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

Dr. Jalees Rehman is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago. He is also a science writer for magazines including Aeon and Science Blogger with his own blog in the SciLogs called The Next Regeneration. He received his MD from the Medical School of the University of Munich and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Diego. Jalees is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Peggy Mason is a Professor of Neurobiology at the University of Chicago. She received her PhD in Neuroscience from Harvard University and completed her postdoctoral training at the University of California San Francisco. Her amazing research has been featured in The New York Times, Scientific American, NPR, PBS’s NOVA ScienceNOW, and many other media venues. Peggy is also teaching a Coursera Course on Understanding the Brain: The Neuorbiology of Everyday Life, and she also has a Blog at thebrainissocool.com. Peggy is with us today to tell us about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Rosemary Gillespie is the Schlinger Chair in Systematics and a Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California at Berkeley, as well as the Director of the Essig Museum of Entomology. She received her PhD in Behavioral Ecology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Hawaii. Rosemary has received numerous awards and accolades in her career, and she has been named a Fellow in Royal Entomological Society and Trustee and Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, and also received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, mathematics and engineering mentoring, the Notable Woman Award from the University of Tennessee. She also currently serves as the President of the International Biogeographical Society and was previously the President of the American Arachnological Society. Rosemary is with us today to tell us about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Robert Paul is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Director of Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Rob received his Masters Degree and PhD in Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He then went on to complete a Clinical Psychology internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University Medical School in the Clinical Psychology Internship Training Consortium. Rob served as a faculty member at Brown Medical School and as adjunct faculty at Bryant University before coming to St. Louis. Rob is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Mark McDaniel is a Professor of Psychology and the founding Co-Director of the Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education at Washington University in St. Louis. He Is a past President of the third division of the American Psychological Association. Mark received a Masters Degree and PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Before coming to Washington University, Mark served as a faculty member at the University of Notre Dame, Purdue University, and the University of New Mexico. Mark is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Jason Rohr is an Associate Professor in Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida. He received his Masters Degree in Teaching Biology from Binghamton University and his PhD in Ecology and Behavior from Binghamton University as well. Jason completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Ecology and Toxicology at the University of Kentucky, and he served as an Instructor and Research Associate at Pennsylvania State University before joining the faculty at the University of South Florida. Jason is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Amy Toth is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology as well as the Department of Entomology at Iowa State University. She received her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Illinois. Amy completed postdoctoral fellowships in the Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois and also at Pennsylvania State University. Amy is with us today to tell us about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Michael Sears is an Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences at Clemson University. He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and completed postdoctoral fellowships in the Department of Biology at University of Nevada in Reno and the Department of Life Science at Indiana State University. Mike has held faculty positions at Southern Illinois University and Bryn Mawr College before joining the team at Clemson. Mike is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Brad Joliff is the Scott Rudolph Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. He received a Masters Degree and PhD in Geology from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology after serving on active duty in the US Army in Germany with the 54th Engineer Battalion and in Virginia at the Countermine Lab at Ft. Belvoir. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis before joining the faculty there. Brad is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Nicholas C. Spitzer is Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair of Neurobiology and Director of the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind at the University of California San Diego. Nick attended Harvard Medical School as a Medical Student and received his PhD in Neurobiology from Harvard University. Afterwards, he completed postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard University and University College London before joining the faculty at UCSD. Nick has received many awards and honors throughout his career. Among these, he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the National Academy of Science. Nick is here with us today to tell us about his journey through life and science.