People Behind the Science Podcast

People Behind the Science Podcast

By Dr. Marie McNeelyScience
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People Behind the Science Podcast episodes

  • 654: Dr. Malia Gehan: Cool Research on Plant Responses to Temperature Stress

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    Dr. Malia Gehan is an Assistant Member at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. She received her undergraduate training in Biology from Willamette University and her PhD in Plant Biology from Michigan State University. Afterwards, Malia was awarded a National Science Foundation Plant Genome Initiative Postdoctoral Fellowship working at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and she subsequently worked as a Research Scientist there before accepting her new position. In this interview, Malia shares more about her life and science.

    People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes

    Life Outside of Science (2:09)

    Malia spends her free time with her two cats and her husband, who is also a scientist. They enjoy lounging around at home, as well as walking around their neighborhood near the Missouri Botanical Garden. Malia also has fun cooking, going to the movies, and watching TV.

    The Scientific Side (3:02)

    Her research examines how to improve crops in terms of their response to temperature stress and other abiotic stresses. She is does this through examining natural variation in plants. There are many plants that are highly resilient in different environmental conditions but are not edible. Malia is investigating how to take useful traits from these hardy, weedy plants and incorporate them into crops.

    A Dose of Motivation (4:15)

    “Garbage in, garbage out.” and “Measure twice, cut once.”

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (6:37)

    Malia grew up mostly in Hawaii, and both of her parents were artists. They encouraged her to be creative and observe the natural world. She remembers having to draw things upside down as an exercise to get a new perspective on the world. Going into college, she didn’t really know what she wanted to do for a career. Malia started off as a history major, but she ended up really enjoying running her own experiments in the laboratory portion of her first science class for non-majors. When she transferred to a different school her sophomore year, Malia declared herself as a biology major and began pursuing research in plants.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (14:27)

    Working with the cutting-edge phenotyping system at the Danforth Center, Malia and her fellow researchers realized they needed to create new software to handle the image processing and phenotyping. She wasn’t traditionally trained as a computational scientist, and it was challenging to learn everything she needed for the software development. Once created it took a long time for them to get this work published, but it has been exciting to see others using their software.

    A Shining Success! (18:54)

    Malia and her colleagues use inexpensive computers and cameras from the Raspberry Pi Foundation to complement data from the phenotyping facilities. Recently, they received a grant from the Raspberry Pi Foundation to host fun, educational events featuring Raspberry Pi technology. Their Raspberry Pi Jam event allowed people from the Danforth Center to show off research projects involving technology, and they also invited different local robotics groups to attend this fun family event. It was great to show kids that these accessible computers can be used to conduct real science.

    Book Recommendations (21:31)

    Every Other Thursday: Stories and Strategies from Successful Women Scientists by Ellen Daniell

    Most Treasured Travel (22:41)

    Malia was invited to attend the PhenoDays Conference, which is an excellent conference focusing on advances in technology and tools in her field. That year, the conference was held in France at a beautiful walled city in the Burgundy region. The last night of the meeting was held in a French chateau, and the food was amazing. She also was able to visit the wineries and go on a mustard tour with her colleagues.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (25:12)

    Whenever Malia’s colleague from Dartmouth College visits the Danforth Center, they buckle down for a very intense period of lab work to get as much as possible done during the short time they are together. They have started a tradition of buying a lot of delicious food and taking scheduled snack breaks every time they have a five minute incubation time during their experiments. One of Malia’s favorite snacks these days is freeze dried peas dipped in hummus.

    Advice For Us All (29:32)

    It is important to not let your quest for perfection get in the way of producing and disseminating good work. People need to see what you are doing, even if it is a work in progress, to find value in it. Also, if you want something, look for opportunities in unexpected places. There are so many great opportunities out there.

    Guest Bio

    Malia’s research focuses on improving resistance to temperature stress in plants. Most recently, she was a Research Scientist in the Mockler Lab (Danforth Center) and a NSF-PGRP Postdoctoral Fellow. During her Postdoctoral research she focused on developing tools for high-throughput phenotyping. Through work on phenotyping, she and colleagues started a Maker Group at the Danforth Center that focuses on developing low-cost phenotyping tools, and fun outreach events (Raspberry Jams!). Malia earned her Ph.D. in Plant Biology at Michigan State University Plant Research labs with Dr. Mike Thomashow examining natural variation in freezing tolerance and the integration of the circadian clock with cold signaling. As an undergraduate researcher in Biology at Willamette University she studied thermoinhibition of growth and development of guard cell protoplasts with Dr. J. Gary Tallman. Malia grew up in Kaneohe, Hawaii where there is very little change in temperature, which is probably why she is so interested in temperature signaling.

    *This episode was originally released on June 20, 2016.

    The post 654: Dr. Malia Gehan: Cool Research on Plant Responses to Temperature Stress appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    33 min
  • 653: Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar: Examining How Environmental Factors Can Impact Our Heart Health

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    Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar is the Smith and Lucille Gibson Professor of Medicine, Director of the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, Co-Director of the American Heart Association Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center, and a Distinguished University Scholar at the University of Louisville. He was awarded his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Kanpur in India and he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston before joining the faculty at the University of Louisville in 1998. Aruni has received numerous awards and honors over the course of his career, including being named a Fellow of the American Heart Association in 2005. He also received the President’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity from the University of Louisville, the Partner in Healthcare Award, the Outstanding Faculty Mentor of Graduate Students and the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools, and he was designated Research Exemplar by Washington University in St. Louis. In our interview, Aruni shares more about his life and his science.

    People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes

    Life Outside of Science (2:27)

    When he’s not at work, Aruni enjoys exploring his creativity through art, reading, and writing. He has spent a lot of time painting, and lately, he has been writing songs and poems.

    The Scientific Side (4:44)

    Much of Aruni’s work has focused on understanding how the heart and blood vessels work and how they become diseased. He developed a new field called environmental cardiology where he examines how exposure and environmental conditions may impact heart function and heart health.

    A Dose of Motivation (8:21)

    “We need to live for something larger than ourselves.” For Aruni, being able to dedicate yourself to a higher cause makes life worth living. There is so much suffering in the world and so much we can do to try to alleviate it.

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (10:25)

    From an early age, Aruni was convinced he would become a doctor, practicing medicine to reduce the amount of human suffering caused by disease. However, in high school, he received a prestigious fellowship designed to train students to become the next generation of basic scientists. With this fellowship, his education was funded from high school through his PhD program, and Aruni had opportunities to spend his summers working in top national laboratories. Though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to become a scientist, he decided to give it a try. While in graduate school, Aruni had a fateful conversation where he realized that by pursuing research, his discoveries could potentially have far greater impacts on human health than would be possible treating one patient at a time as a doctor. This epiphany solidified Aruni’s desire to become a researcher.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (15:04)

    Aruni has faced many challenges in his life and his career. Earlier in his career, he was one week away from a major grant deadline when his wife went into anaphylactic shock after taking penicillin. They hadn’t known that she was allergic to penicillin, and Aruni was devastated and distraught while she was in the hospital and put on a ventilator. Their one-year-old child was at home with a caretaker, and Aruni told his department chair that he didn’t know how he could possibly turn his grant in on time. The department chair calmly told Aruni to bring everything he needed to the hospital and work on the grant from there. No exceptions would be made for his family emergency situation.

    Another difficult time in Aruni’s career was when he was applying for the renewal of his first NIH grant. Unfortunately, the renewal was not funded. When he approached his two department chairs for advice, they were similarly unsympathetic. He was able to scrape together enough funding support from other faculty to remain in his position for two years. During those two years, Aruni didn’t go anywhere or do anything that wasn’t work. He locked himself in the lab, did enough research to publish two single-author papers, and rewrote his grant. This time, the grant was funded, and Aruni’s research has been funded continuously ever since.

    A Shining Success! (17:53)

    In his research, Aruni has been investigating environmental factors, such as air pollution, that may alter the course of heart disease. He had an idea that they could potentially lower the incidence of heart disease by planting more trees to reduce air pollution. However, Aruni thought it would be impossible to get support for this kind of project. Growing mature trees can take 20-30 years, it would be expensive, and it would involve a lot of different stakeholders. To his surprise, the people he spoke with were very interested in this idea. They were able to get the right partners in place and raised funds to plant 8,000-10,000 mature trees in Louisville. Then they looked at the risk of heart disease in the area with a large clinical trial. It has been such a privilege to work on this project (Green Heart Louisville). Another exciting recent success has been the launch of Aruni’s new podcast called Elements of Nature: How Natural Forces Shape Human Health. This show has allowed him to talk to people who are working to develop a rigorous evidence base for the impacts of nature on human health.

    Book Recommendations (25:04)

    The Overstory by Richard Powers, Nutshell by Ian McEwan

    Most Treasured Travel (26:31)

    As a graduate student, Aruni began attending scientific meetings with a group of about 60-70 researchers who study a specific type of chemistry called carbonyl metabolism. He has been going to these meetings ever since, and it has been amazing to get to know this group of researchers and their families. The meetings are typically held in cool places, and one year, they all traveled to a small village outside of Milan, Italy. It was a picturesque town, and they were warmly welcomed by the people there. The local abbey gave them a reception with delicious wine and cheese. Later, they went to an old twelfth century church, and the townspeople sang to them. It was a truly moving experience.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (29:19)

    Beyond sharing wonderful memories with fellow researchers at scientific meetings, Aruni enjoys bonding with his lab members and colleagues through regular gatherings. On Fridays, they often have lunch together at a local restaurant or play ball together. He also likes to get the group together to play board games and have dinner at his house. When he was in Galveston, Aruni’s professor bought a new boat, and they got a group together to take it on its first voyage. With great anticipation, they turned the engine on, and waited. Nothing happened. After struggling for a while, another boatsman came over, laughed at them, and explained that they had to lower the engine down into the water to get the boat to move. This memory was a great example of how even very smart people don’t know everything. Sharing these moments and connecting with other scientists on a personal, human level is something that has always been important to Aruni.

    Advice For Us All (35:31)

    Cultivate curiosity throughout your life. Pursuing a career in science isn’t easy, but science and critical thinking are essential to our society and our future.

    Guest Bio

    Aruni is a leading expert on the mechanisms by which environmental exposures such as air pollution affect cardiovascular disease risk. His initial work involved the purification and characterization of aldose reductase and its role in diabetic complications. To this end, he established the identity of this enzyme in several tissues and investigated its structural, kinetic, and inhibitory properties. His work has shown that increasing NO availability prevents aldose reductase activation and sorbitol accumulation in diabetic tissues. Additionally, his recent studies show that glucose activates multiple protein kinases and that the activation of these kinases is required for the inflammatory effects of glucose in vascular tissues. Aruni’s work also led to elucidation of the mechanisms by which free radicals and lipid peroxidation products affect the function of individual ion channels. He was the leader of a Program Project Grant from the NIEHS to study the cardiovascular toxicity of environmental aldehydes. In this program-project he directed a large multi-disciplinary team of investigators studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms of aldehyde toxicity. His studies at UofL have led to the development of the new field of Environmental Cardiology. He was the Deputy Editor of Circulation Research for 10 years. He has participated in over 50 NIH review panels and chaired several review panels. Aruni has published 389 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 25 book chapters and reviews and over 200 abstracts. He has mentored 61 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in his laboratory and has served on the dissertation committee of 18 Ph.D. students.

    The post 653: Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar: Examining How Environmental Factors Can Impact Our Heart Health appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    41 min
  • 652: Dr. Franck Polleux: Exciting Developments in Our Knowledge of Cortical Circuit Formation in the Mammalian Brain

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    Dr. Franck Polleux is a Professor of Neuroscience and member of the Zuckerman Mind, Brain, Behavior Institute at Columbia University. He completed his undergraduate degree as well as his PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Claude Bernard in Lyon, France. Afterward, he travelled to Johns Hopkins University for his postdoctoral fellowship. Franck served on the faculty at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA before joining the faculty at Columbia University where he is today. Franck 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 (02:05)

    Franck is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys bicycling, playing tennis, and shooting hoops on the basketball court. Franck has two children (ages 8 and 11), and he spends most of his free time with his family riding bikes, going to the theater, and reading together.

    The Scientific Side (02:47)

    Franck’s research focuses on three different areas. One area of research interest is understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie brain and neuronal development in the mammalian brain. Another research line in the lab studies how neural connectivity might be different in the human brain compared to other mammals. Franck’s lab has also begun to examine the signaling pathways affected in the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.

    A Dose of Motivation (04:38)

    “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (08:37)

    For Franck, science wasn’t an obvious career choice. He didn’t have a scientific background, and no one in his family was particularly interested in science. However, during his fourth year of college, Franck had the opportunity to work in a research laboratory, and he found the work fascinating. It was this experience that prompted him to pursue a PhD in neuroscience.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (22:17)

    There was a point during Franck’s PhD dissertation research that he wasn’t sure he was ever going to get through graduate school. He was working on an interesting project where he was labeling neurons in the brain to determine when they were formed. However, this project also involved many tedious hours at the microscope counting dots of radioactive tagging compound in neurons. Support from his mentors, friends, and family helped him through this tough time and kept him from giving up.

    A Shining Success! (26:03)

    Recently, Franck’s lab celebrated an exciting success. He and two postdoctoral fellows had been working to identify genes, proteins, and signaling pathways that regulate the growing and branching of axons. They discovered an unexpected connection between axon branching and a cellular process called mitochondrial capture. A champagne toast and the ceremonial signing of the bottle commemorated this magnificent victory.

    Book Recommendations (29:37)

    La Logique du Vivant by François Jacob, Brave Genius by Sean B. Carroll

    Most Treasured Travel (34:15)

    As a master’s student, Franck experienced one of his most memorable travel memories. His mentor had encouraged him to present his paper at a scientific meeting in Amsterdam. At this conference, Franck witnessed an impressive debate between two top scientists in his field. These two scientists later stopped by Franck’s poster to talk about his research, and he was both terrified and delighted by this opportunity. During the trip, Franck and a few students he met also enjoyed wonderful opportunities to explore the city together.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (37:27)

    Franck’s postdoctoral mentor started a game in the lab that was a lot of fun. Each member of the lab group would write down something humorous, quirky, or embarrassing about themselves or something they did in the past. They would combine all the entries, and go through and try to guess who wrote them. It was both hilarious and a great way to learn about your colleagues.

    Advice For Us All (42:00)

    Keep your enthusiasm and curiosity for science, and share these with your colleagues and students.

    Guest Bio

    Throughout his career, Franck has focused on the identification of the mechanisms underlying neuronal development, aging, and evolution. Specifically, his lab examines the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the patterns of connectivity of cortical circuits during development in the mammalian brain. Franck’s lab has also begun to study the signaling pathways underlying synaptic loss during the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease progression. The basis of human brain evolution is another more recent area of study in Franck’s lab. He and is colleagues are investigating genetic mechanisms that led to the evolution of human cortical circuits. The work of Franck’s lab in each of these areas provides new insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the establishment and maintenance of brain connectivity. His research has significant implications for our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying socially-devastating neurodevelopmental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.

    Photo by John Abbott

    *This episode was originally published on March 14, 2016.

    The post 652: Dr. Franck Polleux: Exciting Developments in Our Knowledge of Cortical Circuit Formation in the Mammalian Brain appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    45 min
  • 651: Dr. Pat Hutchings: Studying Sea Worms and Discovering New Species

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    Dr. Pat Hutchings is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Museum Research Institute. She received her B.Sc. with Special Honors from Queen Mary’s College of the University of London and her Ph.D. and D.Sc. in reproductive biology of a sea worm from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Pat is a Fellow and Senior Vice President of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Whales. She is Past president of the Australian Coral Reef Society, Former Councillor of the Australian Marine Sciences Association, Past President of the International Polychaete Association, and Former Vice President of the Coast and Wetlands Society. In addition, she was the recipient of the Silver Jubilee Medal from the Australian Marine Science Association for her contributions to marine sciences. Pat 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 (02:31)

    Pat tries to spend her free time outdoors with activities like sailing and gardening. She also enjoys cooking with fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as spending time with friends.

    The Scientific Side (03:11)

    As a marine biologist, Pat is fascinated by the ocean and its creatures. Specifically, she studies sea worms called polychaetes. Pat describes new species and works to understand where they live, what they do, and how diverse they are. These worms play an important role in the food chain and she has been devoted to studying them her entire career.

    A Dose of Motivation (04:28)

    Pat is not willing to accept that something cannot be done. She is motivated to find ways to solve seemingly unsolvable problems.

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (05:26)

    There was one teacher Pat points to during her early school years who was particularly supportive of her interests and encouraged her to apply to Queen Mary’s College to study marine zoology. While there, she was introduced to research and the sea worms she studies today. However, Pat’s interest in the ocean goes back to her early childhood where she would spend her summers on the southern coast of England exploring the beaches.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (17:00)

    Pat had an exciting opportunity earlier in her career to work in a lab in Israel for three months to investigate recruitment patterns of sea worms on corals. They worked hard to set up an experiment in Israel, and then she headed home to Australia to await the results. The experiment was set to run for two years, and upon its completion, Pat received a package from Israel with her treasured samples. When she opened the box, she was devastated to discover that the contents had been thoroughly investigated by customs agents, and many of the corals had been removed from their containers and the labels had been mixed up. They were unable to salvage the project, and all of her efforts were wasted.

    A Shining Success! (24:00)

    One of Pat’s most rewarding successes was creating the first international sea worm conference. The first meeting was held in 1983 in Sydney, and it was phenomenal to bring together researchers from 15 countries to meet each other face-to-face and share their research. People enjoyed the conference so much that they decided to continue to hold meetings every three years. Pat had the honor of hosting the most recent conference in 2013, 30 years after the inaugural meeting, and it was a wonderful experience.

    Book Recommendations (28:18)

    The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

    Most Treasured Travel (29:34)

    There are many extraordinary places Pat has been able to visit during her career. However, one of the most memorable places was the remote region of Kimberley in Australia. She traveled there in 1988 with a group of colleagues to studying land snails and sea worms. They were there for four weeks, making their way up the coast, and it was an incredible experience. The landscapes were spectacular and it was exhilarating to be surrounded by remote, unspoiled nature.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (31:36)

    Having fun with her colleagues is part of the culture in Pat’s lab. They enjoy going out to lunch to celebrate special occasions and accomplishments, and a lot of her previous students and postdocs have become close friends. The people Pat works with are very important to her, and this community is an important part of life as a scientist.

    Advice For Us All (35:40)

    Follow your passion! Pat studies sea worms because she thinks they are exciting. Being able to work with young scientists is a phenomenal opportunity. She has been able to learn so much from the people working in her lab, and it is important to keep learning new things throughout your career.

    Guest Bio

    Pat is fascinated by all aspects of polychaete biology, especially their systematics, ecology and reproductive ecology. She became interested in polychaetes while an undergraduate at Queen Mary’s College, University of London in the 1960’s, and she undertook a PhD on the reproductive biology of a species of a polychaete species at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. This species forms dense colonies off the NE coast of England and is an important fish food for some commercially important species of fish. In 1970, Pat began working for the Australian Museum, and she has continued to enjoy working there ever since. Pat’s research has focussed on describing the Australian polychaete fauna, especially the family Terebellidae, as well as working on the phylogeny of the polychaetes using both molecular and morphological techniques. She also has been interested in the polychaetes which live in coastal environments especially those living in seagrass beds. In addition, Pat has studied the bioerosion of coral substrates both within Australia as well as in French Polynesia. As reefs continue to be threatened by anthropogenic impacts, such as increasing water turbidity and eutrophication, this has had major impacts on the rates and agents of bioerosion, which may lead to changes in the balance between reef growth and reef destruction.

    Photo by Stuart Humphreys

    *This episode was originally published October 5, 2015.

    The post 651: Dr. Pat Hutchings: Studying Sea Worms and Discovering New Species appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    39 min
  • 650: Dr. Nicholas Oberlies: Finding Compounds in Fungi to Develop New Drugs to Fight Cancer

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    Dr. Nicholas Oberlies is the Patricia A. Sullivan Distinguished Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Nick was awarded his B.S. in Chemistry from Miami University (of Ohio) and his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy from Purdue University. Afterwards, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at American Cyanamid. He then joined the Natural Products Laboratory at Research Triangle Institute, rising through the ranks to become Director of the Natural Products Laboratory. He joined the faculty at UNCG in 2009. Nick has received various awards and honors throughout his career including the Matt Suffness Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Pharmacognosy, the 40 Under 40 Leadership Award from the Triangle Business Journal, and the North Carolina Distinguished Speaker Award from the NC Section of the American Chemical Society. He was also recently the president of the American Society of Pharmacognosy. In our interview, he shares more about his life and science.

    People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes

    Life Outside of Science (2:40)

    Outside of research, Nick’s interests include exercising, playing soccer, and playing guitar. He also enjoys reading a wide variety of books.

    The Scientific Side (4:44)

    Nick’s lab is working to discover compounds in fungi that may be able to be used for medicines, particularly new therapeutics to treat cancer in humans. Many drugs and drug compounds used today were originally discovered in nature, and there are so many compounds and combinations of compounds that still remain unstudied in terms of their medicinal potential.

    A Dose of Motivation (6:19)

    “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
    “Don’t major in minor things.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (12:03)

    When he was young, Nick received a subscription to National Geographic World from his uncle, and he remembers flipping through his parents’ National Geographic magazines as well. Nick was fascinated by the stories of people being the first ever in the world to go somewhere or do something, and he wanted to be an explorer too. As he progressed through high school, Nick did particularly well in chemistry. Living in Indianapolis where the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is headquartered, if students were good at chemistry, everyone told them that they should work for Eli Lilly. As a result, Nick went to college planning to work for Eli Lilly after finishing his schooling. When he was looking at graduate schools, Nick specifically applied to schools that he knew Eli Lilly recruited from. Drug discovery and a career in the pharmaceutical industry were his goals. After working in an industry position, Nick realized that it wasn’t the best fit for him, and over the years, he transitioned his career to more academic research pursuits.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (22:28)

    Nick encounters many challenges in the work that he does, including the constant struggle to get funding for research projects. These experiences have taught him not to give up and not to take no for an answer when it comes to applying for grants. Early in his career, Nick ran into a difficult situation on a collaborative project. The collaboration wasn’t going well, tension was high, and the situation eventually exploded. Ultimately, they were able to patch things up, and it turned out fine in the end, but Nick learned an important lesson. When developing collaborations, it can be easy to make arrangements and do all correspondence digitally, but it is still really important to sit down with prospective collaborators in person and get to know them. Nick knows now that if he’s not able to sit down with a person and talk with them about things other than their science, they are likely not someone he should collaborate with.

    A Shining Success! (26:18)

    Publications are important in science, and Nick is excited about one of their recent publications in the prominent Journal of Organic Chemistry. Nick hasn’t published many papers in this journal in his career, so it felt good to have their paper accepted. On top of this success, about three weeks after the paper came out, he received an email from the publisher showing the top downloaded papers for their journals, and Nick was thrilled to see that his lab’s paper was among the papers that had the most downloads. Nick and his team celebrated this momentous occasion by going out for a hike and getting ice cream together.

    Book Recommendations (3:21)

    The Mold in Dr. Florey’s Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle by Eric Lax, Cinder by Marissa Meyer

    Most Treasured Travel (28:13)

    One of Nick’s most memorable trips for science was to work on a project he established with a researcher in Jordan. For this work, he met with so many people, including representatives at the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of the Environment to get all the permissions required to collect samples and bring them back to his lab. They were in Jordan for 10 days, and it was exciting to go on field expeditions in the desert to collect samples. While deserts may not be the first place people think of to go to for field work collecting plants and fungi, deserts are home to impressive biodiversity. The project was interesting, the collaboration was fruitful, and it was amazing to connect with people in Jordan who had studied in the U.S., even at Purdue University near his home town in Indiana. Through this collaboration, many students from Jordan have come to Nick’s lab for training, and this has been really rewarding.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (35:42)

    The first student who came to work with Nick from Jordan was extremely productive and published many research papers. Her PhD thesis was impressively long, and they decided to weigh it when it was completed. Now that the official weight has been recorded, it has become a friendly competition in Nick’s lab for students to try to make their own thesis outweigh that of this record-setting student.

    Advice For Us All (40:37)

    Take your science very seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously. Also, science is really hard. On most days, it doesn’t work. If you choose to do science, you have to do it because you love it. For students interested in science, pick the area of study that you are most interested in, not what people tell you that you should work on or what is new and popular. For parents, don’t think that your child can’t be a scientist if they aren’t doing well in school. Curiosity is what is important.

    Guest Bio

    Nick is an internationally recognized expert in the chemistry of nature and medicines from natural products. Nick and his colleagues conduct research to isolate and understand the structures of bioactive compounds found in fungi and plants. In one line of research, his team is working to discover new anticancer, antibiotic, antifungal, and antimalarial drug leads from compounds sourced from fungal cultures. They are also applying the tools and skill sets from their drug discovery work to develop reference standards and understand mechanisms of action and interaction of herbal drugs with the goal of making them safer and more consistent for consumers. Nick is an author on more than 220 scientific publications, and he has delivered over 100 invited scientific presentations, both nationally and internationally. Beyond his roles as an academic researcher, Nick is dedicated to training students in chemistry, communication, and scientific entrepreneurship, as well as helping companies analyze and optimize use of natural products for commercial purposes. Outside of science, he enjoys staying active playing soccer and other sports, as well as playing guitar.

    The post 650: Dr. Nicholas Oberlies: Finding Compounds in Fungi to Develop New Drugs to Fight Cancer appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    45 min
  • 649: Dr. Christine McCarthy: Fascinated by the Forces and Features that Contribute to Flow in Rocks and Ice

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    Dr. Christine McCarthy is the Lamont Assistant Research Professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. She received her B.S. in Geophysics from the University of Oregon and went on to receive her M.Sc. and PhD in Geological Science from Brown University. Afterward, Christine conducted postdoctoral research at the Earthquake Research Institute at the University of Tokyo in Japan. She was awarded a Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Postdoctoral Fellowship, followed by a NASA Early Career Fellowship, before joining the faculty at Columbia where she is today. Christine 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 (01:55)

    These days, Christine spends a lot of her time visiting zoos, museums, and playgrounds with her toddler when she’s not at work. Some of her other favorite pastimes have been rock climbing, camping, and other outdoor activities.

    The Scientific Side (02:43)

    Christine studies the mechanical and geological features of ice and rocks. Even though on the surface rocks appear static, deep within the earth they undergo dynamic deformations, and she studies these processes, as well as how ice moves and flows.

    A Dose of Motivation (04:44)

    “What Would You Attempt To Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail?”

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (05:30)

    Science wasn’t Christine’s first career. She got her first undergraduate degree in communications, and she was passionate about dance. While working as a paralegal at a law firm in San Francisco, Christine was introduced to rock climbing, and it quickly became a new favorite hobby for her. As she spent time rock climbing, Christine began to appreciate and become fascinated by all the cool geological formations she saw. She decided to leave her job and go back to school to study geology.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (08:17)

    Christine faced a lot of hurdles going back to school to get her second bachelor’s degree. She decided to take some night classes first to see if she could actually do it before quitting her job. Taking the math placement exam was frustrating because she didn’t do as well as she had hoped. However, Christine was able to get a tutor to help her refresh her math skills, and she did much better the second time. Christine’s persistence paid off, and she successfully completed her undergraduate studies in geology and continued on in her new career in science.

    A Shining Success! (24:03)

    During her PhD in 2007 and 2008, Christine did some experimental work that she wrote up for her thesis, but there were still a lot of details that needed to be sorted out, and the story wasn’t clear so they didn’t publish the data immediately. Data from this research project were just recently published this year after a lot of corresponding back and forth with her advisor and teasing apart elements of this complex dataset. It was exciting to finally see this work disseminated in the field.

    Book Recommendations (26:29)

    All the Little Live Things by Wallace Stegner
, Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
, “The Perfect Fit” article in The New Yorker by David Sedaris

    Most Treasured Travel (27:58)

    Spending two years in Tokyo for her postdoctoral fellowship was an unforgettable experience. It was amazing to be able to stay there long enough to not only see the touristy places, but to also get off the beaten path. She fondly remembers taking a boat to explore some of the small islands of the coast of Japan, as well as a wonderful summer BBQ with colleagues where there were people hammering out mochi and everyone was dressed in traditional yukata.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (16:30)

    As a graduate student, Christine had the pleasure of working with a particularly complicated high pressure ice deformation rig that her advisor had built. She recalls him teaching her the impressively complex dance required to set up and operate the machine, pushing lots of different buttons and levers. It was humorous later when he was showing her how to work the high pressure coffee maker in his house that seemed to have a similarly ridiculous number of steps.

    Advice For Us All (33:21)

    Pursue what you are passionate about, and it is never too late to go back to school to change your career.

    Guest Bio

    Christine McCarthy is a research scientist at Columbia’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory. She received her Masters and Ph.D. from Brown University, after which she conducted a two-year postdoc fellowship in Tokyo. She specializes in running laboratory experiments that explore how ice and other geologic materials respond to external forcing. In particular she is interested in how features at the microscopic scale affect macroscopic-scale behavior, such as how glaciers flow or how seismic waves are damped as they travel through the earth. When she’s not squeezing or breaking rocks and ice, she likes to scale and slide on them: she’s an avid rock climber and snowboarder, though admits that she doesn’t get out in nature nearly enough these days. She and her husband live in New York City with an inquisitive toddler and another child on the way.

    *This episode was originally published on May 23, 2016.

    The post 649: Dr. Christine McCarthy: Fascinated by the Forces and Features that Contribute to Flow in Rocks and Ice appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    37 min
  • 648: Dr. Nathan Smith: Investigating Interactions Between Neurons and Glial Cells in Health and Disease

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    Dr. Nathan Smith will soon be starting his new roles as Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion in Research and Research Education as well as Associate Professor of Neuroscience in the School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester. Currently, Nathan is Director of Basic Neuroscience Research and a Principal Investigator in the Center for Neuroscience Research at Children’s National Research Institute as well as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacology & Physiology at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He received his B.S. in Biology from Xavier University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. When he graduated in 2013, Nathan was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester. Afterwards, Nathan conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Utah and Boston University, as well as at Children’s National Hospital. Nathan has received numerous honors and awards in his career including being named a 2021 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), receipt of the 2019 Neuroscience Alumni Award from the University of Rochester, and receipt of the 2018 Children’s National President’s Award for Innovation in Research. In our interview, Nathan shares more about his life and science.

    People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes

    Life Outside of Science (2:42)

    When he’s not working in the lab, Nathan enjoys practicing martial arts. He is a black belt in Seidokan Karate, which includes traditional weaponry as well as kicking, punching, blocking, throwing, and joint-locking techniques. This has been a passion for Nathan since graduate school, and it helps him keep his life in balance.

    The Scientific Side (4:37)

    Nathan is a neuroscientist who studies a type of cell in the brain that helps the brain perform certain tasks like managing blood flow. These cells also help other cells in the brain, such as neurons, communicate with each other. Nathan focuses particularly on interactions between neurons and glial cells in healthy brains and in models of diseases like ADHD, Depression, and epilepsy.

    A Dose of Motivation (8:13)

    “Never let anyone define who you are, because if you do, they will have complete control over you.” – Nathan’s Grandmother

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (10:51)

    Having seen firsthand the devastating impacts of viral heart disease and diabetes on members of his own family, Nathan decided in high school that he wanted to become a cardiologist. He wanted to dedicate his career to helping people and improving their quality of life. After learning about the inspiring story of neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson and reading his book Gifted Hands, Nathan’s interests shifted to neuroscience. Throughout his training, Nathan received support and encouragement from his mother, his grandmother, and a variety of teachers and mentors. His mother in particular always encouraged him to explore his interests and go wherever opportunities were. As a result, Nathan participated in different programs and applied to graduate school at places all over the country. While training at the University of Rochester under the mentorship of Dr. Jonathan Mink, Nathan’s interests in neuroscience were further cemented, and he continues to be fascinated by the brain.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (23:20)

    It is frustrating for Nathan when his grant applications aren’t funded or his papers are rejected by journals, but he tries to be optimistic and treat these experiences as learning opportunities. When Nathan applied for a career development grant award, he thought his application was great the first time he submitted it, but the reviewers rejected it without even discussing it. This was disappointing, but Nathan was not deterred. He revised and resubmitted his application, and the second time it was discussed and scored, but the score wasn’t high enough to receive funding. After his third attempt, Nathan was thrilled to learn that his application was funded. As a scientist, it is important to be persistent in the face of these kinds of challenges.

    A Shining Success! (28:09)

    Earning his PhD in 2013 was one of the most rewarding successes for Nathan. He discovered that he was the first African American to receive a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester, and it was really meaningful to him to be paving the way for others from underrepresented backgrounds. Nathan has enjoyed inspiring people with his story through his mentorship and outreach activities as well.

    Book Recommendations (32:31)

    Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

    Most Treasured Travel (34:35)

    A lot of Nathan’s recent travel experiences have been virtual due to the ongoing pandemic. There was one particularly memorable virtual meeting with a group of students in Wellsville, NY. The students were surprised to see that he was a scientist and a person of color. They asked great questions, and it was really rewarding to talk about his research, the brain, and how they could become scientists too. Afterwards, the students sent Nathan letters and drawings to thank him for visiting, and he was happy to see diversity represented in the scientists that they drew.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (37:06)

    Working to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in science and broadening the image people have of scientists are really important for Nathan. Nathan enjoys being able to help people break the stereotypes they have about what scientists are like through visits with elementary, middle, and high school students. He also likes the reaction he gets when he tells people that he is also a martial artist. In his own lab, Nathan fosters a collaborative and supportive environment. He encourages his students to never be afraid to ask questions, and he makes sure his door is always open to help them however he can. To acknowledge the accomplishments of the lab, Nathan and his trainees go out to lunch to celebrate any victory, big or small.

    Advice For Us All (43:40)

    Don’t be afraid to self-advocate and to ask for what you need to be successful. Also, never let someone else define who you are. Remember, you will have up and down days, but you have to keep moving forward. Use those down days as teachable moments, and don’t give up. Finally, believe in yourself, and be willing to put in the hard work.

    Guest Bio

    Nathan’s research focuses on neuroglia interactions. Specifically, his lab studies how neuromodulators mediate the unique interactions between neurons, astrocytes, and microglia in healthy brains and how disruptions in neuronal-glial crosstalk contribute to ADHD, epilepsy, and insulin resistance. His research program is supported by a National Institutes of Health NINDS K01 Faculty Career Development Award, a National Science Foundation Frontiers Award, the Department of Defense Army Research Award, and the Edward M. Connor Family Endowment for Innovation in Research Award.

    The post 648: Dr. Nathan Smith: Investigating Interactions Between Neurons and Glial Cells in Health and Disease appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    47 min
  • 647: Dr. Louis Schipper: Advancing Microbial Applications in Agricultural Management

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    Dr. Louis Schipper is a Professor in the School of Science at the University of Waikato. He received his undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD degrees in biology from the University of Waikato. Afterward, he accepted a postdoctoral position at the University of Florida before returning to New Zealand to work as a scientist for Landcare Research. Louis joined the faculty at the University of Waikato in 2005. Louis is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America as well as a Fellow of the New Zealand Soil Science Society, and is an author on two patents. In this episode, Louis shared more about his life and science.

    People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes

    Life Outside of Science

    Louis likes to spend his free time with his family. He and his wife are involved in Cub Scouts with their two kids, and they enjoy getting outdoors, hiking, and camping with the group. Louis also works outside restoring native vegetation and gardening at home.

    The Scientific Side

    Research in Louis’s group focuses on how we can work with the land to achieve the food and other things we need while minimizing negative environmental impacts. To do this he looks at microorganisms in the soil and the cycling of nutrients in soil.

    A Dose of Motivation

    “When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.” by A. A. Milne.

    What Got You Hooked on Science?

    Louis is the first person from his family to go to university but both of his parents were fascinated by science and interested in how the world works. He chose to study biology because he was drawn to the structure and organization that he found in fields like microbiology.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges

    Excited by great success with a small-scale denitrification wall that effectively used microbes in a woodchip and soil medium to reduce the nitrogen in groundwater, Louis was eager to see whether this solution would scale up to a larger denitrification wall. He set off to work on a 120 m long trench filled with soil and sawdust. After much hard work setting it up, they discovered that it wasn’t working as it was supposed to. It took nearly two years for the team to determine why the wall failed, but they were able to identify the causes.

    A Shining Success!

    This idea of building de-nitrification walls with woodchips and soil microbes is in itself a big success. It was a struggle for he and his colleagues to get their ideas taken seriously, but now they are seeing farmers installing the systems and other researchers are digging in to optimizing the function and determining the most appropriate uses for these systems.

    Book Recommendations

    Neuromancer by William Gibson, Fermat’s Last Theorem by Simon Singh

    Most Treasured Travel

    When Louis was doing a postdoc in Florida, he was conducting field work in the wetlands in Florida and Georgia in the Okefenokee Swamp and the Everglades. These wetlands were staggeringly beautiful and there was wildlife everywhere. He recalls one incident in the Everglades where he and a colleague were stuck on a metal boat in the flat swamp as thunderstorms rolled in. They kept calm and sought refuge in the water for a while (likely surrounded by alligators and snakes) before getting back in the boat and riding out to safety. This was definitely a memorable experience.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories

    In Louis’s lab, there is a tradition that lab members have to bake a cake for the group whenever they submit a paper, write a thesis, or have a similar large accomplishment. The cake has to be an abstract for the work that was submitted. There have been some fantastic cakes over the years, including one student who baked their first cake ever to celebrate his thesis defense.

    Advice For Us All

    Don’t become attached to the results of any particular experiment that you do. Also, make it a priority to educate young kids because they are capable of learning science and it is important that they do.

    Guest Bio

    Louis has been interested in understanding how the world worked since he was a young child. Originally trained as a microbial ecologist, he has become particularly keen on determining agricultural management practices that decrease unwanted environmental impacts of productive land use.

    He has helped develop denitrification beds which are large lined holes in the ground filled with woodchips through which water containing nitrate is passed. The nitrate leaks from agricultural fields and these wood chips provide energy to microbes that turn nitrate to harmless nitrogen gas reducing pollutant inputs to streams. Together with colleague, Dave Campbell, he also leads a team of researchers trying to find agricultural practices that remove carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store this carbon long term in the soil. Their team and their research can be found at www.waiber.com. When they publish a paper, the standing rule is to make a cake decorated to summarizes the research: http://waiber.com/research-cake.

    Outside of science Louis and his wife, Angela, have been cub scout leaders starting some 10 years ago when their children began as cubs. Angela is the organizer and Louis makes sure she has enough coffee, food, and shelter to keep the 30 or so cubs excited and learning. The family enjoys long day walks together. Angela has also been involved in developing science resources for schools http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Soil-Farming-and-Science, something they have both been passionate about since their days at University.

    *This episode was originally published on May 11, 2015.

    The post 647: Dr. Louis Schipper: Advancing Microbial Applications in Agricultural Management appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    48 min
  • 646: Dr. Verónica Di Stilio: Examining the Genetic Basis of the Evolution of Plant Innovations

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    Dr. Verónica Di Stilio is a full Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington. She attended the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina where she completed her undergraduate studies in biology, specializing in plant ecology. After graduating, Verónica worked for two years there as a teaching assistant and pollination biologist. Next, she pursued her Ph.D. degree in plant biology at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst). Verónica conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Massachusetts and Harvard University before joining the faculty at the University of Washington in 2003. In this interview, she shares more about her life and science.

    People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes

    Life Outside of Science (2:12)

    When she’s not at work, Verónica enjoys tending to the beautiful flowers in her garden, going on walks with her husband and her dog, cooking, and dancing to music while she cooks.

    The Scientific Side (3:40)

    As a plant evolutionary biologist, Verónica is interested in understanding how the diversity of plant life came to be. In particular, she studies the evolution of plant innovations, like fruits and flowers. She is working to identify how the gene networks for these innovations evolved as well as how specific innovations related to fruits and flowers have evolved.

    A Dose of Motivation (5:21)

    “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

    “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” – Henri Matisse

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (10:23)

    Verónica was interested in so many different things that it was difficult for her to narrow down what to study in college. Since public education for college was free in her home country of Argentina, she was able to study both art and biology. Her enrollment in biology was somewhat serendipitous since she only chose this area of study after one of her friends enrolled. However, Verónica quickly fell in love with biology. She immersed herself in the coursework and got involved with research as an undergraduate student. After finishing her degree, Verónica stayed at the university as a teaching assistant and researcher. To expand her horizons and continue her studies, Verónica decided to apply to graduate schools abroad. After finishing her degree and her first postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), Verónica took a year off to start a family and spend time with her young children. When she was ready to return to academic research, she leveraged her scientific network to find a postdoc position that was a great fit. The transition back to a career in science wasn’t without challenges, but Verónica’s passion for her research kept her motivated and inspired her to persevere.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (17:34)

    Last November, the large freezer (-80°C) in Verónica’s lab broke without warning. Normally an alarm would go off, but for some reason, even the alarm malfunctioned. Verónica was in the middle of overseeing an exam for one of her classes of about 50 students when one of her colleagues burst into the room to tell her that the freezer had completely thawed. This freezer contained almost 20 years worth of valuable research samples, and there was nothing Verónica could do. Even though it felt like her world (or at least her career) was ending, she had to stay in the classroom for another hour while students finished their exam. A lot of the plants that had been stored in the freezer were ruined, and she now had to quickly buy a new freezer. However, rather than view this situation as a complete loss, Verónica took this opportunity to sort and clean out her collection of samples and make a plan to be more judicious about what she kept going forward.

    A Shining Success! (20:00)

    Verónica received a Fulbright Scholar Award to travel to Argentina on sabbatical from 2019 – 2020. This was a wonderful opportunity to visit her home country and get back to doing fieldwork. Earlier in her career, Verónica was a pollination biologist, and she spent a lot of time doing field research. Over the years, her focus shifted to more comparative, laboratory-based work where she wasn’t out collecting and studying wild plants. In this sabbatical, Verónica enjoyed spending time in a beautiful remote area of northwest Argentina. They had a fantastic team working on studying the interesting cone structures in a type of flowerless, fruitless plant in the genus ephedra. Based on this work, they were able to submit a grant proposal that was funded, and Verónica is thrilled to have this wonderful collaboration with scientists in her home country.

    Book Recommendations (24:19)

    The Time in Between María Dueñas, Sira by María Dueñas, The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama, Zen Heart: Simple Advice for Living with Mindfulness and Compassion by Ezra Bayda, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain, poems by Emily Dickinson.

    Most Treasured Travel (26:46)

    When Verónica was a graduate student, she had the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica as part of the Tropical Plant Systematics course offered by the Organization for Tropical Studies. As part of the course, they visited tropical forests at a variety of elevations. It was remarkable to see how the plants differed at lower elevations versus higher elevations. The research they conducted there was interesting, and she enjoyed learning from excellent scientists.

    Another especially memorable trip was when she visited China in 2012. She was hosted by a wonderful scientist, and there were some fun opportunities for sightseeing as well. They were able to see pandas up close at one of the breeding facilities, they saw a breathtaking natural forest of rhododendron plants in bloom, and they visited the famous terra cotta soldiers in Xi’An.

    Her more recent travel to conduct field work in Argentina was also unforgettable. They were searching in the Puna grasslands for different species of plants in the genus ephedra to collect for their research. As they looked, they were amazed to see ancient petroglyphs drawn on the ground right next to their plants of interest.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (31:06)

    Despite the logical, rational approach scientists have in their work, many scientists can be a little superstitious. They used to keep a special amulet by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine in the lab, and it was part of their lab lore that having it there would help ensure the DNA in their samples would be amplified successfully. Similarly, many procedures that they do in the lab have a lot of steps and can take a lot of time. If they are able to get the process to work once, they don’t want to change to the protocol at all, even if some of the steps aren’t really necessary. For example, in one of their lab procedures, they always turn off the air conditioning and put out dry ice in an effort to ensure the tissues of their plants are cut optimally.

    Advice For Us All (37:11)

    Keep focused on doing the best possible science. Also, don’t worry about trying to have your path all laid out from the beginning. Be patient with yourself, give yourself time, and carve your own path. Don’t be discouraged, and never give up.

    Guest Bio

    Verónica’s research centers on a discipline known as evolution of development, or “EvoDevo” for short. She integrates comparative morphology, developmental genetics and phylogenetics to investigate how changes in gene expression and function have shaped the evolution of plant development. Her group’s work often involves applying genetic tools to novel plant systems in order to shed light on the evolution of key plant innovations related to flowers and fruits. Her lab is currently applying this common conceptual thread to three such disparate systems: a flowering plant (the best-known type of seed plants, with flowers and fruits), a gymnosperm (a type of seed plant with naked seeds in cones), and a fern (reproducing mainly by spores). Verónica teaches a Plant Evolution lab class that covers all lineages of land plants, from mosses to flowering plants, and a plant evo-devo class, while mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, and postdocs in her laboratory. She also enjoys working with plants outdoors: pruning, weeding, planting, and thinking about landscape design. Veronica’s beloved dog is the only one that can get away with trampling, eating and carelessly destroying her beloved plants while joyfully playing. :)

    The post 646: Dr. Verónica Di Stilio: Examining the Genetic Basis of the Evolution of Plant Innovations appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    42 min
  • 645: Dr. Elizabeth Bonney: Laboring to Understand the Interactions Between Pregnancy and the Immune System

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    Dr. Bonney is a Professor and Director of the Research Division in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Vermont. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and went on to earn her MD from Stanford University. Afterward, Dr. Bonney completed her Residency at Harvard University followed by a Fellowship in Immunology at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bonney served on the faculty at Emory University before joining the faculty at the University of Vermont. She recently received her MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Bonney is a Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and has been awarded the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology Teaching Award. Dr. Bonney joined us to talk more about her life and her work.

    People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes

    Life Outside of Science (2:20)

    Elizabeth is an enthusiastic gardener in her spare time. She has been cultivating carrots, radishes, herbs, mint, and more in her garden.

    The Scientific Side (3:03)

    Dr. Bonney studies the immune systems of pregnant women. She is trying to understand why the female body doesn’t reject the growing baby, even though it carries unfamiliar proteins from the father.

    A Dose of Motivation (4:04)

    “Discipline will set you free.”
    “Science is 90% perspiration and 10% elation when it’s good.”

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (9:58)

    When she was a kid, Elizabeth was an avid bug collector and enjoyed playing with toy cars. She was fascinated by biology and physics from an early age. In junior high school, Dr. Bonney was immersed in languages, learning Latin, German, Spanish, and French. Her father persuaded her to pursue biological sciences in college, and she started off as a pre-med major, but soon switched to engineering.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (22:40)

    One frustration in science that Dr. Bonney has encountered is when she does an experiment and another research group does the same experiment, but they get two different answers. The groups may bicker a lot about who did what wrong to try to explain the different results. The reality is that they likely did not do exactly the same experiment and they just have to sort out what was different.

    A Shining Success! (25:55)

    Dr. Bonney considers some of her most important successes to be the people she has helped along the way. For example, she worked very hard to help a particular student who was really struggling, and when this person graduated, Elizabeth was asked to hood the student in the ceremony. This was a really rewarding experience, and she enjoys being able to mentor students as part of her career.

    Book Recommendations (28:40)

    The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, This is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz, Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent by Eduardo Galeano, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

    Most Treasured Travel (30:40)

    Elizabeth loved the trip she was able to take to La Réunion, a French island off the coast of Madagascar. There was a great meeting there where researchers were discussing preeclampsia, a condition in pregnant women. The people were wonderful there, and she enjoyed having the opportunity to speak French.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (32:30)

    When Dr. Bonney was in medical school, they had a lot of fun with their strong work hard, play hard lifestyles. She and her cohort would get up early, go into lab, work until 10 pm, go out and party until 3 or 4 am, and then be back in the lab the next day.

    Advice For Us All (36:30)

    Take Care of Yourself.

    Guest Bio

    The overall goal of the Bonney laboratory is to determine if pregnancy changes the rules by which the immune system is regulated.  The Bonney laboratory uses mouse models to determine the regulation of immunity during pregnancy and champions the idea maternal immune suppression is not critical to successful pregnancy.  Her laboratory also seeks to uncover the immune system-related factors that prevent premature birth and has contributed to the idea that T cells are part of a regulatory loop that may be deficient in this disease. The recent focus of her laboratory has been the regulation of T cell homeostasis during pregnancy and the particular role of cytokines such as interleukin 15, 7 and 10 and molecules such as Fas and Programmed Death 1. Further, she is interested in the role T cell homeostasis plays in resistance to preterm birth, persistent viral (lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus) infection in the placenta, the vascular biology of pregnancy, and the post-partum susceptibility to autoimmune disease. In addition, she seeks to determine the role of T cell homeostasis in adverse pregnancy in humans.  With members of the Vermont Center for Immunology, Dr. Bonney is also studying neonatal immunity to influenza. Her laboratory is adept with the use of animal models and basic techniques in immunology. Dr. Bonney has served as an ad hoc member on both the Human Embryology and the Cellular and Molecular Integrative Reproduction Study Sections and was a standing member of the Infectious Diseases, Reproductive Health, Asthma and Pulmonary Conditions Study Section.  She remains active in clinical medicine and enjoys delivering babies and helping women with pelvic pain.  She has been awarded grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the March of Dimes.  Over the years, Dr. Bonney has mentored over forty trainees from undergraduates to junior faculty.  As a woman of color she is quite aware of the obstacles faced by minority and women scientists and has consistently served as a role model, sounding board and advisor with the intent to help these scientists overcome these obstacles. She is fond of asking “What’s the story?” and enjoys her garden and long walks.

     

    *This episode was originally published on July 10, 2015.

    The post 645: Dr. Elizabeth Bonney: Laboring to Understand the Interactions Between Pregnancy and the Immune System appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    40 min

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