People Behind the Science Podcast

People Behind the Science Podcast

By Dr. Marie McNeelyScience
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People Behind the Science Podcast episodes

  • 514: Dr. Susanne Brander: Examining the Effects of Environmental Stress on Fish and Aquatic Invertebrates

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    Dr. Susanne Brander is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at Oregon State University. Susanne received her B.S. degree in Business Administration from Elizabethtown College, her M.S. degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Johns Hopkins University, and her PhD in Toxicology from the University of California, Davis. Susanne then conducted postdoctoral research at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. She subsequently served on the faculty at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington before joining the faculty at the University of Oregon where she remains today. In our interview, Susanne will tell us more about her life and science.

    People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes

    Life Outside of Science (2:11)

    In her free time, Susanne enjoys hanging out with her two young daughters, hiking, and doing art and science projects at home with them. She also likes running as well as making bowls and coffee cups on her pottery wheel.

    The Scientific Side (3:37)

    Susanne is an ecotoxicologist who studies the effects of environmental stress on wildlife. She particularly focuses on aquatic organisms that live in coastal areas, estuaries, and marine environments. Her research examines how environmental stressors affect organisms’ ability to function, reproduce, grow, and survive. In addition, Susanne assesses the risk of chemicals (e.g. pesticides or pharmaceuticals) in wastewater in terms of how they might affect the health and survival of fish and other invertebrates.

    A Dose of Motivation (4:51)

    For Susanne, motivation comes from her passion for science and a dedication to protecting the environment that has been a driving force since her childhood.

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (8:08)

    When Susanne was about 8 years old, her family moved into a townhouse near a park. This was Susanne’s first opportunity to go off by herself and explore nature. She used to sit by a stream and take notes in her journal about the plants, bugs, and birds she saw. In addition, her family used to spend summer vacations at the Jersey Shore. The coastal and marine habitats piqued her interest, but it took Susanne a while to realize that studying these environments could become her career. Susanne didn’t know any scientists, and upon her parent’s recommendation, she majored in business in college. At first, Susanne thought she might want to go into environmental law, but she quickly realized that wasn’t a good fit. An internship with the Nature Conservancy helped her understand what some of her career options were. During her junior year, Susanne discovered she was interested in biology, and she added biology as a minor. After college, she entered a masters degree program in environmental science and worked as a research assistant on sea turtle projects around the world. Later, Susanne’s time spent working at an environmental consulting firm led to her decide to go to graduate school to advance the kinds of questions she could address with her work.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (19:39)

    For Susanne, one of the challenges with being a scientist who runs her own lab is that a lot of her time is spent answering emails, making budgets, writing grants, purchasing equipment, navigating contracts, and meeting with trainees. This means she doesn’t have much time left at the end of the day to do research herself. Susanne’s students and postdocs are the ones working in the lab, collecting data, and making discoveries. She mostly manages the research projects going on in her lab. To stay connected to the science her group is doing, Susanne makes sure to go out in the field to collect data for at least a few days each summer, attend workshops to stay up-to-date with the latest advances in the field, and go to conferences to share their research with other scientists.

    A Shining Success! (23:39)

    Recently, Susanne’s lab completed an experiment where they looked across three generations of fish for the effects of environmentally relevant pollutants. This was a huge success. Her team managed to get through this ambitious two year long experiment where they exposed the first generation of fish to pollutants and raised subsequent generations without exposure. Through this experiment, they were the first to develop a model for testing multi-generational effects in a saltwater species. Susanne and her lab members weathered the sleepless nights spent wondering if everything was going to work, and it was exciting to see some of their hypotheses supported at the end of the study. The results showed that there were measurable changes with exposure to environmentally relevant levels of pollutants, and that these changes persisted through three generations of fish.

    Book Recommendations (27:43)

    Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

    Most Treasured Travel (30:27) 

    About a year ago, Susanne attended a meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in Rome, Italy. While she was only there for two days, it was an incredible experience. It was fantastic to catch up with colleagues and share her work in a presentation. Afterwards, Susanne hopped on a tour bus and saw some of the sights of Rome. Another wonderful conference was held in Sacramento last year. Though the destination was less exotic, Susanne enjoyed reconnecting and spending time with her amazing toxicology colleagues.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (32:39)

    Though she wasn’t able to attend one of the recent meetings of the Western Society of Naturalists, Susanne enjoyed hearing about one of the entertaining activities in which attendees participated. The conference attendees had to share unusual items that they successfully used in their field research. One group talked about the plastic fencing material they use for quantifying larval fish in marine reserves. Another group explained how they used tofu to attract reef fish to the habitats they created for their experiment and how it ended up wreaking havoc on their study. Though she couldn’t present an example of her own at the conference, Susanne has previously used kitty litter buckets in an estuary to expose fish to water at different distances from a wastewater treatment plant. She drilled holes in the buckets and used foam swimming pool noodles to keep the buckets afloat. Unfortunately, when she returned a week later, the river otters and disassembled and destroyed the pool noodles and ruined the experiment. Currently, Susanne’s lab is preparing to make custom glass well plates for one of their upcoming experiments.

    Advice For Us All (40:32)

    Especially in difficult times, you should remind yourself that you are doing what you are doing for you. It’s not to impress others or to publish more papers. You do the work that you do because you find it important and valuable, and you shouldn’t compare yourself to others. Remember that it is possible to work in a way that aligns with your values and to have a balance in work and life.

    Guest Bio

    The Brander lab’s research encompasses the fields of toxicology, endocrinology, and ecology. It integrates molecular approaches with measurements at the organism and population level. The main focus of Susanne’s lab is on the effects of stressors such as emerging pollutants, plastics, and changing climate on aquatic organisms, but her work spans the links between ecological and human health. Much of her research examines the impact of stressors on fish and aquatic invertebrates. Exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds at an early life stage can cause sex change in fishes, but little is known about how this influences population size or the overall fecundity of a population. Susanne’s research examines how masculinization or feminization of group spawners, such as Menidia species, impacts overall reproductive output. In ongoing work, silversides are being exposed to known endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) to determine effects on gene expression, DNA methylation, fecundity, and sex ratio. Outcomes are being evaluated over three generations to examine the potential for trans-generational effects. In addition, Susanne’s lab recently detected a byproduct of the insecticide fipronil in the eggs and ovaries of blue crab females sampled from regional estuaries. Follow-up studies further examine how fipronil and its byproducts affect growth, gene expression, and reproduction in juvenile crabs. New collaborative work in oysters will examine the potential effects (both positive and negative) of aquaculture in research reserves.

     

    The post 514: Dr. Susanne Brander: Examining the Effects of Environmental Stress on Fish and Aquatic Invertebrates appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    44 min
  • 513: Dr. Nick Haddad: Recovering Rare and Endangered Butterfly Populations through Conservation Corridors and Other Strategies

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    Dr. Nick Haddad is a Professor in Integrative Biology at Michigan State University and a Senior Terrestrial Ecologist at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station. In addition, Nick is the author of the recently released book The Last Butterflies: A Scientist’s Quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature. Nick received his BS in Biology from Stanford University, and he was awarded his PhD in Ecology from the University of Georgia. Afterwards, Nick conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota. Before joining the faculty at Michigan State, University, Nick served on the faculty at North Carolina State University for about 19 years. In our interview, Nick shares more about his life and science.

    People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes

    Life Outside of Science (2:09)

    Outside of work, Nick has been enjoying renovating his home with his wife who is a historic preservationist. Their home was built in 1840, so they have been tackling a wide variety of projects including updating the plumbing and replacing all of the electrical wiring.

    The Scientific Side (5:09)

    Through his research, Nick searches for the rarest butterflies in the world and works to understand what factors cause the decline of these butterflies and what we can do to conserve them.

    A Dose of Motivation (7:48)

    “Man plans, God laughs.” – Yiddish proverb
    “Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.” – Winston Churchill

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (12:24)

    Nick’s love of searching for and collecting rare things started with stamps, coins, and baseball cards when he was a kid. He also grew up with a strong love of the outdoors. This connection with nature started with the summers Nick spent at his grandparents’ farm on an island in the Chesapeake Bay. His grandfather was an academic microbiologist who encouraged scientific curiosity and exploration. Nick had fun running around with his cousins along the shoreline, catching fish, and wading in the water with a net catching crabs. His interests turned towards ecology in college, and his first studies were on birds. Nick was convinced he would continue to research birds in graduate school. However, upon hearing the kinds of questions Nick was interested in studying, his advisor directed him to butterflies. Since then, Nick has been conducting experiments to better understand butterfly ecology and to help conserve and recover populations of endangered butterflies.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (26:51)

    In graduate school Nick worked with the U.S. Forest Service to create a large experiment to test the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on a particular butterfly species. He was especially interested in the role of landscape corridors that connected fragments of habitat. With the help of the U.S. Forest Service, they harvested 100 acres of forest and reserved hundreds of acres of land. In addition, he removed the butterfly’s food plants to set up experimental food plants and grew out thousands of butterflies from eggs to adults so he could release butterflies of known ages. Unfortunately, Nick chose the spicebush swallowtail butterfly for his study, and (he later discovered) this butterfly does not use landscape corridors. At this point, Nick was halfway through graduate school, he and the U.S. Forest Service had invested so much work, and he had nothing to show for it. After briefly considering giving up on graduate school altogether, Nick pivoted his project to include other butterfly species and was able to complete his dissertation research.

    A Shining Success! (31:08)

    The successes that Nick enjoys most are the ones experienced by his students and colleagues. Each year, he mentors students in his lab and also teaches large classes with hundreds of students. Recently, a former student from one of Nick’s large ecology classes contacted him to say thank you and let him know that his class completely changed the trajectory of her career. The student initially thought she wanted to be a veterinarian, but through his class she discovered there were opportunities to work with animals through conservation research. She went on to get a master’s degree studying the biology of pollinators and now has a great position with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service where she also has oversight of an endangered butterfly.

    Book Recommendations (41:16)

    Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, The Last Butterflies: A Scientist’s Quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature by Nick Haddad

    Most Treasured Travel (45:06)

    After finishing college, Nick had the opportunity to work on a project collecting butterflies in Tikal National Park in Northern Guatemala. He was sent there with a tent, a mountain bike to navigate the rough forest trails, and a butterfly net. Though Nick knew very little about butterflies, he was an expert at collecting things, so he did well at the job. After collecting the butterflies, Nick would send them back to experts to identify the species. It was amazing to spend two years living in a tent in a beautiful and remote national park. Later, Nick learned that he found 535 different species of butterflies, three or four of which were entirely new to science. About five years after Nick’s time in the field there, he read in an article that one of the butterflies he discovered was of an entirely new genus!

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (49:43)

    Weekly lab meetings have become a tradition for Nick’s research group. Initially, the group only met on weeks where they had new scientific papers to discuss or new research findings to present. However, since many lab members were out doing field work, this arrangement meant that they might go weeks or months without seeing each other. To help build camaraderie and get the group together more regularly, they started a tradition of having cookie time each week during lab meeting. Even if they don’t have a presentation scheduled or a paper discussion planned, they still get together each week to eat cookies.

    Advice For Us All (56:35)

    You can work a reasonable number of hours each week and be a successful scientist. Keeping this balance is critical for your career and your life. Also, it’s not whether you fall, but how you get up that matters. Failures can help you reorient how you are thinking about or approaching a problem to help you succeed.

    Guest Bio

    There are two overarching themes in Nick’s research. First, all of his work is at the interface of basic science and applied conservation. In addition to population biology of the rarest butterflies, his research includes studies of landscape corridors that create superhighways for plants and animals to increase their diversity, as well as studies in agricultural landscapes across a gradient of land use from conventional agriculture to grasslands. Second, he conducts all of his research within experiments that are two to three decades in duration so far. Restoration experiments for rare butterflies are twenty years old and track population fluctuations on military training lands; the corridor experiment is 35 years old and tracks plant diversity in areas set within pine forest managed by the US Forest Service; and treatments that vary in landuse intensity are thirty years old and are set within an agricultural landscape. Nick’s group has created a website, ConservationCorridor.org, to translate science for land managers and to translate management to scientists. Nick’s hobbies include electrical and plumbing repair; his wife is an historic preservationist and they live in old and fragile homes. He is an avid canoer and spends time each year in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. He loves picking fruit, and so far this year he has picked 27 pounds of cherries; 30 pounds of blueberries; and one hundred pounds of apples.

    The post 513: Dr. Nick Haddad: Recovering Rare and Endangered Butterfly Populations through Conservation Corridors and Other Strategies appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    1 hr
  • 512: Dr. David Berman: Developing New Cancer Treatments Using T Cell Receptor-Based Biologics

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    Dr. David Berman is Head of Research and Development at Immunocore, a leading T cell receptor biotechnology company. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Afterwards, David was awarded his PhD under the mentorship of Dr. Alfred Gilman (Nobel Prize 1994) and his MD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. He completed his Residency in Anatomic Pathology at the National Cancer Institute and a Fellowship in Pathology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. David then began his 10-year tenure at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he held various senior development roles in immuno-oncology. He then spent three years in immuno-oncology leadership positions at MedImmune and AstraZeneca. In our interview, David shares more about his life and science.

    People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes

    Life Outside of Science (2:24)

    Much of David’s time outside of work is spent driving his daughters to their soccer and lacrosse games and watching them play. He also enjoys cycling with his family and thought-provoking solo cycling outings.

    The Scientific Side (3:38)

    David and his team are working on new therapies to train the immune system to recognize and kill cancer. This approach to treating cancer is called immunotherapy. Immunocore is taking a novel approach to immunotherapy by leveraging the mechanisms used by T cell receptors to identify indicators of cancer within cancer cells.

    A Dose of Motivation (6:34)

    “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (11:40)

    David was born in South Africa, and he lived there until he immigrated to the U.S. with his parents when he was 7 years old. David’s parents were both trained as physicians and helped instill a love of science and medicine in him. When David was about 10 years old, his father would give David a white coat, take him on rounds, and introduce him to patients as one of his fellow doctors. David was always terrified that the patients would believe his dad and think he was a doctor too. There was an expectation within the family that David would also pursue a career in medicine. He ultimately decided to get an MD and PhD to combine his love of science and his desire to treat patients.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (20:31)

    In graduate school, David joined Dr. Al Gilman’s lab just three months before Dr. Gilman was awarded the Nobel Prize. The lab was relatively small, and everyone in their group was working on really cool experiments that were generating interesting results. David was the exception. He tried experiment after experiment, and all of them failed or produced meaningless results. He felt incredibly discouraged and began to wonder if research was the right career path for him. About a year later, a visiting scientist presented a fascinating seminar to Dr. Gilman’s lab. David missed the seminar because he was stuck in the lab trying to do yet another experiment that failed. The next day, his labmates were talking about the discovery of a new class of proteins with an unknown mechanism that the scientist had discussed the day before. Everyone wanted to work on this new area of research. David approached Dr. Gilman and asked if he could try to determine the mechanism of the proteins, and Al agreed. Within three months, David successfully identified the mechanism of the proteins. He was able to finish the project before other competing laboratories, publish a few high profile papers, and complete his PhD in only three years. The secret to David’s success was that he had failed so much in that first year that he had learned how to do all the potentially useful techniques and experiments before starting this new and exciting project.

    A Shining Success! (23:40)

    When David started working at Immunocore about 8 months ago, he asked to see the translational biomarker data they had generated for their for their potential immunotherapy treatment for melanoma of the eye. There were a lot of data and many samples from patients collected before and after treatment that were just beginning to be analyzed. This was really exciting because David had spent 18 years working on biomarkers, mechanisms of action, and analysis of patient samples. In his time working on immunotherapies, David had seen many changes in cytokines and T cells after patients received immunotherapy, but he had never been able to link these changes to important outcomes like survival and tumor shrinkage. With the data collected, David and the team were able to determine a mechanism of action for how changes occurred when their therapeutic was administered. They were also able to take it a step further to show that there was a strong association between these changes and patients’ survival and shrinking of their tumors. This was a thrilling win for the team. They are publishing the data now and are looking forward to designing a follow-up prospective study to confirm their findings.

    Book Recommendations (27:24)

    Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott

    Most Treasured Travel (30:20)

    The city of Oxford in the United Kingdom is home to Immunocore’s company headquarters, and David has been fortunate to visit the city frequently. Oxford is incredibly beautiful and historic. While visiting the old colleges there, you stumble across plaques from the 1500s and 1600s, and there is remarkable scientific history tied to this city. For example, one of the blackboards used by Einstein during a lecture has been preserved for visitors to admire. Chicago is another city that holds many fond memories for David. Every year the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) holds a conference in Chicago, and it is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends in the field and enjoy excellent scientific discussions.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (33:08)

    During college at MIT, David worked as an undergraduate researcher in a lab on campus. It was a tradition for the scientists there to participate in a weekly beer hour on Friday where they would catch up, talk about what they were working on, and share ideas. This informal gathering was great for developing new ideas, sparking interesting science, and building camaraderie. The weekly social event was important enough that everyone took time away from their busy work to participate. Currently at Immunocore, company employees participate in a variety of group volunteer activities to spend time getting to know each other and supporting their local communities.

    Advice For Us All (38:56)

    When you are looking to make a career decision, never make it based on power, the number of people who will report to you, your title, or the pay/compensation. Those reasons may sound good, but they are the wrong reasons to choose a new job. You should choose your job based on what is personally important for you in your career. Also, it is important to treat everyone in your workplace with respect and to make sure they feel like they are part of the journey towards achieving the organization’s mission.

    Guest Bio

    Throughout his career, David has worked on immuno-oncology programs at all stages of development, including leadership roles in developing four approved biologics. In addition to the development of CTLA4 and PD1/L1 checkpoint inhibitors, David’s experience includes developing a wide range of novel immuno-oncology targets and combinations as well as translational medicine focused on their mechanisms of action. At Immunocore, he is focused on advancing the company’s growing pipeline of T cell receptor candidates through clinical development. Outside of work, David is an avid cyclist. In fact, David does his best thinking during his rides and will frequently pull over to write down a thought or send an email to a colleague. He also enjoys his quality time with his family and particularly enjoys watching his daughters play soccer and lacrosse. David, his wife, and two daughters live in Maryland.

    The post 512: Dr. David Berman: Developing New Cancer Treatments Using T Cell Receptor-Based Biologics appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    43 min
  • 511: Dr. Lisa Whitenack: Getting Straight to the Point Studying the Shape and Function of Shark Teeth

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    Dr. Lisa Whitenack is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Biology and Geology at Allegheny College. She received her B.S. in geology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, her M.S. degree in geological sciences from Michigan State University, and her Ph.D. in integrative biology from the University of South Florida. Lisa served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Tampa for about a year. She conducted postdoctoral research in geology at the University of South Florida before joining the faculty at Allegheny College. Lisa has been named Volunteer Partner of the Year by the Crawford County K-12 Career Education Alliance for her science outreach efforts. In our interview, Lisa shares more about her life and science.

    People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes

    Life Outside of Science (2:16)

    When she’s not at work, Lisa loves getting creative with a variety of crafts such as crochet, cross-stitch, and painting. She also enjoys refereeing roller derby, hiking, and spending time with her family.

    The Scientific Side (3:50)

    Through her research, Lisa aims to better understand how animals work from a mechanical perspective. She studies how sharks have used their teeth over their 400 million years of evolution, how salamanders jump, and how stone crabs perform pinching movements.

    A Dose of Motivation (4:42)

    “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison

    What Got You Hooked on Science? (6:55)

    Lisa became fascinated with the natural world during childhood visits to her grandmother’s summer home outside of Chicago. The house was on a lake and surrounded by woods. She spent sunny days fishing with her dad and wandering around the woods. On rainy days, Lisa poured over her grandmother’s copy of The North American Guide to Wildlife, and she particularly loved the section on sharks. However, sharks weren’t Lisa’s only scientific passion. She was also obsessed with dinosaurs and constantly brought home cool rocks she found at the lake. Lisa’s interests in science continued throughout her school years, and when it was time to enroll in college, she was pretty sure she wanted to become a high school chemistry teacher. Unfortunately, Lisa really struggled with her college chemistry courses. She signed up for a geology class to fulfill an academic requirement, and this course changed everything. Despite her parents’ concerns, Lisa changed her major to geology and never looked back. One summer in college, Lisa worked outside on a dinosaur dig in Wyoming. This was where she met the person who piqued her interest in graduate school and would later become her husband.

    The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (18:01)

    In the first semester of Lisa’s PhD studies, she had to write a paper on the structure and anatomy of the tissues in shark teeth. Lisa wrote her paper, and she thought she did a great job. She turned it in early to her PhD advisor, and she was shocked at the sight that greeted her the next morning when she walked into the lab. There were three stacks of journal articles and books on her desk that towered above her head. Her paper was on top, and her advisor had written “try again”. Lisa was absolutely mortified. However, she wasn’t about to give up. Lisa re-wrote her paper, incorporating many of the new references, and the final paper was much better as a result. Another major challenge Lisa encountered occurred during her freshman year of college. She had never failed a class until that first year in college when she took calculus III. Failing this calculus class meant that Lisa only narrowly missed being placed on academic probation, and her parents wanted to transfer her to a less rigorous school. Despite these pressures, Lisa was able to turn her situation around. She took the course again over the summer, figured out better ways to study, and passed calculus III.

    A Shining Success! (22:36)

    For Lisa, passing her qualifying exams in graduate school was a major success. She entered a graduate program in biology with a very limited background in biology, and she had difficulty with some of her initial PhD courses. Throughout her early graduate school days, Lisa had a major sense of the imposter syndrome. She didn’t feel like she belonged there, she didn’t know what people in the lab were talking about, and she wasn’t sure she was going to make it through the program. The qualifying exams involved a grueling four days of closed notes written exams and a three hour oral exam. To make matters worse, Lisa became very ill in the midst of her exam. She managed to finish the written exams but had to postpone the oral portion until after she underwent surgery and recovered over the next six months. This was stressful because it meant Lisa had to study and prepare all over again for her oral exam. Despite the health problems she experienced, Lisa persevered and succeeded in passing her qualifying exams.

    Book Recommendations (25:12)

    The Broken Earth Series by N.K. Jemisin

    Most Treasured Travel (26:37)

    The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History has an offsite location in Maryland where they store a wide variety of specimens that aren’t able to be stored at the Museum’s main location in Washington, DC. Lisa has visited this facility many times to collect data on shark specimens, and it is always an adventure. There are jars of preserved specimens packed onto rows and rows of shelves, rooms with large metal bins full of preserved specimens, and seemingly random items propped up against walls. She has spent countless hours digging through bins of preserved sharks, meticulously measuring specimens, and admiring many of the unique items housed in this offsite facility.

    Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (32:11)

    During graduate school, Lisa and her fellow lab members stopped by a local craft store to pass some time before the next showing of a movie they wanted to watch. At the craft store, they were delighted to discover a variety of ceramic gnomes on clearance sale. Unable to pass up this bizarre bargain, they bought 13 gnomes. They then hid these gnomes around the lab, including one in their advisor’s fishing tackle box. Their advisor had no idea where these gnomes came from or who had hidden them. As he found them in the lab, he would put them on top of the lab freezers. Once a few of the gnomes were found, Lisa and her colleagues would hide them again. This prank went on for about two years, and it expanded to include collaborators and colleagues mailing her advisor gnomes from across the country. Her advisor then began receiving (and responding to) mysterious emails from Norm the lab gnome.

    Advice For Us All (38:16)

    When you are having difficulty making a decision on what to do next in your life, take a deep breath, and then do what you have to do. Don’t worry about what everyone else is going to say. Do what is right for you. Also, don’t let critical feedback from others stop you from doing something you really believe in.

    Guest Bio

    Lisa’s scientific research uses tools from engineering, physics, geology, statistics, and biology to figure out why critters are shaped the way they are, and what it means for the evolutionary history of the critter. She mostly studies the 400 million years of shark teeth (and modern sharks) and how they work, but she also studies salamander jumping, crab pinching forces, snail shell strength, and fish feeding. Lisa’s other area of scholarship is about K-12 STEM (kindergarten – 12th-grade science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. She spearheads “4th Graders as Scientists”, which brings every 4th grader in her local school district to Allegheny College for a day of hands-on Science. She is also on the science team for the Gills Club, a national program for girls that highlights women shark scientists. Outside of her job, Lisa crafts, bakes, referees roller derby, volunteers for the local Girl Scouts, reads a ton of fiction, gardens, and is a mom to two curious kids and three cats.

    The post 511: Dr. Lisa Whitenack: Getting Straight to the Point Studying the Shape and Function of Shark Teeth appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.

    42 min

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