers to grow their crops. By tagging along to meetings with farmers and others in the local communities, Mita realized that there were still a lot of unanswered questions that scientists were working to solve. Afterwards, Mita’s interest in science grew, she participated in science camps during the summers, and she decided to go to college to pursue biotechnology. However, Mita was introduced to nanomaterials while working in a chemistry lab in college one summer, and this completely changed her career plans. Since then, Mita has been excited to pursue research questions related to nanomaterials.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (23:04)
The pandemic has been a big challenge for many scientists, including Mita and her lab members. Over the past few years, they have been feeling the cumulative impacts of the lab facilities shutting down for a period of time and being unable to complete the work they wanted to do. While the world is starting to open up again, they are still struggling with equipment repairs and maintenance because it is difficult to schedule technicians and find parts due to ongoing supply chain issues. All of these issues, as well as personal struggles, take a toll. Many people are burnt out and just trying to keep their heads above water. We’ve experienced and learned a lot, and it will be interesting to see how we incorporate these experiences and new knowledge into our lives and work.
A Shining Success! (26:08)
While Mita enjoys celebrating new grants, papers, and projects, seeing her students succeed is what brings her the most happiness right now. They recently finished a busy conference season, and it was thrilling to see her students winning awards, getting recognition, and sharing their work with the scientific community. Their resilience after facing a tough few years has been inspiring. Mita’s lab is a very supportive environment, and they like to celebrate successes by bringing in homemade treats, going out to lunch, and doing other fun activities together.
Book Recommendations (3:13)
Books by Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton, as well as the Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Most Treasured Travel (28:41)
Mita had a chance to live and work in Munich, Germany for several months as a Green Talents Visiting Scholar after finishing her PhD. It was amazing to experience a different culture, explore a new city, sample the food, and meet outstanding scientists. Some of Mita’s favorite things to do in Munich were picnicking in the parks, watching soccer games on big screens outside, visiting beer gardens, and trying out their surfing simulations.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (31:34)
In her graduate school lab, Mita and her peers worked together to pull off some major light-hearted pranks on their PhD supervisor. These included filling his office with balloons and wrapping every surface in his office in aluminum foil. Fortunately, their supervisor had a great sense of humor. Mita’s current lab is also a fun and creative environment where they make humorous photoshopped holiday cards each year, sneak her face into unexpected places in presentations, and have occasional rap battles.
Advice For Us All (35:27)
Stay curious. Curiosity is what drives science, and it is key to scientific discovery. Also, remember that science is a team effort and you don’t have to go through it alone. In addition, science literacy in our society is important. Every person should be thinking critically and questioning things. We should all be using the fundamentals we have learned to make educated decisions about products and policies.
Guest Bio
Mita’s research group focuses on developing nanomaterials for clean energy and fuel production, desalination, and environmental remediation. They are also interested in understanding the principles dictating the formation of the nanomaterials being made in the lab and how their properties influence the functionality. As a materials’ scientist she works at the intersection of chemistry, physics, and engineering. Outside of work, Mita spends her time watching CoComelon videos with her daughter, reading murder mystery novels, painting, and cooking. Her two cats, Higgs and Quark demand quite a bit of her attention as well.
The post 666: Dr. Mita Dasog: Developing Nanomaterials to Help Solve Global Energy, Fuel, and Fresh Water Issues appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
39 min
July 18, 2022 665: Dr. Jennifer Jenkins: Researching Relationships and How They Impact Mental Health and Learning in Children
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Dr. Jennifer Jenkins is the Atkinson Chair of Early Child Development and Education and the Interim Academic Director of the Frazer Mustard Institute of Human Development at the University of Toronto. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Developmental Psychology from the University of Sussex, her Master’s degree in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Nottingham, and her PhD in Psychology from the University of London. Afterwards, she worked as a Senior Clinical Psychologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and then as a Lecturer at Stirling University before joining the faculty at the University of Toronto. In this interview, Jenny shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science
Jenny likes to spend her time with her family and a close group of friends she has known for over 30 years. She also enjoys going on daily walks with a friend and fellow faculty member at the University of Toronto.
The Scientific Side
Her research focuses on things that influence the development of mental health and early learning problems in children. For example, she examines biological, genetic, prenatal risks, and perinatal risks and focuses on how these influence the family relationships that children develop. These relationships in turn can influence mental health issues that children may develop. They use longitudinal data analysis and complex statistical models to address these areas.
A Dose of Motivation
“What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?” by George Eliot
What Got You Hooked on Science?
During college, Jenny was captivated by psychiatry and psychology. Pondering questions about how people think, how they learn, and what caused individual differences was fascinating.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges
There are different kinds of tough times in science, but one example has to do with failed experiments. It is really difficult when you have been working hard on a project for a few years and you have hypothesized something about a question you are really interested in, but then the project doesn’t work or it turns out you are completely wrong. You start to doubt your own competence sometimes, and it can be hard to recover.
A Shining Success!
One success story from Jenny’s research is a longitudinal study she has been working on that has been funded now for over 10 years. It can be really hard to keep longitudinal studies going, but she has had a great team to help her. Jenny is so thankful for the families who have worked with them as research participants throughout the years and for having the funding to support her graduate students.
Book Recommendations
A Natural History by Keith Oatley, Stoner by John Williams
Most Treasured Travel
Jenny will never forget a trip to Helsinki in Finland where she traveled to give a research talk in 2010. She remembers seeing the ash cloud descending from the volcanic eruption, and was worried because she needed to get back home for a big family event. Their flight was cancelled and they weren’t able to get out by plane, so they turned it into an international adventure and traveled down to southern Europe to try to fly out from there. It ended up being a fun experience because they were able to take trains and chat with many other people in the same predicament.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories
Lab outings for food and drinks are a fun tradition in Jenny’s lab. Her lab members are passionate about their research and always trying to figure things out, so it’s hard not to get excited about the science even outside of the lab. They might start off talking about life, but then the conversation links back to their science and they end up drawing models and scribbling notes on the backs of napkins in pubs.
Advice For Us All
It’s important to enjoy the process rather than the outcome.
Guest Bio
Jenny is a clinical and developmental psychologist. She began her clinical and research work with children and families at Great Ormond St Hospital, London, England in the 1980’s and has been at University of Toronto since 1991. Her research has examined the influence of marital, sibling and parent-child relationships on mental health, social understanding, and early learning. She studies why some children are more resilient than others when growing up in high-risk environments and is particularly interested in within family differences in development. Her research is funded by both Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. She is the director of Kids, Families, Places, a birth-cohort, longitudinal study of 500 families that have been followed up for seven years. She is an award-winning teacher, the author of many scientific papers and two books (including Understanding Emotions which is in its third edition). She collaborates with the Centre for Multilevel Modeling in the UK on the development of new statistical methods in the analysis of family data.
*This episode was originally released on May 22, 2015.
The post 665: Dr. Jennifer Jenkins: Researching Relationships and How They Impact Mental Health and Learning in Children appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
43 min

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