People Behind the Science Podcast

By Dr. Marie McNeelyScience

People Behind the Science Podcast episodes

May 10, 2021 604: Dr. Kay Davies: Not Wasting Any Time in Search of Genetic Treatments for Muscular Dystrophy
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Professor Dame Kay Davies is the Dr. Lee’s Professor of Anatomy in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics and Director of the MRC Functional Genomics Unit at the University of Oxford. She is also the Honorary Director of the MRC Functional Genomics Unit, a deputy chairman of the Wellcome Trust, and Executive Editor of the journal Human Molecular Genetics. Kay is also a co-founder of a biotechnology company and is a director of another. She completed her undergraduate studies at Somerville College and served as a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College in Oxford. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Saclay Nuclear Research Center, and went on to serve as a research fellow at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School and John Radcliffe Hospital and then as a faculty member at John Radcliffe Hospital and the University of London before joining the faculty at Oxford. Kay has received many awards and honors during her career, and to name just a few, she was elected as a founding Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society. She was also named Commander of the Order of the British Empire and then Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Kay is also an Honorary Fellow of Sommerville College, and had the honor of giving the inaugural Rose lecture at Kingston University in 2012 and the Harveian Oration at the Royal College of Physicians in 2013. In our interview, Kay tells us more about her journey through life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:54)
When she’s not working, Kay loves taking walks in the English countryside, listening to classical music, and playing the piano.
The Scientific Side (3:34)
In her research, Kay uses genetics techniques to help find effective treatments for muscular dystrophy. Much of her work has focused on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a severe and progressive muscle wasting disease that primarily affects males.
A Dose of Motivation (4:42)
Be tenacious and patient.
What Got You Hooked on Science? (7:00)
Thinking back to her early years in school, Kay has always been fascinated by mathematics. Her mother was passionate about gardening and biology, and she was an important influence and source of support for Kay. During high school, Kay had an exceptional chemistry teacher, and this experience guided her towards chemistry in college. She attended the University of Oxford where her faculty members encouraged her to push herself intellectually and to pursue what most interested her. Kay’s forays in genetics didn’t begin until she traveled to Paris as a postdoctoral fellow. At that time, DNA sequencing was just beginning, and it was thrilling to talk to people in the lab about all of the possible applications and implications of this technology.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (14:17)
For Kay, one of the most challenging times in her career was when her son was born. Prioritizing her family was really important, but it was a struggle to juggle everything. After about two to three years as a mom, Kay suddenly realized that she could do it. Confidence, mentorship, and passion for her work were really important for helping Kay get through this tough time. Another difficult period in her career was when she moved to London to accept a new position. After a variety of challenges, Kay ended up resigning from her position. This situation taught her the importance of taking time to think things through and making sure not to let emotions impact her decision making.
A Shining Success! (18:46)
In 1988, Kay and her colleagues discovered a protein that is very similar to dystrophin, the protein missing in people with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. She’ll never forget this series of events. They were surprised when one of her colleagues came into the lab and revealed that the gene for this protein wasn’t on the X chromosome as they were expecting since the disease primarily affects males. A friend and fellow researcher was visiting the lab and brought the protein back to New Zealand with her to sequence. Kay was overjoyed when her friend sent her a message about how incredibly similar this protein was to dystrophin. This moment was a major turning point and the beginning of their work developing new approaches to screen for and potentially treat muscular dystrophy.
Book Recommendations (20:49)
Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
Most Treasured Travel (21:45)
Paris will always hold a special place in Kay’s heart. This is the city where she was introduced to genetics, and she had a wonderful time during her postdoctoral fellowship there. Everyone worked really hard in the lab, but they also had a lot of fun. In the winter, they would travel to the mountains by coach on a Friday after work, ski all day Saturday and Sunday, and be back in the lab on Monday morning. During these weekend getaways, they had fun and got inspired discussing science. In addition, Kay has a great appreciation for the language, literature, and art in Paris.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (24:25)
Many of the labs in Scotland that Kay has interacted with have a tradition of going out for drinks together on Friday afternoons. These outings provide excellent opportunities to chat with other scientists in a different environment. Similarly, when they were planning spaces in the building that Kay works in, they installed a table tennis table because they wanted people to have a place to gather. This would bring together people from statistics, molecular biology, physiology, and other areas to talk and get to know each other. They held table tennis competitions on Friday nights, and it was a perfect year-round tradition there.
Advice For Us All (28:18)
Focus on your strengths and what you can offer in your work. Also, never give up and never feel bitter about your failures or how others treat you. Just move on. There are many great things to do, and it’s best to move on to the next thing instead of dwelling on negative experiences.

This episode was originally published on August 20, 2014.
The post 604: Dr. Kay Davies: Not Wasting Any Time in Search of Genetic Treatments for Muscular Dystrophy appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
33 min
May 03, 2021 603: Dr. Charles Cockell: Exploring Extreme Environments and the Emergence of Life
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Dr. Charles Cockell is a Professor of Astrobiology in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh and Director of the UK Centre for Astrobiology. In addition, he is the Founder and Chair of the Earth and Space Foundation and also the Co-Founder, current Board Member, and Past President of the Association of Mars Explorers. Charles has also been elected as an International Fellow of the Explorers Club. He did his undergraduate training in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Bristol University and received his PhD in Molecular Biophysics from the University of Oxford. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Edinburgh, Charles was a National Academy of Sciences Associate with NASA, a visiting Scholar at both Stanford University and the University of Arizona, a Research Scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, and also Professor of Geomicrobiology at Open University. In this episode, Charles discusses, his life, science, and more.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science
One of Charles’s favorite things to do when he’s not at work is go walking out in the hills and wilderness. It’s a great way to clear his mind and enjoy the outdoors.
The Scientific Side
He is trying to understand how life has emerged and has persisted on our planet.
A Dose of Motivation
What are we doing on this planet? Charles is motivated by understanding how civilization came to be and how our civilization will continue, including whether we will become a space-faring civilization.
What Got You Hooked on Science?
In his early years, Charles was known collecting insects in the garden and was generally interested in exploring the natural world. The spirit of exploration was really ingrained in him during his time at boarding school. The library at school had a big portrait of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton who were both inspiring explorers. Charles remembers getting lost in books on early exploration and the Apollo space program and drumming up all sorts of exciting scientific ideas.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges
Early in his career, Charles struggled to find positions that would pay him to do the research he was passionate about. After finishing his PhD, Charles got a postdoctoral fellowship with NASA Ames Research Center, which was a dream come true. Once that position was over, he couldn’t find a permanent job in the field, so he had to take on temporary positions for a while before things really fell into place.
A Shining Success!
Building new projects and getting people interested in them is something Charles really enjoys about science. In particular, he really enjoys teaching and seeing students become inspired by science. It has been rewarding to have undergraduate students take his astrobiology courses and then tell him they have decided that this is something they want to do for their career.
Book Recommendations
The Science of Liberty: Democracy, Reason, and the Laws of Nature by Timothy Ferris
Most Treasured Travel
Charles has fond memories of a trip to Indonesia where he was flying a specially designed ultralight aircraft over the rainforests of Sumatra to catch moths. This was his own invention, conceived after conventional moth catching methods failed on previous excursions. The views were absolutely breathtaking, and he really enjoyed being able to see the pristine rain forests from the ground as well as the air. Charles ended his ultralight pilot days after a crash landing that he was lucky to walk away from.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories
What started as a candid conversation in a pub among friends about how they wished Britain was more involved with Mars exploration led to Charles becoming a parliamentary candidate for the Forward to Mars Party in 1992. He was running against the current Prime Minister, among other candidates. Charles has fantastic memories of Town Hall meetings where they all answered questions from the public, and he was able to have fun adding his own Mars exploration spin to his responses.
Advice For Us All
Pursue your ambitions and your dreams with tenacity and perseverance, regardless of what people think.
Guest Bio
Charles’s academic interests encompass life in extreme environments, the interactions of microbes with minerals and the implications for earth system processes and the habitability of extraterrestrial environments. He sits on ESA’s Planetary Protection Working Group. He is a Senior Editor of the journal, Astrobiology. Popular science books include Impossible Extinction (CUP), which explores the tenacity of microbes on the Earth, and Space on Earth (Macmillan) which looks at the links between environmentalism and space exploration. He is Chair of the Earth and Space Foundation, a non-profit organization he established in 1994 and was first Chair of the Astrobiology Society of Britain.

This episode was originally published on March 4, 2015.
The post 603: Dr. Charles Cockell: Exploring Extreme Environments and the Emergence of Life appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
51 min
April 26, 2021 602: Dr. Rachel Wong: A Researcher with an Eye for Great Science Studying Retinal Cell Rewiring After Damage
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Dr. Rachel Wong is a Professor in the Department of Biological Structure at the University of Washington. She received her PhD in Vision Neuroscience from Australian National University. Afterward she served as a Research Associate at the National Vision Research Institute of Australia. Rachel then conducted postdoctoral research as a CJ Martin Fellow at Stanford University and then an RD Wright Fellow at the Vision, Touch, and Hearing Research Centre. She served on the faculty Washington University in St. Louis before joining the faculty at the University of Washington. In this interview, Rachel shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science
Rachel has a passion for music, and she is currently spending her free time learning to play the violin! She also likes to spend time with her lab members because they have become like family to her.
The Scientific Side
In her lab, Rachel is working to understand how neural circuits in the retina (the light-sensitive part of our eye) are assembled during our development and how they can be repaired or rewired in disease.
A Dose of Motivation
“Procrastination is the thief of time.” – Edward Young
What Got You Hooked on Science?
Rachel was always a curious kid. When she was in secondary school in Malaysia, she remembers bringing in random things to study under the microscope during her lunch break, especially things she would find in the creek near her house.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges
Not getting the renewal of her first NIH grant was a devastating failure for Rachel. During this difficult time she was unsure if her career in science could go on. She tells us how she was able to get back on track and be successful.
A Shining Success!
Rachel really enjoys seeing a project come to fruition and writing the paper. She also is excited about supporting and training the next generation of scientists.
Book Recommendations
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith
Most Treasured Travel
A recent trip to Israel was really memorable for Rachel because considering the thousands of years of civilization that have come through cities like Jerusalem really provided her perspective on her life and science. The discoveries they have made are exciting but really small in the context of the history of mankind.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories
The Wong Lab loves to eat, and food is a big discussion topic for their group. Rachel and her lab members often go to dinner or cook together, as well as bring food in to share. One of her previous lab members taught them all how to make udon from scratch using some seemingly unconventional methods!
Advice For Us All
We should not be limited by our current knowledge or expertise.
Guest Bio
Rachael has been fascinated by microscopy ever since she was in secondary school in Malaysia. In high school, she became interested in Physics and Medicine, and moved to Australia for undergraduate studies where she obtained a B.Sc (Hons) in Physics in 1981. In her Honors year, Rachel had the opportunity to develop her own ‘interdisciplinary’ project, using X-ray and Neutron scattering methods to study the structure of blood cell membranes from patients with Muscular Dystrophy. She became totally enthralled by research and pursued graduate studies at the John Curtin School of Medical Research at the Australian National University, where she obtained a PhD in Vision Neuroscience in 1986. There, Rachel gained a passion for studying the development of the retina, the light sensitive part of our eye. After postgraduate studies at the National Vision Research Institute in Melbourne, she was supported by an NH&MRC C.J. Martin Fellowship at Stanford University. Rachel returned to the Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Center (University of Queensland) as an R.D. Wright Fellow. In 1994, she joined the faculty at the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University in St. Louis, until relocating to the Department of Biological Structure at the University of Washington, Seattle, in 2006. Throughout her career, she has applied and developed microscopy techniques to investigate the cellular behaviors and interactions that underlie the precise connectivity patterns of retinal neurons. Current efforts in Rachel’s lab are focused on elucidating how retinal cells can regain their proper circuitry after damage in disease.

This episode was originally published on November 12, 2014.
The post 602: Dr. Rachel Wong: A Researcher with an Eye for Great Science Studying Retinal Cell Rewiring After Damage appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
34 min
April 19, 2021 601: Dr. Amanda Therrien: Sensorimotor Neuroscientist Studying the Cerebellum’s Role in Motor Control
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Dr. Amanda Therrien is an Institute Scientist and Director of the Sensorimotor Learning Laboratory at Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI). Amanda received her B.Sc. in Human Kinetics from the University of Ottawa and her Ph.D. in Kinesiology, specializing in sensorimotor neuroscience, from McMaster University. Before accepting her current position at MRRI, Amanda conducted postdoctoral research at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. In our interview, Amanda shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (1:56)
Running, knitting, gardening, reading, and cooking are some of Amanda’s favorite ways to spend her time when she’s not doing science. She loves exploring new places through running, and she’s often knitting her way through her next hat or sweater during TV time.
The Scientific Side (5:30)
As a sensorimotor neuroscientist, Amanda studies how the brain integrates incoming sensory information with motor commands to control body movements. Her research examines how damage to particular areas of the brain may disrupt our control of movement, and what interventions may help improve movement control in clinical populations.
A Dose of Motivation (6:55)
“Essentially, all models are wrong, but some models are useful.” – George Box
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein
What Got You Hooked on Science? (10:33)
Looking back, it never occurred to Amanda that she would become a scientist. None of her family members were scientists, and she didn’t have a sense of what a career as a researcher would entail. However, as part of her undergraduate honors thesis, she completed a study on cerebellar ataxia in the Motor Control Lab at the University of Ottawa, and she really enjoyed it. At that time, Amanda’s plan was to either go to medical school or teacher’s college after graduation. With the major recession in 2008, these kinds of professional programs substantially reduced admissions, and Amanda wasn’t sure if trying to apply at that time was the best choice. An opportunity arose to become a master’s degree student working with her honor’s thesis advisor, and Amanda accepted. After the first year of her master’s degree, Amanda transferred into a PhD program. As the end of her doctoral training approached, Amanda knew she liked doing research and had many more questions she wanted to answer as an independent investigator.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (19:52)
Amanda started her position at MRRI towards the end of 2019, just a few months before the pandemic spread across the United States and around the world. Navigating the transition from a postdoc to an independent investigator is difficult, but doing this during a pandemic has added even more challenges to navigate. In particular, submitting grant applications is key for early career scientists, but collecting pilot data for grant applications has been hindered by the pandemic. It’s been difficult both personally and professionally, but Amanda has found it helpful to reflect on why she does research and to remember that she has accomplished many things along her journey to get to this point.
A Shining Success! (23:12)
When starting a new research lab, there is a steep learning curve. There was a short period after launching her lab where Amanda felt like her flow of creative ideas had stopped, and this was tough. Recently, she has noticed that her creativity has been coming back. Amanda has been able to develop new collaborations and lines of research that she is really excited about. In particular, Amanda is beginning work on a new line of research in collaboration with Aaron Wong at MRRI to investigate proprioception (our sense of where parts of our body are in space). Proprioception is critical for motor learning, and their work will focus specifically on dynamic proprioception (how we sense where parts of our body are in space while they are moving).
Book Recommendations (3:31)
Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephen Jay Gould, Conversations with Myself by Nelson Mandela
Most Treasured Travel (26:14)
In 2019, Amanda was co-chair for a pre-meeting of the Gordon Research Conference on the cerebellum. Gordon Research Conferences are small meetings that bring together scientists from all over the world who are all focused on a very specific research topic. Attendees are together non-stop for about a week, and all of the presenters share their newest data and freshest ideas. It is an intense but thrilling experience. That year, the conference was held in the picturesque town of Les Diablerets in Switzerland, and the experience was surreal. From the conference venue, there were incredible views of the Swiss Alps. Amanda was also able to visit friends and colleagues in Lausanne, Zurich, and Belgium during this trip which made it particularly memorable. In Zurich, they did a float trip down the river in the middle of the city, stopping at pubs and restaurants along the way.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (30:36)
In the lab where Amanda was a postdoc, they had a fantastic tradition called “Park Day”. They picked a day in spring or early summer where everyone in the lab took the day off, met in a nearby park, and had fun. Each year, they played games, made a barbecue lunch, and competed in teams in an obstacle course race. It was a great way to bond as a group outside of work.
Advice For Us All (37:28)
The data is the data. After spending so much time doing background reading, coming up with meaningful research questions, developing hypotheses, and designing valid experiments to test the hypotheses, it can be difficult not to let emotions or subjectivity work their way into data collection or analyses. However, it is important to remain agnostic. Keep an open mind, and don’t be afraid or upset if the result is unexpected. Unexpected results are often the most fascinating and fruitful. Also, it’s important to study something you fundamentally find interesting. Your passion is key to getting you through the tough times, so stick with it.
Guest Bio
Amanda’s research aims to understand how ascending sensory information is combined with descending motor commands to generate accurate, coordinated movement. Her work primarily focuses on understanding how a brain structure, called the cerebellum, participates in this process. Her work strives to leverage precise knowledge of mechanisms of cerebellar control of movement to optimize rehabilitation interventions for individuals with cerebellar damage. Outside of work, Amanda loves to clear her head with a long run or by getting her hands dirty in her little city vegetable garden. She’s also an avid knitter and always has a new sweater, hat, or blanket on the go.
The post 601: Dr. Amanda Therrien: Sensorimotor Neuroscientist Studying the Cerebellum’s Role in Motor Control appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
42 min
April 12, 2021 600: Dr. Jess Adkins: Seeking Clues to Climate Change Using Deep Sea Corals
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Dr. Jess Adkins is a Professor of Geochemistry at California Institute of Technology. He received his PhD in Chemical Oceanography from MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He then completed postdoctoral fellowships at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and at the University of Minnesota before joining the faculty at Caltech. Jess has received many awards and honors during his career, including the Houtermans Medal from the European Association of Geochemistry, the Ruth and Paul Fye Best Paper Award from MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Organic Geochemical Division of the Geochemical Society Best Paper Award. Jess 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
When he’s not at work, you can find Jess coaching his kids soccer teams, hiking in the mountains near Los Angeles, and cooking with his wife.
The Scientific Side
Jess is an oceanographer who studies the history of the earth’s climate. He is working to understand the inner workings of the earth’s climate system by studying long-term shifts in climate that are documented in the chemical, biological, and geological records of the deep sea.
A Dose of Motivation
He gets inspiration from art, including the picture by René Magritte Ceci n’est pas une pipe, also his favorite painting Las Meninas by Velasquez. He also likes to apply the quote “When life gives you lemons, you’ve got to make lemonade.
What Got You Hooked on Science?
In high school, Jess had superb chemistry and math teachers. He was planning on majoring in math in college, but was instead captivated by his courses in chemistry. After graduation, he was hesitant about graduate school or jobs in chemistry because he didn’t want an isolated, indoor job. He accepted a serendipitous invitation for a lab technician position at UC Santa Barbara where he would be close to the ocean and the mountains (and also play ultimate frisbee). This is how his career began.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges
One of his bigger failures happened in graduate school when he started working on deep sea corals. It hadn’t really been done it yet, but there was a wealth of information available. So, he started measuring things in deep sea corals that could give information on past climates. None of them worked. He had to take a step back and think about the tracers and correlations he was seeing, and this actually turned into a whole new area of study for the lab.
A Shining Success!
Earlier, Jess proposed a theory of potential energy storage in the deep ocean that could relate to climate change if the water was dense because it was salty (rather than dense because it was cold). This past spring they published a paper in Nature where they tested this theory for the first time. They developed a new chemical tracer thermometer for deep sea corals to confirm that thousands of years ago, the North Atlantic Ocean did have warm water under cold water.
Book Recommendations
Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner
Most Treasured Travel
Recently, Jess was thrilled by his trip to Israel. Geopolitically, he found it a really interesting place to visit. He and his wife had an opportunity to go to Jordan specifically to Petra which is where part of Indiana Jones – Raiders of the Lost Arc was filmed. This had been really high on his list of places to visit for a long time and it was spectacular!
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories
Jess shares a fantastic story about bad weather at sea during a trip where the pressure was high to get data collected in time for his tenure cycle. While they were stuck out at sea waiting out the storm, a crew member noticed Jess’s Medusa medallion on his computer and superstitiously demanded that they get it off the ship to stop the bad weather. They got everyone together for a grandiose sendoff for the medallion that involved hair, gasoline, and fire! Believe it or not, the sea was calm the next day!
Advice For Us All
It’s important to enjoy getting up every morning and going to work. Sometimes being excited about the big questions isn’t enough. You need to also be happy doing the process so try to find a job that is a good fit for how you want to spend your everyday.
Guest Bio
Jess is a chemical oceanographer interested in using trace metals as tracers of environmental processes. Most of his current work is centered around the geochemical investigation of past climates. He is primarily concerned with the last few glacial/interglacial cycles that span a few hundred thousand years. It is in this time range that we have both a relatively accurate and precise understanding of age models (though they are always improving) together with large climatic shifts that require mechanistic explanation. In particular, we have an amazing record of the rapidity and magnitude of climate change from polar ice cores. The last 10,000 years, the Holocene, is marked by relative climatic stability when compared to the preceding glacial period where there are large and very fast transitions between cold and warm times. As an oceanographer, Jess tries to understand the coupled ocean/atmosphere system during these shifts by monitoring the deep ocean’s behavior. Much of his work to date has focused on developing a new climate archive, deep-sea corals, that has the potential to revolutionize the types of information we can obtain about oceanographic climate change. He has several projects currently underway in his laboratory that are related to better understanding the mechanisms of rapid climate change and climate evolution.

This episode was originally published on December 24, 2014.
The post 600: Dr. Jess Adkins: Seeking Clues to Climate Change Using Deep Sea Corals appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
51 min
April 05, 2021 599: Dr. Herbert Geller: Growing Excitement for Research in Potential Treatments for Spinal Cord Injury
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Dr. Herbert Geller is a Senior Investigator in the Developmental Neurobiology Section and Head of the Office of Education at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. He received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and conducted postdoctoral research afterward at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Herbert served on the faculty at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School for over 30 years before joining the NIH. He is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and he 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
When he’s not busy in the lab, Herbert stays active with running, skiing, and gardening. We also discovered that he is quite handy and has been hard at work repairing and restoring his old house.
The Scientific Side
The Geller lab investigates why people don’t recover from central nervous system injuries including spinal cord injuries. They are working on developing potential treatments that will help people recover function after spinal cord injury, particularly focusing on how to inhibit the stop signals in the brain that prevent cells from regenerating after injury.
A Dose of Motivation
If you’re not falling, you’re not trying hard enough. Also, don’t waste your emotional energy on things you can’t control.
What Got You Hooked on Science?
Herbert has always been interested in how things worked, and this is what originally motivated him to go to school for engineering. His fascination with research started after working for a summer in the Rockefeller University electronics lab as an undergraduate. First-hand exposure to the impressive visual system research of Keffer Hartline (who would later be awarded the Nobel Prize!) was a big inspiration.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges
There was a specific technique that Herbert wanted to learn during his sabbatical, and he selected a great lab to work with where he was sure he could get the skills he sought. When he got there, the lab had moved on and they were no longer interested in that particular technique. He was distressed at his predicament, but a discussion with the lab leader led him down a completely different path that has enabled him to make the exciting discoveries their group is making today!
A Shining Success!
Herbert and his colleagues have discovered an enzyme that appears to inhibit the stop signals that prevent neuron regeneration. This is particularly exciting because it is already an approved drug for use in people for other purposes. With enough preliminary evidence, their discovery could move straight into use in people and really have an impact on people’s lives!
Book Recommendations
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, any book by Primo Levi, any book by Robertson Davies, any book by Jonathan Safran Foer
Most Treasured Travel
Two locations really left a lasting impression on Herbert since he was able to spend a fair amount of time in each. He spent a sabbatical in London and really enjoyed science and culture. In particular, he has fond memories of the phenomenal theater scene there. He also was in Japan for a while doing research. The culture and the energy of the people and the cities there were memorable.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories
Herbert likes to incorporate food into his lab culture, making sure to always keep snacks handy at lab meeting because he believes a hungry researcher is not a happy researcher. There is a big jar of jelly beans in his office as well and lab members can always visit for a sweet snack
Advice For Us All
Don’t follow the crowd.
Guest Bio
Herbert is interested in fostering the career development of young scientists as well as promoting recovery of function following brain and spinal cord injuries. At present, there are no approved therapies for treating spinal cord injuries, which produce damage to axons that transmit information to and from the brain. These damaged axons do not regrow, due to the absence of signals that promote growth and the presence of other molecules that actively impede growth. His research demonstrated that a class of molecules in the extracellular matrix, called chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, have a major role in impeding growth, and that these actions can be attributed to the sulfated chondroitin sugars attached to the protein core of the molecule. His group was the first to identify a novel sulfation motif within chondroitin sulfate and has developed a potential therapy for spinal cord injury using a drug that specifically targets this motif. More recently, his group participated in the identification of novel neuronal receptors for proteoglycans.

This episode was originally published on January 21, 2015.
The post 599: Dr. Herbert Geller: Growing Excitement for Research in Potential Treatments for Spinal Cord Injury appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
43 min
March 29, 2021 598: Dr. Anna Frebel: Conducting Research on Old Stars that has Universal Appeal
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Dr. Anna Frebel is the Silverman Family Career Development Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She received her PhD from the Australian National University’s Mt. Stromlo Observatory for which she was awarded the Charlene Heisler Prize for the best Australian astronomy PhD thesis of 2006. Afterward, Anna was awarded the McDonald Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Texas, Austin and went on to receive the Clay Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics before joining the faculty at MIT. Anna and her research have been recognized with the Ludwig-Biermann Young Astronomer Award of the German Astronomical Society, the Annie Jump Cannon Award of the American Astronomical Society, and a National Science Foundation CAREER award. She was also named a Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences. In this interview, Anna shares more about her journey through life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science
Anna loves spending time with her family and young son in her free time.
The Scientific Side
As an astrophysicist, Anna spends her time working with students, reviewing and analyzing data on the computer, and occasionally traveling to telescopes for observing time. Her research focuses on identifying and studying some of the oldest stars in the universe using chemical analyses.
A Dose of Motivation
While Anna doesn’t have a particular motivational quote, she is really motivated to do her work. She has always wanted to be an astronomer and is truly fascinated by stars. Another thing that keeps her motivated is having a lot of different projects going so there is always something she is excited to work on.
What Got You Hooked on Science?
Even when she was a kid, Anna just had a feeling in her gut that she wanted to study the stars. She kept her dream of becoming an astrophysicist secret for a while because she didn’t want to have to explain herself or defend her choice. Anna took a lot of science classes in high school and was able to connect with some professional astronomers who gave her excellent career advice.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges
Clouds often cause problems for astronomers and astrophysicists. During one observing run, she was working at one telescope while a friend was working at a different telescope. Anna’s friend sent over one star that looked interesting, and it definitely caught her attention. However, she wasn’t able to collect more data on the star because it was too hazy out. After about a year of writing more proposals and collecting more data on the star, she finally had everything she needed.
A Shining Success!
After making it through the challenge described above, it was so exciting to confirm the big discovery that this star was one of the oldest stars they had the ability to measure. Anna knew from the first moment they had found something major, but they needed more data to support it. The discovery made a big splash and was picked up by different media groups. It was fantastic to see the public getting so interested in her work as well.
Book Recommendations
Ich bin dann mal weg: Meine Reise auf dem Jakobsweg by Hape Kerkeling
Most Treasured Travel
Anna lived in Australia during graduate school, and returning to Australia for conferences has been a lot of fun. She recently brought her son with her to Australia for 6 weeks, and it was nice to escape some of the Massachusetts winter there. She loves how the people are warm and friendly, and there is so much to see and do.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories
Anna enjoys having frank discussions about both science and non-science topics with the wonderful people she works with. Being an observational astronomer, you really get to know people because you’re together for long nights at the telescope. Her lab doesn’t really have any quirky traditions, but they do like to get food together on these observing nights. Anna also likes to have a retreat each year where her lab can spend time together.
Advice For Us All
If you think that a particular job is the right job for you, just go and do it. Don’t be afraid to ask for help along the way.
Guest Bio
Anna’s work on the oldest stars and the early Universe continues to attract international attention. She has received numerous international honors and awards for her discoveries and subsequent chemical abundance analyses of the oldest stars and how these stars can be employed to uncover information about the early Universe some 13 billion years ago. Anna has authored more than 70 papers in various journals, including Nature, and enjoys communicating science to the public through public lectures, magazine articles, interviews as well as her popular science book Searching for the oldest stars.

This episode was originally published on June 24, 2015.
The post 598: Dr. Anna Frebel: Conducting Research on Old Stars that has Universal Appeal appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
44 min
March 22, 2021 597: Dr. Jack Schultz: Chemical Compounds as Protectors of Plants!
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Dr. Jack Schultz is a Professor in Plant Sciences and Director of the Bond Life Sciences Center at the University of Missouri. He received his PhD in Zoology from the University of Washington and completed postdoctoral research at Dartmouth College. He was then hired at Dartmouth as a Research Assistant Professor. Jack’s next career move brought him to Penn State University where he remained for 25 years, rising to the rank of Distinguished Professor of Entomology before joining the faculty at the University of Missouri. Jack’s research has been featured by the New York Times, People Magazine, and Time Magazine. Jack 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
Jack loves learning, so it’s not always easy to pull himself away from the science. However, for most of his life, he has been an avid guitarist and really enjoyed playing music professionally and for fun. These days Jack also enjoys photography and landscape gardening.
The Scientific Side
Scientifically speaking, Jack is interested in understanding why insects and other animals don’t consume all of the plants in the world. Current hypotheses propose that other things may be eating insects faster than the insects can eat all the plants and/or the plants are able to fight back. In his research, Jack has examined chemical defenses of plants and also chemical signaling in plants that can be detected by the predators that eat the insects that eat plants.
A Dose of Motivation
“It is what it is.”
What Got You Hooked on Science?
Jack’s parents were both avid outdoors people and he used to go on annual fishing trips with the family. His mom was a bird watcher and enthusiastic natural historian, so she encouraged Jack and his brother to explore nature and be curious about the natural world. Though he started college planning to go to medical school, he struggled in college, and struggled to decide what he should do for a career. An introduction to an influential professor helped Jack chart his path to an outstanding career in science.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges
The lab had been awarded funding from the Defense Advanced Research Program Agency (DARPA) to investigate volatile organic compounds in plants. However, their project was deprioritized and lost funding three weeks before Christmas. Jack was distraught because there were six international postdocs in the lab depending on the grant to fund their positions. Through some skillful negotiation, Jack was able to secure the postdoc positions despite the budge cut and no one had to leave the lab.
A Shining Success!
One of the big successes in Jack’s career was his work on chemical signalling in plants that was picked up by the popular media as “talking plants”. Though there was some overexaggeration in reports from the press, it was an excellent opportunity to communicate his science and have the public really engaged in his work. It also led to opportunities to teach a course on communicating science and a grant that he has received to help train and prepare scientists to communicate their work.
Book Recommendations
The Naturalist on the River Amazons by Henry Walter Bates
Most Treasured Travel
Jack thoroughly enjoyed a trip he took to Argentina. Stepping off the plane in Buenos Aires was a little bizzarre because he saw what looked like a North American Robin, but it was a completely unrelated species of bird. These striking examples of convergent evolution were everywhere and there were many examples of similar-looking animals to what is common in North America despite very different evolutionary histories.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories
They used to joke that you had to be a pretty good musician to join Jack’s lab because he was a talented musician and the lab formed some excellent bands over the years. Their bands would play at departmental parties, conferences, and other occasions.
Advice For Us All
No matter what path you take, if you look closely enough, there are plenty of interesting things to see.
Guest Bio
Jack’s research is in chemical and molecular ecology. He studies how plants detect, identify, and respond to insect attack. This work has been supported continuously by the NSF for over 30 years, with additional support from the USDA, the US Forest Service, and the US Department of Defense. Schultz and colleagues provided one of the first demonstrations that plant chemical defenses can interfere with natural enemies (viruses). Today, genetically-modified plants and commercial biological pesticides are formulated to account for this interference. He was co-discoverer of volatile “communication” by plants, now known to be a central component of plant responses to the environment. With DARPA and NSF support Schultz has continued to investigate potential applications of plant volatile “reports” in precision agriculture, security, and food quality assessment. This research integrates chemistry, physiology, molecular biology, ecology and behavior of plants, insects, viruses, and bacteria. Jack founded the Center for Chemical Ecology at Penn State. In 2007 he became Director of the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center at the University of Missouri, where he leads and develops interdisciplinary research programs with 35 investigators from 12 departments in 6 colleges.
Jack enjoys playing guitar, photography, and ecotravel when not doing research or herding cats.
This episode was originally published on April 22, 2015.
The post 597: Dr. Jack Schultz: Chemical Compounds as Protectors of Plants! appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
49 min
March 15, 2021 596: Dr. Lily Wang: Studying the Science of Sound and How Building Acoustics Affect Performance
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Dr. Lily Wang is a Professor of Architectural Engineering in the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction and the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Faculty Development in the College of Engineering at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She received her PhD in Acoustics from Pennsylvania State University. She then worked as a research fellow in the Department of Acoustic Technology at the Technical University of Denmark before accepting a faculty position at UNL. Lily has received many awards and honors during her career, including the R. Bruce Lindsay Award, the top award given by the Acoustical Society of America to a person under 35 years of age. Lily has also been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award as well as numerous awards from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln for teaching and mentorship.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science
When she’s not in the lab, Lily loves to sing and spend some quality time playing My Little Ponies with her two young daughters.
The Scientific Side
Lily is in the field of architectural acoustics, which helps us understand how sound behaves in buildings, from glamorous concert halls to everyday offices and classrooms.
A Dose of Motivation
“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” – Thomas Edison
What Got You Hooked on Science?
Throughout her whole life, Lily has enjoyed music and singing, but also had a fascination with science. Early on, she was very interested in chemistry, but in her current field, she is able to combine both science and sound!
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges
Some of Lily’s biggest struggles happened in graduate school. There weren’t a lot of people doing research in similar areas so there weren’t many people she could ask questions or brainstorm with. She also had limited access to equipment because she came with her own funding, rather than being funded by large institutions like the U.S. Navy.
A Shining Success!
Lily and one of her students have had great success on a project they are working on related to how the background noise levels of a building affect how well students learn.
Book Recommendations
The Lunar Chronicles Series by Marissa Meyer
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
Most Treasured Travel
Though she goes to many different conferences, Lily really enjoys the Concert Hall Research Group Summer Institute conferences because a small group of experts get to visit different concert halls, listen to excellent performances there together, and talk about the exciting science behind it all.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories
Lily is a member of the eloquently named NAG (Nebraska Acoustics Group), and they host a game night at during each Acoustical Society meeting where they get together and play board games. The gathering has grown considerably over the years, and last time they had an ironic experience with hotel noise complaints against an esteemed group of acoustical scientists!
Advice For Us All
Don’t let success go to your head or failure go to your heart. Also, there is a lot of hard work involved in science careers, but being passionate about what you do makes it easier to put in the hard work!
Guest Bio
Lily’s primary research interests are in room acoustics and noise control. Her recent work has focused on correlating building acoustic conditions to human perception and performance, particularly in office, classroom, and home environments. She is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), a Board-Certified by the Institute of Noise Control Engineering, an ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer, and a recipient of the ASA Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship, ASA R. Bruce Lindsay Award, and ASHRAE Ralph G. Nevins Physiology and Human Environment Award. Recently, Lily served as Vice-President of the ASA for the 2014-17 term.
This episode was originally published on November 7, 2014.
The post 596: Dr. Lily Wang: Studying the Science of Sound and How Building Acoustics Affect Performance appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
47 min
March 08, 2021 595: Dr. Peter Crane: A Botanist Who Rose to Prominence Studying the Evolution and Diversity of Flowering Plants
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Dr. Peter Crane is the Carl W. Knobloch Jr. Dean of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Professor of Botany at Yale University. Peter received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. Afterward, he conducted postdoctoral research at Indiana University and worked for about 17 years at the Field Museum in Chicago, rising from Assistant Curator in Paleobotany to Museum Director. Peter then served as Director and Chief Executive of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He also served as the John and Marion Sullivan University Professor at the University of Chicago before joining the faculty at Yale where he is today. Peter has received many prestigious awards and honors during his career. First and foremost, he was knighted in the United Kingdom in 2004 for his contributions to horticulture and conservation. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences, a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition, Peter has received multiple honorary degrees and fellowships, including an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Cambridge. He was also the recipient of the International Prize for Biology, as well as many other national and international awards. In this interview, Peter shares more about his life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (02:41)
Peter loves to travel and often gets to explore different places in the world as part of his scientific and other professional responsibilities. He enjoys spending time outside and is delighted to be able to work outdoors in the field for his research. When he has time to relax and pick up a book, Peter gravitates towards reading biographies of interesting people.
The Scientific Side (05:45)
Much of Peter’s work has involved studying fossil plants, particularly plants from about 130 million years ago, to find out what they tell us about plant evolution and the evolution of flowering plants. Peter also compares fossil plants to those alive today to understand the relationships between historic and present day plants.
A Dose of Motivation (07:10)
“I view science as successive approximations to the truth.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (09:25)
As a kid, Peter spent a lot of his time outdoors, and his love of plants developed naturally. During high school, his interest in plants and the natural world was further stimulated by wonderful teachers. Peter remembers being inspired by observing plants in the field and also thinking about plants in an archeological context. In university, he continued to receive guidance from fantastic mentors, and many people along his journey have helped Peter become the scientist he is today.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (16:25)
There are times when scientists feel like they are not making any progress and also many times when they feel like they have gone off in the wrong direction. In his early days, Peter took on a massive project trying to synthesize seed plant relationships, and he thought he would never finish. Tenacity and perseverance were key to getting him through difficult times like these.
A Shining Success! (19:17)
When Peter was a postdoc, he studied a 100 million year old fossil plant, and they had difficulty determining the identity of this plant. As he and his colleagues put the pieces together, it became clear that they had solved the puzzle. The ancient plant was closely related to modern plants such as magnolias, and this was a very satisfying discovery. He has had other exciting successes in discovering surprisingly well-preserved flower and plant material from 100-125 million years ago in unexpected places. Peter was recognized with knighthood for his scientific accomplishments, public service, and leadership at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and he describes this honor and the phenomenal experience of attending the ceremony.
Book Recommendations (03:30)
Believer: My Forty Years in Politics by David Axelrod, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell, Gingko: The Tree That Time Forgot by Peter Crane
Most Treasured Travel (24:05)
The most memorable travel experience for Peter was a trip he took with his family to the island of Borneo. There was a wonderful array of plants and animals there. In particular, he was fascinated by the plant life which included pitcher plants, giant rafflesia flowers, many enormous tropical trees. No matter where he has traveled though, there have always been interesting plants. Peter still has a short list of plants, such as the beautiful bristlecone pine and the carnivorous cobra lily, that he has yet to see in the wild during his travels.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (27:34)
Peter and his colleagues always manage to have a lot of fun together. A particularly memorable experience for him was acquiring a huge Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton for the Field Museum. He and others from the museum participated in the exhilarating auction and were thrilled to have emerged as the proud owners of this magnificent specimen. Then they had to figure out what to do with it. They engaged a group of scientists to study the skeleton, reconstructed the dinosaur, and were excited to put it on display at the Field Museum.
Advice For Us All (35:00)
There is great enjoyment in being able to do different things, and sometimes a change can be as good as a rest. A career in science provides a lot of variety and is so much fun. Despite the fact that we’ve been studying the natural world for hundreds of years, there are still so many unanswered questions and many things left to be discovered. It is really inspiring to think that you could be one of the people who makes these discoveries.
Guest Bio
Peter’s work focuses on the diversity of plant life – its origin, fossil history, current status, conservation and use. From 1982 to 1999 he was at the Field Museum in Chicago, and from 1992 to 1999 served as Director with overall responsibility for the Museum’s scientific programmes. From 1999 to 2006 he was Director of The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of the largest, most prestigious and influential botanical gardens in the world. Peter returned to Chicago in 2006 as the John and Marion Sullivan University Professor at The University of Chicago, before being appointed at Yale in 2009. Peter was elected to the Royal Society – the UK academy of sciences in 1998 and was knighted in the UK for services to horticulture and conservation in 2004. He currently serves on the Boards of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the Field Museum, The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Yale-NUS College, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and Wellesley College.
This episode was originally published on September 21, 2015.
The post 595: Dr. Peter Crane: A Botanist Who Rose to Prominence Studying the Evolution and Diversity of Flowering Plants appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
39 min

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