Science Lives

In this episode, I speak with Rachel Kline, Program Associate for the Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Rachel entered college at MIT thinking she would be an astrophysicist, but when her physics classes didn’t resonate with her, she changed her major to neuroscience. After earning her bachelor’s, she went to graduate school in pharmacology at Boston University. After passing her Ph.D. qualifying exams, she realized that she ...

In this episode, I speak with Vay Cao, Senior Marketing Manager for Natera, a molecular diagnostics company. Interested in science at an early age, Vay studied microbiology as an undergraduate at Penn State University, and then neuroscience as a graduate student at Brown University, where she earned her PhD. But her deeper interests lay more at the intersection of art and human behavior, and so although her first job was as a field application scientist, she soon transitioned into customer su...

In this episode, I speak with Melanie Peffer, the best-selling author of Biology Everywhere. Melanie earned both a BS and a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Pittsburgh, and was poised for a career doing academic research. While in graduate school, she began volunteering at a local zoo and became intrigued in how students learn scientific concepts, and this prompted her to switch fields for her postdoc to study educational psychology. She then landed a tenure-track research facu...

In this episode, I speak with Joseph Mocanu, Founder and Managing Director of Verge HealthTech Fund, a venture capital fund investing exclusively, and globally, in impactful healthcare technologies at the earliest stages. Joseph attended the University of Toronto both as an undergraduate and graduate student, earning a BSc in molecular genetics and molecular biology and a PhD in medical biophysics. During graduate school, he also served as Director of Research and Development for a medic...

In this episode, I speak with Thomas Lentz, Scientific Instructional Designer at Promega Corporation, a supplier of reagents and instrumentation for life science research. Growing up, Thomas had a strong interest the natural world, and, while an undergraduate at Texas A&M, discovered that he really enjoyed molecular biology and virology. He continued following these interests while a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and assumed he would eventually do research as a...

In this episode, I speak with Alexis Katsis, an infectious disease expert working freelance as a Relationship Manager. From an early age, Alexis wanted to be a scientist, and in college studied biology, earning a BS in biotechnology from Rutgers University. After working for two years, she decided to get a MS in public health microbiology to access jobs having a greater impact. Afterwards, she worked at the Centers for Disease Control, but again returned to school, this time to earn a Ph...

In this episode, I speak with Lauren Shields, Head of Solutions Delivery at Benchling, an R&D cloud software company headquartered in San Francisco. Growing up, Lauren always wanted to become a scientist and a professor. She majored in biology as an undergraduate at MIT, and went to graduate school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she earned a PhD in biomedical sciences. However, along the way she discovered that although she enjoyed the intellectual aspects of scienc...

In this episode, I speak with Myeashea Alexander, The Rockstar Anthropologist. Anthropology and science communication and outreach have been long-term interests for Myeashea. In her role as The Rockstar Anthropologist, she writes a blog about science, culture, and anthropology; runs a mobile bone lab for schools and youth groups which provides a hands-on learning experience that includes forensic anthropology, archaeology, history, math, art, and culture; and produces a video series on YouTub...

In this episode, I speak with Yamilée Toussaint Beach, Dance Technologist and Founder and CEO of STEM From Dance. Based in New York City, STEM From Dance gives underrepresented minority girls the awareness and preparation for a STEM education through the creative and confidence-building aspects of dance. Yamilée grew up on Long Island, and although she considered becoming a professional dancer after high school, she instead enrolled at MIT, where she earned a BS in mechanical engineering. Wan...

In this episode, I speak with Ro’ee Gilron, Lead Scientist at Rune Labs in San Francisco. Growing up in Israel, Ro’ee was an avid reader of science fiction and popular science literature. After graduating high school and completing his compulsory military service, he attended Brandeis University, attractive due to its focus on liberal arts, and earned a BS in neuroscience. He then returned to Israel, where he received a PhD in cognitive neuroscience from Tel Aviv University, afterwards return...