Sci on the Fly

Ibrahim Mohedas earned his masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan. His doctoral research, supported through a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, focused on the use of ethnographic techniques during the design of medical devices for low- and middle-income countries, collecting data in healthcare settings in Ethiopia, Ghana and Rwanda. Dr. Ibrahim is currently a AAAS S&T Policy Fellow in the Office of the Convergence Accelerator at the National Science Foundation. The Convergence Accelerator program funds innovative new research that brings together scientists with diverse stakeholder groups to produce projects with societal impact. Ibrahim talks about his career journey and this innovative new way of funding scientific projects that have major real-world impacts.

In this week's episode our guest is Dr. Maryann Cairns, who talks about her career path and her studies on pathogens in water. Dr Cairns is an environmental anthropologist who uses using creative research designs and cultural understanding to safeguard the environment and human health. Her work has examined the politics of water and sanitation systems, the impacts of tourism on coastal water quality and human health, and the low-cost technologies to treat wastewater-polluted rivers. She's done research in several parts of the world including Latin America & the Caribbean, the Western Balkans, and the United States. In this podcast she talks about her work, in particular a recent $1.5 million dollar collaborative National Science Foundation-supported research program (the MERA investigation) which studied human exposure to pathogens in coastal areas in Costa Rica.

Dr Roberto Delgado has a doctorate in Biological Anthropology from Duke University, where he did research on the social behavior and calls of male orangutans. So how did he end up becoming the Program Director for the Arctic Observing Network (AON) in the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs – as far removed from the jungle of Borneo as one could imagine? Roberto tells about the journey his career took from great apes to AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, to the National Institutes of Health - where he focused on resilience and well-being among Arctic, American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Finally, his career took him to National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs where in addition to the AON program he co-leads the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee's (IARPC) Environmental Intelligence Collaboration Team and is helping to manage NSF's "Navigating the New Arctic" Big Idea. In this episode Dr Delgado tells us about his journey from PhD student to AAAS STP fellow, to working in the Federal Government on pressing Arctic issues.

Participants :

Roberto Delgado, Ph.D., Anthropologist

2013-15 Executive Branch Fellow at the US National Science Foundation

Host:

Chris Parsons, Ph.D., Ocean conservation science 2020-2021 Executive Branch Fellow at the US National Science Foundation Twitter: @ecmparsons

Editor:

Editor: Ashley Scarlett, Ph.D., Marine biologist and science communication specialist Twitter: @DrScarlettSmash

Producer/Executive Producer:

Chris Parsons, Ph.D., Ocean conservation science 2020-2021 Executive Branch Fellow at the US National Science Foundation Twitter: @ecmparsons

Image credit: Kate Ruck

In this two-part episode, Dr. nature McGinn talks about how the AAAS Science & Technology Policy fellowship helped to give her skills and open doors for a permanent job in federal government and the work she does in her current position to help safeguard the environment and species in the world's last true wilderness area - Antarctica.

This podcast does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.

Dr. Nature McGinn is currently the Environmental Policy Program Manager and Antarctic Conservation Act Permit Officer in the Office of Polar Programs at the National Science Foundation. Nature has been at NSF for over eight years, with her first two years as an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow (STPF) in the Office of Polar Programs, before entering a permanent position in the agency as an Environmental Policy Specialist in 2015. Nature earned her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology from the University of California, Davis. The focus of her research was the impacts of environmental and anthropogenic stressors on reproduction and development in marine invertebrates. She followed her Ph.D. with a postdoc focusing on the reproductive biology of the endangered white abalone.

In this two-part episode she talks about how the STPF fellowship helped to give her skills and open doors for a permanent job in federal government, and the work she does in her current position to help safeguard the environment and species in the world's last true wilderness area – Antarctica.

With so many children currently attending school virtually on laptops, tablets and other smart devices, there is concern about how the extended use of these devices affects them. While much attention has been given to the cognitive effects of extended device usage, Dr. Regina Pope-Ford has instead investigated the physical effects. In this episode, Dr. Pope-Ford, an expert in human factors and ergonomics, discusses her study of children's comfort while using smart devices. She also discussed signs of bad posture that could lead to enduring pain, ways to correct the posture, and some things that parents and educators can keep in mind as schools continue to educate virtually. You can read her paper here. Host: Philip Ko, Ph.D., 2019-2021 Executive Branch Fellow, National Science Foundation (Twitter: @PhilKo19)

Guest: Regina Pope-Ford, Ph.D., 2019-2021 Executive Branch Fellow, National Science Foundation Producer & Executive Producer: Philip Ko, Ph.D., 2019-2021 Executive Branch Fellow, National Science Foundation (Twitter: @PhilKo19)

This podcast does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.

Dr. Melanie Peffer is the author of "Biology Everywhere: How the Science of Life Matters to Everyday Life", a book that reveals how biological concepts taught in the classroom are connected to the world around us. In this episode, we discuss key concepts from the book including changes to the way science is taught, how creative processes are used in scientific work, and understanding how scientific knowledge is acquired. We also talk about engaging with non-scientific audiences even when they adopt anti-scientific points of view, and how COVID-19 has revealed the way that scientific work and knowledge evolves to the public. Learn more about her book, educational engagement, and research at: https://www.biologyeverywhere.com.

STPF Fellows are great at adapting their careers to suit their personal interests and whatever life has in store, such as a global pandemic. In this episode, Dr. Vince Tedjasaputra talks about how his involvement in track and field led to his earning a PhD in Physical Education and Recreation (an official "Doctor of Gym"), and how working with patients with mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) led to his becoming a AAAS STPF Fellow. As a self-proclaimed extrovert, Dr. Tedjasaputra talks about his external-facing communications work in the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs at the National Science Foundation, as well as how he has adapted since working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Julie Palakovich Carr is a scientist who now serves as a state legislator in the Maryland House of Delegates. We spoke to her this past June, and she discussed her transition from academic research to policymaking, her work related to COVID-19, and how the global pandemic changed her work. She also provided some advice for any scientist considering running for office or looking for other ways of getting involved in policy and government.

PARTICIPANTS

Host: Brynn Hollingsworth, PhD, 2019-2020 Executive Branch STPF Fellow, National Institutes of Health (Instagram: @flyingsciencefish)

Guest: Julie Palakovich Carr (Twitter: @palakovichcarr)

PRODUCERS Producer: Brynn Hollingsworth, PhD

Executive Producer: Phil Ko, PhD, 2019-2020 Executive Branch STPF Fellow, National Science Foundation

Image: Maryland State Flag, Michael Wheeler / Public domain

The Science & Technology Policy Fellowships at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) provide broad opportunities for scientists to engage in government policy, but COVID-19 has changed the way fellows work. The article "Serving as an STPF Fellow in the Era of COVID-19", co-authored by several current fellows, examines some of the ways that fellows have adapted – such as leveraging technology to create and strengthen relationships. It also suggests positive ways that communication, informational meetings, and professional development can change with teleworking. In part two of this two-episode podcast, we speak with one of the authors of the article, STPF fellow Dr. Michael Nestor, who expands on some of the issues raised in the article.