People Behind the Science Podcast Stories from Scientists about Science, Life, Research, and Science Careers

Dr. Alison Fleming is a Professor Emerita in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto, Mississauga. She was also a founding member of the Fraser Mustard Institute for Human Development at the University of Toronto. Alison received her PhD from the Institute of Animal Behavior at Rutgers University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley. Alison has received many awards and honors during her career, including election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Daniel Lehrman Lifetime Achievement from the Society of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, the Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Toronto, Mississauga, and the University of Toronto Faculty Research Excellence Award. She was appointed as Distinguished Professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of Toronto. Alison is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Jess Adkins is a Professor of Geochemistry at California Institiute of Technology. He received his PhD in Chemical Oceanography from MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He then completed postdoctoral fellowships at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and at the University of Minnesota before joining the faculty at Caltech. Jess has received many awards and honors during his career, including the Houtermans Medal from the European Association of Geochemistry, the Ruth and Paul Fye Best Paper Award from MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Organic Geochemical Division of the Geochemical Society Best Paper Award. Jess is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Julie Booth is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Applied Developmental Science at Temple University. She received her PhD in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Human Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University before joining the faculty at Temple. Julie is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. David Holtzman is the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and Chairman of Neurology, Professor of Developmental Biology, Associate Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, and a Head of the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders. David received his Medical Degree from Northwestern University and completed Residency in Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. David has received many awards and honors during his career, including a Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholar Award in Aging Research, the Potamkin Prize from the American Academy of Neurology for research on Alzheimer's disease, a MERIT award from the National Institute on Aging, the MetLife Award for research on Alzheimer's disease, and two of his research discoveries were listed in the top 50 scientific innovations in 2006 by Scientific American. He is also an elected member of the American Neurological Association, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. David is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Tristram Kidder is the Edward S. and Tedi Macias Professor and Chair Professor of Environmental Studies and Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis. He received his Mastes and PhD in Anthropology from Harvard University. He served briefly as a Lecturer in Anthropology at Harvard and then served on the faculty at Tulane University where he remained for about 14 years before joining the faculty at Washington University. T.R. is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Rasmus Nielsen is a Professor of Computational Biology in the department of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his PhD in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley and conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University. He served on the faculty of Cornell University and the University of Copenhagen before coming to UC Berkeley. Rasmus has received many awards and honors during his career, including the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize, an Ole Roemer Fellowship, A Danish ElitForsk Award, A Fulbright Fellowship, and a Sloan Research Fellowship. Rasmus is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Maureen (Mo) Donnelly is a Professor of Biology and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida International University (FIU). She is also a Research Associate in the Department of Herpetology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Maureen received her PhD in Biology from the University of Miami and completed postdoctoral research at the American Museum of Natural History and at the University of Miami. She worked as an Adjunct Assistant Professor and Project Director at the University of Miami before joining the faculty at Florida International University. Maureen is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Talid Sinno is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering as well as Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also Director of Graduate Admissions. Talid received is PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a Lecturer and Postdoctoral Associate there before joining the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. Talid has received various awards and honors during his career, including an NSF Career Award. Talid is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. David Strayer is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah and Director for the Center for the Prevention of Distracted Driving. He received his Masters degree in Experimental Psychology from Eastern Washington University and his PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Afterward, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and worked briefly as a Member of Technical Staff at GTE Laboratories before joining the faculty at the University of Utah. David has received many awards and honors during his career, including being named a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Sciences, receiving the Interdiscipliniary Teaching Grand Award from the Psychology of Traffic, and being awarded the University of Utah Distinguished Scolarly and Creative Research Award. David's research has also been featured among Discover Magazine's 100 Top Science Stories in 2003 and 2005. He has also giving briefings to the US House and Senate on distracted driving issues. David is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. George Hajishengallis is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. He received his Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree from the University of Athens in Greece and his PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Following postdoctoral studies in Immunology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University at Buffalo, George served on the faculty at Louisiana State University Health Science Center and the University of Louisville before joining the Faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. George has been elected as a Fellow of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science and was a recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award in Oral Biology from the International Association of Dental Research (IADR) in 2012 and the AADR/IADR William J. Gies Award in the Biological Research Category in 2014. George is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.