People Behind the Science Podcast

By Dr. Marie McNeelyScience

People Behind the Science Podcast episodes

October 20, 2025 835: Dr. Uri Tabori: Dedicated to Clinical Care and Conducting Research to Combat Childhood Cancers
Dr. Uri Tabori is a Staff Physician in the Division of Haematology/Oncology, Senior Scientist in the Genetics & Genome Biology program, and Principal Investigator of The Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Uri is also a Professor in Paediatrics and Associate Professor in the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto. He received his MD from the Hadassah School of Medicine of Hebrew University in Israel. Afterwards, he completed a Rotating Internship and his Residency in Pediatrics at the Sorasky Medical Center in Israel. Next, Uri accepted a Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel. He served as a Staff Physician in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at The Sheba Medical Center for about a year before accepting a Research and Clinical Fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children in Canada SickKids where he remains today. Over the course of his career, Uri has received numerous awards and honors, including the Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Development and Innovation, the New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institute of Health Research, the Junior Physician Research Award from the University of Toronto Department of Pediatrics, The New Investigator Award from the Terry Fox Foundation, A Eureka! new investigator award from the International Course of Translational Medicine, A Merit Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, and The Young Investigator Award from the Canadian Neuro-Oncology Society. In our interview, Uri shares more about his life, science, and clinical care.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (3:06)
When he’s not hard at work in the lab or clinic, Uri enjoys spending time with his family, watching American football, and exploring the wilderness of Canada. He is especially fond of canoeing and canoe camping with his family.
The Scientific Side (4:44)
Uri works as a physician treating kids with cancer, particularly brain tumors. Through his research, he is working to identify drugs and make new discoveries that may cure cancers or improve patients’ lives.
A Dose of Motivation (5:36)
“And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make”
-Lyrics from “The End” by the Beatles
What Got You Hooked on Science? (8:56)
As a kid, Uri was certain that he wanted to be a veterinarian when he grew up. He lived on a farm and loved working with cows and other animals. To become a veterinarian, Uri had to follow the pre-medicine track in college. While doing so, he fell in love with practicing medicine to treat humans, and he was particularly drawn to caring for children. Uri’s father always encouraged him to ask questions, and Uri began to realize that he had so many questions about cures and treatments that could only be answered through research. During his time as a resident, Uri covered for a colleague working in a cancer unit, and this sparked his passion for working with cancer patients.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (18:30)
One type of challenge that Uri enjoys is when a research project yields unexpected results. It is really interesting to work through the findings with students to understand why they occurred and what they mean. These situations have resulted in interesting lines of research and discoveries that are now being translated into clinical care. For example, when they were working on a rare genetic syndrome in which people’s cells aren’t able to repair errors made during cell division, they discovered that having too many mutations actually kills cancer cells. Another kind of challenge that Uri faces in his work is translating research from the bench into therapies for patients. Taking a discovery from the lab through the steps of funding, drug development, and clinical trials is extremely challenging in Uri’s field. Since childhood cancer is relatively rare, many drug companies are hesitant to invest in developing new therapies for these conditions. Organizations like Stand Up To Cancer have been instrumental in helping them get solutions into the hands of patients.
A Shining Success! (21:16)
Each student who passes through the lab, advance in their research, collaboration with a colleague, and patient who responds to treatment is a success story. In one memorable patient case, they received permission from a pharmaceutical company to give a particular immunotherapy drug to children for the first time. A doctor in Quebec administered this drug to a brother and sister who were both diagnosed with brain tumors. After about six months of responding to the drug, the brother’s tumor grew back. The doctor added another drug to the treatment regimen in hopes of bringing the tumor into remission. Uri will never forget the day that he was watching TV with his kids at home, and he received an urgent call from that doctor. She told Uri that she could no longer see the tumor. Recurring brain tumor of this type typically cause death in just a few months, and he had never seen one of these recurring tumors disappear.
Book Recommendations (24:02)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Most Treasured Travel (26:04)
A recent trip to India was incredibly inspiring for Uri. He visited two of the largest childhood cancer centers and was amazed at the work they do there. These cancer centers treat about ten times more patients than most large institutes in the United States, and they are so efficient. The doctors he met were amazing clinicians as well. One of Uri’s former trainees is a physician at one of the cancer centers he visited, so Uri got to see the inner workings of the hospital and parts of the town that were off the beaten path. A doctor from the other cancer center is working in Toronto for a year for training, and Uri had an opportunity to work with a patient in this second cancer center to set them up to receive immunotherapy. Uri just recently heard that the patient is responding well to the treatment that their collaboration made possible. Though Uri didn’t get to see much of the cities of Calcutta or Mumbai, he enjoyed spending time with the patients, clinicians, and scientists.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (29:39)
The family of one of Uri’s trainees and friends had an island on a lake in Ontario. Each year, the whole lab used to go to the island for a retreat. There were several little houses that everyone shared, and they all ate together in one big dining room. The trip would last two days, and each person would sign up to prepare a traditional meal from their home country. Lab members were from all over the world, and it was fantastic to get to sample all the different kinds of foods from different countries. Uri and his wife would make Middle Eastern food, including a wide variety of delicious salads.
Advice For Us All (34:36)
To be successful as a scientist/clinician in translational medicine you need to: (1) have passion; (2) make it about patients; (3) have patience; (4) be persistent; (5) have partners and collaborators; (6) have personal humility; and (7) remember it is a privilege to do science and medicine.
Guest Bio
Dr. Uri Tabori maintains an active clinical practice in the treatment of children with cancer, focusing particularly on those with brain tumors. Based on his clinical and research interests, he participates in the development of systems for early detection and intervention in individuals determined to be at high-risk of developing brain tumors. This includes patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 and 2, Li-Fraumeni syndrome and mismatch repair genes. The Tabori lab is focused on combining biological and translational research in pediatric oncology. Specifically, Uri’s lab is interested in studying mechanisms underlying brain tumor immortality and recurrence in the context of predisposition to cancer. Currently, his group is studying 3 major areas. The first is related to telomere maintenance and cancer recurrence in various types of pediatric brain tumors, including pediatric low grade gliomas and pediatric ependymomas. Additionally, Germline predisposition to childhood brain tumors are a significant part of Uri’s research endeavors. One cancer predisposition syndrome he studies is a rare genetic syndrome called balletic mismatch repair deficiency (BMMRD) syndrome. This is the most aggressive cancer syndrome in humans, and nearly all individuals with this genetic predisposition go on to develop one or more cancers before age 18. A third area of research in Uri’s lab revolves around the biology, clinical testing, and development of potential therapies for pediatric low grade gliomas which are the most common childhood brain tumor.

*This episode was originally published on August 26, 2019.
The post 835: Dr. Uri Tabori: Dedicated to Clinical Care and Conducting Research to Combat Childhood Cancers appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
39 min
October 13, 2025 834: Dr. Elaine Guevara: Examining the Genetics and Molecular Biology of Brain Aging in Humans and Non-Human Primates
Dr. Elaine Guevara is a Lecturer in Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University. She received her BA in biological anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her MA in biological anthropology from Hunter College. During her master’s program, Elaine also worked at the American Museum of Natural History as an Archives Assistant and subsequently a Database Assistant. She then received her PhD from Yale University. Afterwards, Elaine conducted postdoctoral research at The George Washington University. She joined the faculty at Duke in 2021, and she also served briefly as a faculty member at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. In our interview, Elaine shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:57)
When it’s time to relax, Elaine loves to read. She is particularly fond of Golden Age mysteries from authors like Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Patricia Wentworth, as well as similar modern mystery authors like Anthony Horowitz. Investigative journalism, history, and social science content is also of interest to her. In addition to reading, Elaine enjoys biking, being outdoors, exploring the mountains, observing wildlife, playing games, sipping wine, and hanging out with friends.
The Scientific Side (4:37)
Elaine teaches biology and conducts research on the evolution of primates using molecular approaches. One area of her research examines the evolution of brain aging and how brain aging differs between humans and our primate relatives, including certain species of lemurs.
A Dose of Motivation (7:59)
“Perfect is the enemy of done.”
“The more I know, the more I realize how little I know.”
“Nothing worth doing is easy.”
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (13:42)
Fascinated by the really deep past as a kid, Elaine became interested in the fossil record, dinosaurs, and the idea that the Earth used to be a really different place than it is now. In college, she pursued biological anthropology, which is a mix of primatology, human biology, human paleontology, and the fossil record. Her major involved a lot of skeletal anatomy, and Elaine was frustrated to discover that she struggled with identifying features of bone specimens and categorizing bones based on their features. This, combined with the descriptive nature of the work in the field, the feeling that success in paleontology seemed to rely a lot on luck, and Elaine’s desire to do experimental science, made it clear to her that her chosen field wasn’t going to be a good fit. After finishing her undergraduate training, Elaine spent the next four and a half years working in a variety of jobs outside of science. The time away from research gave her a valuable perspective, and Elaine made her way back to science through volunteering at the American Museum of Natural History. This turned into a part-time job in entomology there, and while working during the day, Elaine enrolled in a master’s degree program at Hunter College that held classes in the evenings. This experience was transformative. She had the opportunity to work with a geneticist who helped her learn how to conduct research in molecular biology. As she progressed to her PhD program, Elaine focused her research more on lemurs and the evolution of aging. Her postdoctoral research in evolutionary neuroscience helped shape her current research focused on the evolution and molecular biology of brain aging.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (29:35)
Elaine is working on a cool project that she began thinking about when she was a postdoc, and the data collection recently concluded. The study is looking at gene expression and epigenetic changes that occur with age in two key regions of the brain, the cortex and the cerebellum, in humans and two other primates. Over the course of this project, Elaine transitioned between institutions, which created a lot of administrative delays. The COVID-19 pandemic also interrupted research on the project, and they ran into a variety of challenges with the methods used in the experiments. In particular, they used flow cytometry to sort out different kinds of cells in their samples. Elaine thought this would be a straightforward step in the protocol, but using small-volume frozen samples of brain tissues that are high in sticky lipids and fluorescent molecules made it really difficult to do the cell sorting. They kept getting very mysterious results. Troubleshooting the cell sorting took more than a year, and at one point, Elaine began to feel like she didn’t have what it would take to complete the project. Ultimately, they weren’t able to collect all of the data they had planned, but Elaine and her team still learned a lot from the project and got really exciting results.
A Shining Success! (37:04)
When they were working through the issues with cell sorting using flow cytometry, Elaine and her team celebrated every time that they made progress on the project or solved one of the problems they faced. This was really important because the project involved a lot of failures mixed in with these moments of success. The celebrations have involved sharing a bottle of Prosecco, going out to dinner, and getting cupcakes.
Book Recommendations (4:07)
Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality by Venki Ramakrishnan, The Memory Thief: And the Secrets Behind How We Remember–A Medical Mystery by Lauren Aguirre, and The Sloth Lemur’s Song: Madagascar from the Deep Past to the Uncertain Present by Alison Richard
Most Treasured Travel (39:01)
In graduate school, Elaine went to Madagascar to do field work. It was amazing to see lemurs in their natural habitat, and there were so many memorable cultural moments as well. Working in the field in a different country is a really valuable and humbling experience. It was remarkable to learn from the local people who were incredibly knowledgeable about lemurs and were tremendously skilled at detecting and identifying them in the wild. There were also a lot of moments that weren’t fun or funny at the moment, but Elaine can now laugh at them in hindsight, and they are something she can bond with colleagues over now.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (44:43)
Maintaining a sense of humor is important for scientists, and this lends itself well to Elaine’s work because lemurs are goofy animals. It’s been fun to make parody videos with lemurs in iMovie, create funny custom slack emojis of lemurs in their Slack channel, and she used to write comedic sketches about awkward and funny situations in science for entertainment. Elaine also enjoys humorous academic comics and parodies from others. There are a lot of funny things in science that can be parodied. In addition, Elaine made a board game called the Human Evolution Game that she uses for teaching. It is an engaging and silly way to teach students about human evolution, but the content in the game is based on what we know so far about human evolution.
Advice For Us All (50:58)
Maintain at least one interest outside of your career, whether it is music, another skill, or even just staying in touch with family and friends. Remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Results don’t happen quickly, and it’s important to not have your full identity tied to your science. You can be invested in your science while also finding comfort in the things you do outside of science when your research isn’t going well. Diversifying your research projects can also help. Finally, don’t be discouraged. It’s never too late to try to pursue something you’re really interested in, so get out there and do it.
Guest Bio
Elaine studies primate evolutionary genetics. Her PhD research focused on genetic diversity and dietary and sensory adaptation in sifaka lemurs (genus Propithecus), extremely charming primates made internationally famous by Zaboomafoo. Elaine expanded her research in a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Laboratory for Evolutionary Neuroscience, where she focused on unique epigenetic features of the human brain. Elaine’s recent work has investigated epigenetic and transcriptional differences among species and in aging in humans and non-human primates. Her research has been featured in the award-winning documentary Taste: The Flavor of Life and the popular YouTube science web series SciShow and covered in Psychology Today and New Scientist. Outside of work, Elaine enjoys spending time outdoors, reading mysteries, and food.

Support for this episode of People Behind the Science was provided by Innovative Research, Inc.

The post 834: Dr. Elaine Guevara: Examining the Genetics and Molecular Biology of Brain Aging in Humans and Non-Human Primates appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
57 min
October 06, 2025 833: Dr. Kristen Lynch: Researching Alternative Splicing for Gene Regulation in the Immune System
Dr. Kristen Lynch is a Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her B.A. in biochemistry and her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Harvard University. Afterwards, Kristen pursued postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco. She served on the faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center prior to joining the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in 2009. Kristen is the recipient of many awards and honors for her work, including a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. She joined us for an interview to talk about her experiences in life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:07)
When she’s not at work, Kristen loves being outdoors. She spends her free time kayaking, paddle boarding, biking, hiking, and doing yoga.
The Scientific Side (2:50)
Kristen’s research focuses on alternative splicing. Every cell in your body has the same DNA that you can think of as the instruction manual for the cell. However, different cells in our bodies use different pieces or chapters of the DNA instruction manual to perform their roles. Different cells under different conditions may use only certain parts of a chapter or they may remove certain pages that aren’t needed. This process of reading and using only selected parts of the DNA and ignoring others is called splicing. Kristen’s lab is investigating how cells decide when to use an entire portion of the DNA instruction manual versus when to exclude parts of the instructions that are not useful or would be harmful. In particular, Kristen is interested in alternative splicing in the immune system and what happens when cells are faced with an immune challenge.
A Dose of Motivation (4:08)
“Fake it ‘til you make it.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (8:52)
Kristen was surrounded by science growing up since her father, uncle, and both grandfathers were all researchers in different fields. She recalls always being interested in science, but she didn’t start to solidify which area of science she wanted to pursue until her first few years in college. When Kristen took an introductory molecular biology class, her mind was blown, and her curiosity was piqued. She was fascinated by the intricate molecular machinery within cells that allowed them to detect things in their environment and control gene expression accordingly. Since then, a desire to better understand gene expression and how genes are controlled in different cells and in different conditions has driven her research efforts.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (17:16)
It can be hard to dedicate time to celebrate successes. As a grad student, Kristen’s advisor would be excited about her new results for just seconds before moving on to everything they should do next. While this bothered her years ago, she has actually started doing this too. Part of the excitement of research is looking at what comes next and what the broader impact may be. Another big challenge in Kristen’s career came after she was awarded tenure. This was a big and exciting success, but the thrill was short-lived because she quickly realized that having tenure didn’t mean much if she couldn’t get her grant renewed and continue to publish papers. At that time, one of her grants was being considered for renewal and she was struggling to get her papers accepted. Kristen began to wonder if she could keep doing this. She had pushed hard leading up to the tenure decision, and now there were even more hurdles in front of her.
A Shining Success! (20:19)
In Kristen’s lab, they have a tradition of celebrating big events like grants getting funded, papers being accepted, and students passing qualifying exams or thesis defenses by sharing champagne, beer, soda, or other drinks. They always label the bottle with the success and keep them on a shelf in her office or in the student office. The empty bottles are all lined up like trophies, and they serve as a physical reminder during tough times of all the great things the group has accomplished together.
Book Recommendations (22:28)
Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, The Divergent series by Veronica Roth
Most Treasured Travel (24:01)
Ten years ago, Kristen traveled to Bariloche, Argentina in the Andes in the northern part of Patagonia for a small conference on gene splicing. The town was stunningly beautiful with snow-capped mountains and a crystal blue lake. The scientific presentations were incredible, so Kristen wanted to be inside hearing about her colleagues’ research, but she also really wanted to be outside enjoying the gorgeous scenery. Fortunately, they had blocked free time on the schedule for going outside, hiking, and boating on the lake. More recently, Kristen went to Japan and Singapore for back-to-back conferences. This trip was particularly meaningful because her son came as her travel companion, and they were able to dedicate a few days to exploring Tokyo, Kyoto, and Singapore.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (27:42)
In addition to their tradition of collecting bottles from all of their lab celebrations, Kristen’s lab has an annual outing every summer. They often go to a baseball game together, and it is important for Kristen to dedicate time to socializing with the group outside of the lab.
Advice For Us All (33:16)
Communication is critical in science. Being able to communicate clearly and succinctly is the key to getting grants, getting funding, communicating your work in a presentation, and being successful as a scientist. Working in science is fantastic. It is a flexible career, and it is definitely possible to have a family and be successful in science. Remember that the people who have done well as researchers aren’t necessarily more capable than others, but they refuse to give up. If research is something you are passionate about and good at, don’t give up. The path won’t always be easy, but it is worth it.
Guest Bio
Kristen received both her B.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University, where she was fortunate to train with two leaders in the field of molecular biology and gene regulation, Drs. Mark Ptashne (B.A.) and Tom Maniatis (Ph.D.). As a graduate student, she was introduced to the field of RNA processing, and she developed a life-long passion for unraveling the mechanisms of RNA-based gene regulation. As a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Arthur Weiss (UCSF), Kristen applied her expertise in RNA-protein biochemistry to one of the first known examples of mammalian alternative splicing, that of CD45 in activated T cells. This dual training and interest in both the RNA and Immunology fields has formed the basis of her independent laboratory. Broadly, the long-standing goal of Kristen’s research program has been to delineate the mechanisms and physiologic consequences of regulated RNA processing as it relates to human immune responses. Over the years, her group has expanded their studies from CD45 to additional signal-responsive genes in human T cells and has continued to be on the leading edge of the study of RNA binding proteins, splicing mechanism, and the role and regulation of splicing in T cell biology. Discoveries have included the identification of a broad program of alternative splicing induced by antigen stimulation of T cells, characterization of novel mechanisms by which the splicing catalytic machinery is regulated, and delineation of signaling pathways that alter the expression and activity of RNA binding proteins. In recent years, they have expanded use of biochemical and genomic approaches to address additional questions at the interface of immunology and RNA biology, including the regulation of viral mRNA processing by host proteins and the impact of RNA binding proteins and alternative splicing to cancer.

This episode was originally released on November 27, 2017.
The post 833: Dr. Kristen Lynch: Researching Alternative Splicing for Gene Regulation in the Immune System appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
38 min
September 29, 2025 832: Dr. Nick Haddad: Recovering Rare and Endangered Butterfly Populations through Conservation Corridors and Other Strategies
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.

This episode was originally released on August 5, 2019.
The post 832: 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 1 min
September 22, 2025 831: Dr. Louis Jacobs: Unearthing Ancient Fossils to Reveal the History of Life on Our Planet
Dr. Louis L. Jacobs is Emeritus Professor in the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences and President of the ISEM at SMU. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution from the University of Arizona. After completing his training, he worked as a research paleontologist at the Museum of Northern Arizona, a geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, a lecturer and a research associate at the University of Arizona, Head of the Division of Paleontology at the National Museums of Kenya. He joined the faculty at SMU in 1983. During his time at SMU, Louis has held leadership positions at the Dallas Museum of Natural History as well as the Shuler Museum of Paleontology at SMU, where he ultimately served as Director for 13 years. Louis has won numerous awards and honors for his scholarship, his service, and the books he has written, including the University Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award from SMU, the Joseph T. Gregory Award for Service to the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, The Texas Earth Science Teachers Association Lifetime Membership and Friends of TESTA Award, and many others. In addition, he is a past Fellow of the Explorers Club, Past President of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, and ten fossil species have been named after him. In this interview, he shares more about his life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (3:15)
When he’s not working, Louis loves to look at rocks, tend to orchids, bind books, and spend quality time with his grandchildren. They are insatiably curious and interested in everything, including rocks, fossils, and space.
The Scientific Side (4:17)
As a vertebrate paleontologist, Louis studies the fossils of animals with backbones. His goal is to understand their evolution and how it fits together with the earth and the environment to present a holistic picture of our world.
A Dose of Motivation (5:28)
“The life lesson of paleontology is that almost nothing is so broken that it can’t be fixed.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (10:01)
During his childhood, Louis loved being outside, and he was fascinated by nature and science. His parents were really education-focused, and they traveled to and lived in many different places as a result of his father’s military career. Louis didn’t encounter his first vertebrate fossil until he was an undergraduate student, but he quickly became interested. When it was time to plan his next steps, Louis debated whether to pursue graduate studies in paleontology or deep marine invertebrates. Ultimately, he chose vertebrate paleontology. In graduate school, Louis participated in a variety of field projects spread across Arizona, Missouri, Wyoming, and Mexico. For his own PhD thesis, he had to choose between a project in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and a project in Pakistan. Both involved looking at the magnetic properties of rocks and fossils to determine the age of rocks. Louis chose to go to Pakistan, and he spent many hours sieving through sediments in search of individual mouse teeth. Mice are incredibly diverse and evolve very quickly, which means their fossils can be used to divide up the geological timescale with more precision. This project led to an opportunity to work as Head of Paleontology at the National Museum of Kenya. As his two-year Kenyan work permit neared expiration, Louis started looking for jobs in the U.S. He found two open positions in vertebrate paleontology and ended up getting offers for both. After some deliberation, Louis chose SMU, and he has remained at the university ever since.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (25:40)
Failures and challenges happen all the time in science, but it’s best not to dwell on them. Stay calm, don’t get frustrated, and just move forward one step at a time. On one expedition in Pakistan, Louis was out late with a guide and two camels collecting dirt samples. It took longer than expected to collect and load the samples, and he had to lead a belligerent camel along an unstable path in the dark back to camp. Everything turned out okay, but he felt bad about making the team worry.
In the laboratory, there are different kinds of challenges. One of his former students worked on an interesting project examining how nursing impacts the teeth of mice. In mice, teeth grow over time, so if their diets change, the composition of their teeth will change as well. This project involved a complicated set of experiments and measurements, and there were so many unforeseen factors that came up. The project was ultimately successful, and they developed a mathematical model that allowed them to correct for the ages of individual teeth in the fossil record when doing geochemistry studies.
A Shining Success! (29:18)
Right now, Louis is working on an exciting collaboration with academic dentists, experimental geneticists, and developmental biologists who are studying the periodontal ligament, a flexible tissue that holds teeth in their sockets. The ligament has evolved multiple times in both reptiles and mammals. What they have learned about the ligament’s genetics and development can be applied to fossils to better understand their train of evolution through time, based on which specimens have or don’t have evidence of this ligament.
Another success has arisen from their work in Angola. The country is situated on the southwest coast of Africa where South America and Africa used to be fused together. They found a large amount of fossils in Angola and put together an exhibit for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Their exhibit had over 15 million visits, and from it, they created a traveling exhibit that will tour the U.S. for three years. In addition, they developed a plan for returning the fossils to Angola once the exhibit concludes and ensuring a local team in Angola can continue proper stewardship for the fossils thereafter. One of the Angolan students who participated in the project was subsequently named the Director of the Angolan National Museum of Natural History, and this was a really meaningful success for Louis as well.
Book Recommendations (33:30)
The Village of Bom Jesus by Lloyd Hill; Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton; Too Late the Phalarope by Alan Paton; Natural history books by Archie Carr
Most Treasured Travel (34:59)
Louis had the opportunity to work with one of his talented students on a five-year project in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. The desert there was hot, dusty, sandy, and full of fossils, and spending the field seasons in Mongolia during this project was a remarkable experience. The region has a rich history in the field of paleontology, including the discovery of the first Protoceratops and Velociraptor fossils. While in Mongolia, they met many amazing people, and it was wonderful to contribute to bringing together more pieces of the big puzzle of ancient life there.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (38:22)
When the team gathers at camp after a long and exhausting day of field work, there is so much camaraderie, and there are a lot of funny moments. Louis has had some amazing and harrowing experiences with colleagues in the field, including a visit from a curious baby elephant seal while he was sleeping in a tent at a field site in Antarctica, seeking shelter in an ice cave after their entire Antarctic camp was blown away, and many others. You can always laugh about these moments together after the trouble is resolved.
Advice For Us All (42:08)
Scientists, and particularly paleontologists, have a responsibility to engage and relate with the public. You never know where these conversations and connections may lead.
Guest Bio
Louis is a paleontologist who studies fossil bones to understand the history of life and Earth. His team has been exploring the coastal cliffs of Angola in southwest Africa since 2005. Sea Monsters Unearthed: Life in Angola’s Ancient Seas, an exhibit telling the story of their Angolan discoveries, opened on November 9, 2018, in the Smithsonian Institution’s U.S. National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. This exhibit is unique in its story, in the role of SMU students who pieced much of it together in the laboratories of Heroy Hall, and in the way it was produced cooperatively with the Smithsonian. The exhibition in DC has had its stay extended four times and has been viewed by millions of national and international visitors to our nation’s capital. It is now beginning a national tour for three years. It will continue to inspire through its science, the art in which the past is brought to life, and the excitement of learning. Louis has conducted extensive field work in Malawi, Cameroon, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and now in Angola. Beyond Africa, he has conducted fieldwork in Costa Rica, Mexico, Pakistan, Yemen, Mongolia, Antarctica, and the US. He is currently President of ISEM at SMU, a non-profit organization that supports students and research. He has published more that 150 peer-reviewed scientific papers, seven edited volumes, and three popular books. He is the author of Quest for the African Dinosaurs, which received the Edwin H. Colbert Award, Lone Star Dinosaurs, which was recognized by joint resolution of the Texas Legislature and formed the basis of a traveling exhibit shown in the Rotunda of the State Capitol, and Cretaceous Airport, the story of fossils at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
The post 831: Dr. Louis Jacobs: Unearthing Ancient Fossils to Reveal the History of Life on Our Planet appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
45 min
September 15, 2025 830: Dr. Karen Daniels: Physicist Figuring Out How Materials Deform and Fail
Dr. Karen Daniels is a Professor in the Department of Physics at North Carolina State University. She received her BA in physics from Dartmouth College. Karen then worked for about three years as a science teacher at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn before enrolling in graduate school at Cornell University where she earned her PhD in physics. She then conducted postdoctoral research at Duke University before joining the faculty at NCSU in 2005. Karen has been awarded a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to support a yearlong sabbatical at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen, Germany. In addition, Karen was the recipient of a National Science Foundation Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, the Equity for Women Award from NCSU, and the LeRoy and Elva Martin Award for Teaching Excellence. She has also been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society. In our interview, Karen shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:27)
Travel is a passion for Karen. While traveling, she loves hiking on mountain trails, eating delicious food, discovering new foods that she can try to make at home, reading books, knitting, and interacting with new people and places.
The Scientific Side (5:45)
Karen’s lab investigates the physics of how materials change state (e.g. from solid to fluid), how they deform, and how they may ultimately fail. She studies these questions across a variety of length and time scales, from microscopic phenomena that occur in less than a second to shifts in land that occur on geologic timescales and may lead to landslides.
A Dose of Motivation (7:38)
“If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
What Got You Hooked on Science? (11:59)
Growing up with parents and relatives working in STEM fields, Karen always knew what science and doing lab work were like. She had a fantastic opportunity early on to participate in a science program for young students at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. In the program, Karen learned how to do experiments and keep a lab notebook. She and a friend had fun doing experiments on Venus flytraps, and Karen felt like she was doing real science. Karen’s dad worked for IBM, and she started learning computer programming on the family computer when she was in grade school. By middle school, she became more interested in her uncle’s microbiology research. Karen started an experiment at school with bacteria and agar plates, but the awful smell of the bacteria led her to end the experiment early. Her interests in physics were piqued in high school when Stephen Hawking’s book A Brief History of Time came out. With her interests in science and math, Karen decided to pursue engineering in college. She started by taking a few physics classes, and she ended up enjoying physics so much that she never made it over to the engineering department. In college, Karen worked on a variety of interesting research projects, but she didn’t know what she wanted to do when she graduated. One of her older friends had recently found a great job teaching after having a bad experience and leaving graduate school. Karen decided to become a science teacher. After teaching for a few years, Karen realized she wanted to try graduate school because there were so many questions that students asked that she couldn’t answer.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (22:37)
The first year of graduate school was really hard for Karen. As a graduate student, you are asked to solve more difficult mathematical problems than you have ever tried to solve before, and there is a lot at stake. One of her assigned faculty mentors was Professor David Lee, who had recently been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. He saw her walking down the hallway one day looking absolutely terrible. When he asked how things were going, she answered honestly that they weren’t going well. She was staying up late to do problem sets, struggling to get through them, and she was really concerned that taking three years off to teach resulted in her forgetting how to do higher level math. Karen wasn’t sure she was going to be able to make it through graduate school. He told her that he knew exactly what she meant. He had taken time away from his early academic career to fight in the U.S. Armed Forces. When he came back after serving his country, he had the exact same feeling. For Karen, hearing this meant a lot. It convinced her that even though things were hard, they were not impossible.
A Shining Success! (26:39)
Some of Karen’s favorite successes are the small wins you experience when you are working on a tough problem, and you finally figure out a solution. For example, Karen had been struggling with a difficult theoretical problem for a while. While she was practicing cello with her community orchestra, she had an ah-ha moment where she figured out the answer. During a long rest in the piece of music they were playing, Karen frantically scribbled her notes down on a piece of sheet music so she wouldn’t forget. Recently, she and a graduate student had spent over a year trying to make sense of the results from his experiments. The line on the graph had the opposite sign of what they were expecting, and they couldn’t figure out why. They checked the data analysis, the computer code, and everything else they could think of. After putting the project aside for a while, they discovered the explanation. The gel they were using swelled in a particular fluid, and this expansion of the material masked the effect they were looking for. It was really rewarding when they finally figured it out.
Book Recommendations (3:39)
Broken Earth Trilogy Series by N. K. Jemisin
Most Treasured Travel (28:53)
Karen had an amazing experience working on a project at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen, Germany on a year-long sabbatical. The city is steeped in scientific history, and it was phenomenal to walk in the footsteps of so many famous scientists who had been there. In addition, numerous high speed rail lines crossed in the center of Germany, so Karen and her husband were able to take a lot of weekend trips to see sights across Europe. The science was great, and the people were also remarkable. While talking about life and culture with her colleagues one day, the discussion turned to a particular German cheese that is created by immersing cheese in a wooden box full of flour and mites. While it was fascinating to learn about how the mites dry and preserve the cheese, Karen was also captivated by the fact that the mix of flour, cheese, and mites flowed like a fluid. She had to see it. Karen went on a road trip across Germany with a group of four other scientists to witness the spectacle in person. They explored the cheese museum, sampled the cheese, and examined the fluid properties of the material. This science-inspired road trip led Karen and her colleagues to write up a scientific paper describing how small mites wiggling around in a bed of grain can fluidize the material.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (33:30)
In Germany, there is a tradition where a person’s lab decorates their doctoral hat with things that represent their PhD. This hat is then presented to the new PhD to wear to the graduation ceremonies. Karen’s PhD advisor had received his PhD in Germany, and he brought this tradition to his lab. Karen and her labmates had fun decorating each other’s hats, and they thought they did a pretty impressive job on each hat. However, when Karen went to Göttingen, she saw how truly intricate and complex this hat decorating tradition could be. In some cases, students wore miniaturized working versions of a lab apparatus on their heads. These included pumps, lasers, and other complex instrumentation. Many of the hats had to be mounted on bike helmets so they could be supported and strapped on to the wearer’s head. This tradition is a fun way to bring creativity into celebrating all the hard work that goes into earning a PhD. In Karen’s current lab, they have a tradition of decorating a tunnel on campus called the Free Expression Tunnel. Graffiti is welcome on this structure, and they have fun painting a version of a student’s PhD experiments on the tunnel at the end of their PhD to celebrate.
Advice For Us All (37:36)
Try to think about the map of where you’ve been and where you’re going. Chart out a path to get you to your goal, but also be open to side paths that you may not even know exist right now. Some of these side paths are incredible opportunities. With a little planning, you can set yourself up for fortuitous circumstances. Also remember that you can continue being yourself while also being a successful scientist.
Guest Bio
Karen’s lab at NC State investigates a number of problems in the deformation and failure of materials, from fluid flows, to piles of sand, to fracturing gels. Her primary research areas focus on 1) modeling and analyzing forces in granular materials, 2) evaluating how networks control the properties of granular materials, 3) wetting and spreading in liquid metals and soft materials, and 4) uncovering the similarities and differences between conventional fluids, granular fluids, and active fluids. When not working with her students on experiments in the lab, she likes to spend time in the outdoors, which has led her to contemplate the implications of her research for geological and ecological systems.
Photo credit: Brand Fortner
This episode was originally released on October 14, 2019.
The post 830: Dr. Karen Daniels: Physicist Figuring Out How Materials Deform and Fail appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
41 min
September 08, 2025 829: Dr. Leif Karlstrom: Modeling the Mechanics of Fluid Flow for Melting Ice and Molten Magma
Dr. Leif Karlstrom is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oregon. He completed his undergraduate training at the University of Oregon, receiving a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics, as well as a B.M. in Violin Performance. He received his PhD in Earth and Planetary Science from the University of California, Berkeley where he was awarded the Louderback Research Award. Afterwards, Leif was the recipient of an NSF Division of Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research at Stanford University. He joined the faculty at the University of Oregon in 2015. Leif is here with us today to talk a little about his research and tell us all about his journey through life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:22)
In addition to his career as an academic scientist, Leif is also a professional musician. He plays violin and tours nationally and internationally as a member of bluegrass and folk music groups. When he’s not engaging in scientific or musical pursuits, Leif enjoys rock climbing, river rafting, and generally spending his time outdoors.
The Scientific Side (5:50)
Leif uses fluid and solid mechanics approaches to better understand how water moves through glaciers and how magma moves through the Earth’s crust to erupt in volcanoes. Much of his work involves developing theoretical models to better describe these processes.
A Dose of Motivation (7:24)
“Writing a scientific paper, and publishing a scientific paper is sort of like reaching the raisin at the end of the hot dog.” – Bjorn Birnir
What Got You Hooked on Science? (9:03)
Leif’s father is a field geologist, and as a kid, Leif was able to go on trips to the Grand Canyon and other beautiful places for his father’s research. At that time, there were a lot of aspects of geology that Leif did not enjoy, so he was convinced that was not a career he wanted to pursue. His mom is a professional musician who plays violin in an orchestra, so he has always had influences of both art and science in his life. Leif took classes in math, physics, and music in college, and he worked a variety of odd jobs over the summers. After college, Leif planned to move to California to wash windows of high-rise buildings, but a mentor he had worked with previously encouraged him to attend graduate school instead. This serendipitous event launched Leif’s scientific career.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (23:04)
In graduate school, Leif’s advisor conducted experiments using fluids analogous to what they were interested in understanding in the natural world. In their basement lab, they used fluids like corn syrup, hot wax, and others to study properties of fluids like magma. Working with corn syrup presented its own set of challenges because it was so sticky and would get everywhere. Another challenge occurred when Leif created an experimental system to study the properties of melting ice due to turbulent water flow. He invited everyone to witness the launch of the project with tubes and pumps pushing water through a giant ice block in a big walk-in freezer. Unfortunately, there were some critical details Leif hadn’t worked through that resulted in an unanticipated deluge in the lab.
A Shining Success! (28:53)
While perusing photos of the Greenland ice sheets and pondering the streams of water flowing over the surfaces of the glaciers, Leif became interested in how these supraglacial streams form and what governs their morphology. The streams are essentially melting into ice surfaces, and they often demonstrate patterns similar to what you see with water flowing over land surfaces. His PhD advisor thought it was a neat idea, but not likely to be funded. Years later, Leif was contacted by a colleague who had data from these Greenland ice sheets, and they decided to write a NASA research grant proposal to further study these streams. It was so exciting when their proposal was selected for funding.
Book Recommendations (31:40)
Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey
Most Treasured Travel (32:28)
Leif attended a scientific conference that allowed him to spend a few weeks exploring the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador. The Islands are interesting not only from an evolutionary biology perspective, but also due to the unique volcanic environment. It was a small conference, so it was great to meet some of the big names in the field. The island of Fernandina was Leif’s favorite since they had a chance to see many of the volcanic features, get a sense of the landscape that makes the Galapagos Islands unique, and observe the occasional large tortoise in its natural habitat.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (34:32)
While Leif was in graduate school, his advisor Dr. Michael Manga was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and shortly afterwards, he was presented with an even more unexpected honor: inclusion in People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” issue. It was hilarious for Leif to see his advisor posing for a photoshoot around the lab in a leather jacket. What made it even funnier was that his advisor’s wife only found out when her mom saw the photo in People Magazine while waiting in line at the grocery store.
Advice For Us All (38:10)
Work hard. You don’t have to be a genius or have all the opportunities in the world. If you work hard, you’ll make it. It’s also important to be broad-thinking and well-rounded person.
Guest Bio
Leif received his Ph.D. degree in Earth and Planetary Science from University of California, Berkeley in 2011. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oregon. Lief’s primary scientific interests are in the fields of volcanology, glaciology, and landscape evolution. His research involves development of theoretical and numerical methods, field observations, and sometimes lab experiments with analog materials such as wax or corn syrup. He plays music professionally, with the groups Front Country and Small Town Therapy.

*This episode was originally released November 28, 2016.
The post 829: Dr. Leif Karlstrom: Modeling the Mechanics of Fluid Flow for Melting Ice and Molten Magma appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
40 min
September 01, 2025 828: Dr. Djuna Croon: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Particle Nature of Dark Matter
Dr. Djuna Croon is Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology at Durham University. She received her bachelor’s degree in physics from Amsterdam University College and her master’s degree in physics from Kings College London. Next, Djuna was awarded her PhD in Theoretical Particle Physics from the University of Sussex. Afterwards, Djuna conducted postdoctoral research at Dartmouth College and subsequently at the Tri-University Meson Facility (TRIUMF), Canada’s particle accelerator centre. She joined the faculty at Durham University in 2021. In this interview, she shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:08)
Much of Djuna’s free time is spent with her two young boys. They love going to playgrounds, visiting farms, and baking cookies together.
The Scientific Side (3:08)
Trained as a particle physicist, Djuna is interested in the most fundamental building blocks of nature. She studies dark matter, a mysterious type of subatomic particle that we don’t yet know much about yet. Their work uses astrophysical measurements and particle physics experiments to better understand dark matter.
A Dose of Motivation (4:33)
Djuna is really motivated by solving puzzles. It can sometimes feel overwhelming to be working on these really large questions, but Djuna finds that if she can break a big question down into small, solvable puzzles, then she knows she can make meaningful progress.
What Got You Hooked on Science? (7:17)
In her younger years, Djuna didn’t think much about science. She wanted to be a dolphin trainer or a baker. As she went through school, Djuna enjoyed creative pursuits and was interested in the arts, but she also liked mathematics because she was good at it. Not knowing what she wanted to do for a career, Djuna opted for one of the more open-ended paths in secondary school. Through her coursework, she took classes in mathematics, physics, and other STEM subjects. Later in secondary school, Djuna was introduced to quantum mechanics in her physics classes, and she found it so fascinating. Her interests in quantum mechanics guided her course selections as she enrolled in college. Gaining momentum, Djuna continued her studies in a master’s degree program and then a PhD program. Even though she didn’t set out to be a scientist, Djuna felt that by the time she chose to be a scientist, she knew what was in store for her in this career.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (24:30)
During her PhD program, Djuna studied the physics of cosmic inflation, which is a theory of really rapidly accelerated expansion in the early universe. Her work focused on a particular theory of what might have driven that expansion, and she compared two types of observations. In the field, there are two conventions for defining a particular variable, and Djuna hadn’t noticed that the conventions were different. She was amazed and excited when her calculations yielded an enormous effect. As Djuna prepared the first paper of her PhD to describe this work, she realized just in time that she had mixed up the two conventions. When this was corrected, the enormous effect she had seen went away completely. While it was disappointing that this project didn’t ultimately produce exciting results, and she didn’t end up writing a paper about it, Djuna was fortunate to have caught her mistake in time before it was published.
A Shining Success! (29:08)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many conferences were held remotely. Djuna missed seeing colleagues and attending meetings in person, but one silver lining was that she was able to remotely attend a scientific meeting that she likely wouldn’t have otherwise gone to. Djuna ventured outside of her field of particle physics a bit in choosing sessions to attend. In particular, she listened to a few speakers who discussed current topics in gravitational wave astronomy. Djuna knew the theory that at the end of a star’s life, there is a supernova explosion. If the star is very heavy, a black hole can then form. However, she didn’t know that if the stars are really heavy, they can undergo a different kind of supernova explosion that is so powerful that it does not leave a remnant. Instead of a black hole, there is nothing left. This notion left a lasting impact on Djuna. She reached out afterwards to a colleague, who then brought another person into the conversation, and they started writing papers on this phenomenon together. This marked the beginning of a fantastic series of collaborations and a close friendship with these colleagues.
Their initial successes led to further collaborative projects, including a recent publication where Djuna and an undergraduate student in her lab worked with colleagues to create an analytical framework for the capture of dark matter annihilating in star-like objects called dark dwarves. Dark dwarves form when lighter star-like objects are not heavy enough to start to fuse hydrogen in their cores to stabilize against gravity. Dark matter can be captured, and the dark matter particles can annihilate each other, generating energy. So, rather than continuously cooling down as they lose energy, these brown dwarves get enough energy from dark matter annihilation to pause their evolution. This was a really neat effect and a fun project.
Book Recommendations (37:43)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Most Treasured Travel (39:36)
As a postdoc, Djuna lived in Vancouver in Canada for three years, and she loved spending time in the Pacific Northwest. The pandemic occurred at the same time, and as a result, Djuna wasn’t able to do the usual scientific travel for conferences and other events. This meant that she had a lot of time to explore the city of Vancouver and engage in a variety of outdoor activities nearby, including cross-country skiing, hiking, sailing, and surfing. It was an amazing experience.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (41:13)
Djuna is so excited about her work that the questions she is answering sometimes keep her up at night. In her field, they typically work together in small groups on projects that everyone is really interested in, and this sparks close friendships. When traveling for conferences and workshops, attendees go to the sessions together, but it’s also common for them to get groups together to go hiking, climbing, cycling, or exploring nature. It’s wonderful to surround yourself with people who are answering big questions about nature, but who also enjoy reveling in it.
Advice For Us All (43:40)
It’s okay if you don’t always have a plan or know what the next step of your career is going to be. Many successful people have been in the same position, even though it may seem like they had everything figured out. You can take chances, and some of them will work out. Do the best you can, and examine your options at every stage. Even if the choices you make don’t work out, you’ll likely land on your feet some other way. Also, explore your curiosity. Regardless of whether this is in your job or your life outside of work, being curious can lead you to discover new things and bring you a lot of fun and joy along the way.
Guest Bio
Djuna is a researcher in theoretical particle physics, astro-particle physics, and cosmology. She has worked on a number of topics ranging from the first second of our Universe (cosmic inflation, the great question of the matter-anti-matter asymmetry, and the origin of dark matter) to extreme astrophysical events today (supernova explosions, dark matter disrupting stars and planets, gravitational wave mergers), all in the quest to find hints of the particle nature of dark matter. When she’s not trying to unravel this great mystery, she can be found baking with her three-year-old, giggling with her one-year-old, or trying to figure out quite how many things she can transport on one bicycle (whilst wearing the least practical shoes possible).
The post 828: Dr. Djuna Croon: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Particle Nature of Dark Matter appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
48 min
August 25, 2025 827: Dr. Chris Buddle: Chilling Out Studying the Biodiversity of Arctic Arthropods
Dr. Chris Buddle is an Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences and Associate Dean of Student Affairs at McGill University. He received his undergraduate training in Ecology at the University of Guelph and was awarded his PhD in Ecology and Environmental science from the University of Alberta. Afterwards, Chris conducted postdoctoral research at Miami University before accepting a position at McGill where he is today. He has received a number of his awards for his exceptional teaching and research, including the Entomological Society of Canada’s C. Gordon Hewitt Award for Excellence in Entomology in Canada, the MacDonald Campus Award for Teaching Excellence, and the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education’s Desire2Learn Teaching Innovation Award. Chris also writes great articles in his Arthropod Ecology Blog. 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 (2:21)
Chris is a bird aficionado who loves to draw birds and go birdwatching. For him, drawing is a great way to learn more about things and get a new perspective on what they look like. He also keeps busy chauffeuring his three kids to different activities, riding bikes, and spending time with his family.
The Scientific Side (4:16)
He is a community ecologist who studies biodiversity of different species, and he is interested in figuring out what animals are where in our ecosystem. In particular, his work focuses on spiders, insects, and other arthropods.
A Dose of Motivation (5:25)
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” – Annie Dillard
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” -Winston Churchill
What Got You Hooked on Science? (9:56)
Chris grew up surrounded by beautiful forests and exquisite lakes for fishing and canoeing. His dad was a high school biology teacher, and Chris recalls flipping through field guides during their family outdoor adventures. After high school, Chris started college in an engineering program and hated it. He took time off and traveled to New Zealand, a place he had been fascinated by since childhood. Upon returning, Chris decided to go back to school. Flipping through a course catalog, he stumbled upon some interesting-sounding classes in ecology and signed up.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (19:10)
There are a lot of logistical challenges Chris faces while working in the arctic, including bad weather, shipping specimens and supplies, and dealing with mosquitoes and biting flies. He faced a different type of challenge though a few years ago when he was invited to participate in a research project on pest management for crops in East Africa. This was a major grant proposal that involved months of work and a trip to Africa to work with the scientists there. Chris invested so much in this project, and he was thrilled when they made it through the first round of review. In the end, they did not receive the grant. For the next few months, it was a struggle for Chris to get his motivation and excitement for research back.
A Shining Success! (23:32)
Last year, two PhD students graduated from Chris’s lab. As a supervisor, Chris finds there is something really special about seeing his students do an awesome job on their dissertation defense, get their papers published, and move on to new and exciting opportunities. These have been really proud moments for him.
Book Recommendations (27:17)
The Forest Unseen by David George Haskell, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt, any book by Cormac McCarthy
Most Treasured Travel (28:51)
There is a patch of the Dempster Highway north of the Arctic Circle that is 4-5 kilometers south of where the Yukon’s border meets the Northwest Territory’s border. There, you can stand and look towards the Richardson Mountains across the most spectacular tundra you can imagine. The landscape here is breathtakingly beautiful, and Chris has taken hundreds of photos there. Every time he passes this spot on his way to do field research, he makes the students stop to enjoy the views and take more photos.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (32:33)
In Chris’s lab, they have had fun baking-related traditions where people would bring in delicious celebratory cakes decorated as spiders. They have also eaten a lot of insects since one student always used to bring in baked goods with insects in them. The group also does a lot of fun things outside the lab together as well.
Advice For Us All (36:35)
You don’t have to work all the time to be successful. You can take weekends off, you can have a life, and you can have hobbies outside of your job. You can achieve work-life balance. Be curious, and follow your passions in science.
Guest Bio
Chris grew up canoeing and fishing on the beautiful lakes just north of Peterborough, Ontario (Canada), and he has always had a passion nature and biology. He pursued a degree in Ecology at the University of Guelph, and a PhD at the University of Alberta, focused on the biodiversity and community ecology of spiders in the boreal forest. After a post-doctoral position at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), he was hired at McGill University in 2002. Since then, Chris has continued to study the biodiversity of insects and spiders, and has done research from the tops of trees to the high Arctic islands. In addition to research, Chris teaches field biology and quantitative ecology, and is an Associate Dean (Student Affairs) on his campus. Chris is deeply committed to science communication, and is always happy to share his passion for science, whether it is dispelling myths about spider bites, to discussing the use of technology in the classroom. When not working, Chris likes to spend time with his family, hang out in forests (watching birds), or go for long bike rides.

*This episode was originally released June 27, 2016.
The post 827: Dr. Chris Buddle: Chilling Out Studying the Biodiversity of Arctic Arthropods appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
42 min
August 18, 2025 826: Dr. Beth Stroupe: Visualizing Molecules to Understand Links Between Structure and Function
Dr. Beth Stroupe is a Professor in the Department of Biological Science and the Institute of Molecular Biophysics at Florida State University (FSU). She is also Director of the Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program there. Beth completed her undergraduate training at Wake Forest University where she majored in chemistry and minored in music. She was awarded her PhD in biochemistry from the Scripps Research Institute. Afterwards, Beth conducted postdoctoral research at Brandeis University before joining the faculty at FSU where she is today. In our interview, Beth shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:44)
When she’s not working, Beth and her partner enjoy spending quality time with their two cats, as well as growing black-eyed peas and other vegetables in their garden, kayaking, hiking, and exploring the great outdoors.
The Scientific Side (4:07)
Research in Beth’s lab focuses on understanding what molecules and proteins look like. This is important for better understanding how these molecules work, both from a basic science perspective and with an eye towards controlling molecules for clinical applications. They use a variety of different techniques that allow them to visualize these very tiny molecules.
A Dose of Motivation (6:34)
“It is said sometimes that the great teachers and mentors, the rabbis and gurus, achieve their ends by inducting the disciple into a kind of secret circle of knowledge and belief, make of their charisma a kind of gift… I suspect that the best teachers… do something else. They don’t mystify the work… but insist that all the magic they have to offer is a commitment to repetition and perseverance. The great oracles may enthrall, but the really great teachers demystify.” – Adam Gopnik
What Got You Hooked on Science? (10:21)
Beth likes to joke that a Mendelian genetic cross between her mom, who was a mathematician and statistician, and her dad, who was an analytical biochemist, was bound to result in her becoming a structural biologist because structural biologists use biochemistry and mathematics to understand what molecules look like. As an undergraduate student, Beth took inorganic chemistry and biochemistry at the same time. In doing so, she was struck by the idea that everything on Earth comes from interactions between the sun and the metal-containing molecule chlorophyl, which turns sunlight into energy. Following her interests, Beth discovered the field of metalloenzyme chemistry, which focuses on the biological chemistry performed by enzymes that use metal ions to enhance their chemicals. She was hooked. Throughout her training, Beth focused on learning and applying the latest structural biology techniques to better understand metalloenzymes, and she continues to work in this area today.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (18:12, 23:50)
Since graduate school, Beth has been interested in preserving and visualizing an enzyme called sulfite reductase. The enzyme has two different protein components that come together to reduce sulfur from sulfite into sulfide. When she first started working on the project, it was really difficult to make the enzyme, and cryogenic electron microscopy technology wasn’t as advanced as it is now. The lab had just solved the structure of one of the protein subunits, and Beth planned to determine how that subunit interacted with the other subunit to perform the really cool chemistry involved in creating sulfide. Despite her best efforts, she failed.
Over the next 30 years, technology and biochemistry have advanced to the point where it became possible to determine the structure of just those two subunits interacting. This has allowed the field to understand the basic assembly unit for the larger complex. The next big step is to determine the structure of the whole enzyme which is made of 12 subunits (8 copies of one subunit and 4 copies of the other subunit). Unfortunately, to be able to visualize the whole enzyme, they need all the pieces to be properly aligned and very still. This has been particularly challenging, and almost everyone who has passed through her lab has tried to make progress on this project. They’ve been incrementally overcoming obstacles, but it has taken a long time and a lot of effort from many individuals. Despite the setbacks, Beth is optimistic that they will be successful soon!
A Shining Success! (27:51)
Solving the structure of the interaction between the two subunits was a big success in the quest to visualize the whole sulfite reductase enzyme. When she launched her independent research laboratory, one of Beth’s major goals was to disprove a hypothesis from the 1970s that there were these 12 subunits bound together with 8 copies of one subunit and 4 copies of the other subunit. However, none of their research to date has been able to disprove this hypothesis. Beth began to suspect that maybe the old hypothesis was correct. She shifted her efforts to trying to discover what the structure looked like, but nothing they did worked. Pivoting again, Beth began collaborating with the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at FSU to use a different approach, which revealed that the two subunits interacted in a really unexpected way. It was so exciting when they were finally able to use cryogenic electron microscopy to solve the structure and see the detailed atomic-resolution basis for the unusual interaction between the subunits. The lab celebrated by going out to dinner, and they brought their lab mascot Henry Sparkles to the party as well.
Book Recommendations (32:16)
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Most Treasured Travel (33:14)
One of Beth’s first international collaborations was with a group in the United Kingdom (UK), and she still cherishes her time spent there as a graduate student. The lab members were incredibly welcoming and taught her a lot. This was her first time working in a lab outside of the United States, and it was cool to be surrounded by individuals from many different countries and cultures. If you’re able to visit, Beth highly recommends visiting Wales and hiking in the Lake District in northern England. Over the years, Beth has continued to stay in touch with people she met in the UK, and they have fun catching up at conferences.
Quirky Traditions and Fond Memories (36:22)
Beth was lucky to have met Dr. Don Caspar, a pioneer in the field who originally coined the term “structural biology” to describe what was (at the time) a new approach to understanding how biology works on a molecular level. Don worked with Rosalind Franklin at King’s College London in the mid 1950’s when she and colleagues were trying to solve the structure of DNA, and he had so many wonderful stories to share about his life and career. Before joining the faculty at FSU, Don worked at Brandeis, and Beth’s positions at both institutions overlapped with his time there. Rather than being an imposing or intimidating figure like you might imagine, Don was incredibly kind and a steadfast supporter of trainees and women in science. He loved structural biology so much that he wanted to share it with everyone he met and trained.
Advice For Us All (40:37)
Don’t let other people bring you down. Give yourself a day to be upset or disappointed when you get negative feedback, but then get back up and move on. Being an academic scientist is difficult, but very important. Just keep moving forward.
Guest Bio
Beth’s research is aimed at understanding what proteins look like to understand how they work. Her lab’s primary target is a multi-component metalloenzyme called sulfite reductase that contains four copies of an iron-containing enzyme and eight copies of a flavin-binding reductase. Although sulfite reductase has been studied in depth since the 1960s and 70s, we still do not know how the 12 subunits assemble to make the active holoenzyme or how the subunits interact enzymatically. After decades of failure, her lab recently determined a minimal complex to show how two of the 12 subunits interact structurally, but the interaction is not what one might predict. Now, her lab is setting out to overcome the technical challenges of structural studies on a mobile biomolecular machine that catalyzes essential chemistry for life. This work is important because humans cannot effectively replicate the chemistry performed by sulfite reductase – a six-electron reduction of sulfite to sulfide. In fact, when you hear about nitrogen fertilizer plants catching on fire, it is because the analogous reduction of nitrite to ammonia is a particularly difficult chemical reaction to perform synthetically in a controlled manner. Thus, her lab’s overall goal is to learn how nature evolved to do this chemistry safely and efficiently. Her work is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Support for this episode of People Behind the Science was provided by Innovative Research, Inc.
The post 826: Dr. Beth Stroupe: Visualizing Molecules to Understand Links Between Structure and Function appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
44 min

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