Random Walks

In this episode, I talk with Stuart Cantrill, who's the current Chief Editor of Nature Chemistry. Before joining the Nature Publishing Group, Stuart was a Research Associate at UCLA and prior to that, obtained a PhD under the tutelage of Prof. Fraser Stoddart at the University of Birmingham and UCLA, and completed a postdoc with Prof. Bob Grubbs' group at Caltech. 

As a chemist, Stuart actively researched in supra supramolecular chemistry, self-assembly processes, and interlocked molecules. We converse about his serendipitous journey in science and academia; working with two terrific mentors, both of whom would go on to win a Nobel Prize for their pioneering research; how no one wants to be an editor and how his own journey to be one came to be; prescient thoughts on scientific publishing; the importance of funding blue-sky research; changes he'd like to retain in the post-pandemic world; and many more things!!

In this episode, I converse with Shubhendu Trivedi, who's currently a Machine Learning Researcher at MIT CSAIL, where he works with Prof. Regina Barzilay and Prof. Tommi Jaakkola as part of the MIT Machine Learning for Pharmaceutical Discovery and Synthesis Consortium (MLPDS). Prior to that he was the NSF sponsored Institute Fellow at Brown University's Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics and completed a PhD on group covariant neural networks at the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago and the University of Chicago.

Shubhendu's research particularly focuses on causal learning and representation learning for graph-structured data, with a particular focus on applications to drug discovery. We talk about his fantastic journey in science, being there at the pivotal moment when the deep learning revolution took off, phenomenal mentors who guided him through academia and life, the unique characteristics of research in academia and industry, dealing with issues of bias and ethics in AI systems, his eclectic reading interests and obsession with collecting books, and many more things!!

In this episode, I converse with Lucky Pattanaik, who's currently a Graduate Student in the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT. He is actively working on the intersection of AI/ML with chemical synthesis and is jointly advised by the Green and Jensen groups. Before starting grad school, Lucky completed his undergraduate studies in chemical engineering at Ohio State University.

Lucky works on the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to computer-aided synthesis planning. We talk about his fantastic journey in science and life; defining chemical engineering (which is not chemistry!); fascinating research on a modern-day hot topic; phenomenal mentors and research experiences; the influence of drumming and basketball; his active commitment and endeavour to creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable culture in academia; and many more things!!

In this episode, I chat with Prof. Marina Picciotto, the Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry and Professor in the Child Study Center, and the Departments of Neuroscience and of Pharmacology, and the Deputy Director, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience at Yale University. Prof. Picciotto completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Jean-Pierre Changeux in the Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience at the Institut Pasteur in Paris and earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Neurobiology in the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience at Rockefeller University under Paul Greengard, a future Nobel Laureate. 

Prof. Picciotto is a pioneering neuroscientist known for her groundbreaking work on the role of nicotine in addiction, memory, and reward behaviors. She's also the current Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Neuroscience, the field's trademark journal. We talk about her very interesting journey through science, exploring the intricacies and conducting phenomenal research in neuroscience, her terrific mentorship and influence on the field leading a prestigious journal through the era of preprints and digitization, and many more things!!

In this episode, I chat with Divya Shanmugam, a Graduate Student in the Clinical and Applied Machine Learning Group at MIT CSAIL advised by Prof. John Guttag. Divya completed her undergrad from MIT itself and majored in computer science with a concentration in South Asian studies. She has also interned at Microsoft Research, Borealis AI, D.E. Shaw Research, Counsyl, and Aetion.

Divya is currently focused on building machine learning models that are resilient to unreliable data. We talk about her growing up in a family of academics and getting an early initiation into the world of scientific research; delving into the intersection of computation and biology; differing experiences in an industrial and academic research setting; choosing a graduate school lab and project; virtual seminars and conferences; the importance of a humanistic perspective to contextualise advances in computing; diversity and its connection with ensembles; her current eclectic reading list; and many more things!!

In this episode, I chat with Dr. Padmini Pillai, an Immunoengineer and CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellow in the legendary Langer Lab at MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. Padmini completed her undergrad at Regis College and then worked as a Research Technician in Prof. Charles Serhan's lab at Harvard Medical School before earning her PhD in Immunology at the renowned Iwasaki Lab at Yale. Padmini is also a very accomplished musician who has performed at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Newport Jazz Festival, singing backup for Grammy Award-winning singer Angelique Kidjo!!  

In this episode, I converse with Varun Suresh, a Graduate Student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Varun completed his BS and MS in Biotechnology from Mumbai University, graduating with high honours, and also worked as a Research Fellow in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory at the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health.

A developmental neuroscientist in training at TIFR under Prof. Shubha Tole's auspice, Varun and I touch on a diverse array of topics, right from his deep desire to serve in the defense forces to his serendepitious journey in science guided and supported by terrific mentors and peers, his groundbreaking research during the course of his doctoral studies, making science a more diverse and equitable place whilst encouraging an open and collaborative atmosphere, the great importance of fundamental research, interdisciplinarity and communicating science to the public, and many more things!!

In this episode, I talk with Prof. Neel Shah, an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School, and founding Director of the Delivery Decisions Initiative at Harvard’s Ariadne Labs. Neel completed his undergraduate studies in neuroscience at Brown University and went on to obtain an MD from Brown Medical School along with a Master's in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School before completing his Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham And Women's Hospital. He also serves as an obstetrician-gynecologist and a Harvard Medical faculty physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Prior to joining the Harvard faculty, Neel founded Costs of Care, an NGO that curates insights from clinicians and patients to help delivery systems provide better care. In 2017, he co-founded the March for Moms Association and currently serves on national advisory boards of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Office of Women's Health Research at the National Institutes of Health.

As a scientist and social entrepreneur, Neel is a globally recognized expert in designing solutions that improve health care and his pioneering work focuses on partnering with people giving birth to design solutions that enable them to thrive. We indulge in a splendid conversation about his fascinating path in science and medicine; the influence of his terrific mentors and advisors like the legendary Leon Cooper, a Physics Nobel Laureate turned Systems Neuroscientist, and Atul Gawande, a renowned public health expert; Neel's groundbreaking work on maternal wellbeing that lies right at the intersection of reproductive justice, gender equity, and structural racism; coming to terms with Trumpism and the post-truth world; how critical issues related to childbirth like maternal mortality transcend borders; celebrating mothers as mothers themselves; and many more things!!

In this episode, I chat with Pratiti Deb, a Graduate Student in the Department of Physics at the University of Chicago, working in the group of Prof. David Awschalom. Before coming to UChicago, Pratiti completed her undergrad at Cornell University and has also been working as a Quantum Developer Intern at IBM Quantum. 

Pratiti has been actively working on the experimental implementation of qubits through spins in semiconductor defects and chemically synthesized molecular systems. We indulge in a magnificent conversation on quantum computing, her own research interests, her experience as an ethnic immigrant; how bias, discrimination, and racism on basis of gender, caste, and race pervade myriad fields; the false narrative of genius in science and how in reality it's truly collaborative, affirmative action as a tool of empowerment and making science a more diverse and inclusive space for minorities for all hues, and many more things!

In this episode, I converse with Dr. Nicole Yunger Halpern, a theoretical physicist and an ITAMP Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics (ITAMP). Nicole completed her PhD in 2018 advised by  John Preskill at Caltech and before that, she earned her Masters's at the highly selective Perimeter Scholars International (PSI) program of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and Bachelors at Dartmouth College, where she graduated as a co-valedictorian of her class.

Nicole re-envisions 19th-century thermodynamics for 21st-century settings—small, quantum, and far-from-equilibrium contexts—using the mathematical toolkit of quantum information theory. Nicole uses quantum thermodynamics as a new lens through which to view the rest of science and calls her research “Quantum Steampunk,” after the steampunk genre of art and literature that juxtaposes Victorian settings with futuristic technologies. We touch on a wide array of topics, right from her amazing experience at a liberal arts college and the deep influence humanities have had on her scientific persona, the essential nature of interdisciplinarity and collaboration in academia, her terrific mentors who have hugely inspired Nicole and her revolutionary work, her scintillating efforts at science communication through her monthly blog posts, and many more things!