Science Talks

Identifying and understanding zoonotic diseases—infections that are spread between people and animals—can help predict future emergence risks, particularly in vulnerable populations. Combined with computational and data-based models, this research allows us to study potential diseases in the hopes of preventing outbreaks.

On this episode of Science Talks, Amy Barber is joined by Dr. Liliana Salvador, assistant professor of animal and comparative biomedical sciences, at the University of Arizona College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences. Dr. Salvador combines ecological, genomic, epidemiological, and movement data with computational and mathematical models to understand zoonotic diseases in wildlife, livestock, and humans. 

Students are an important part of the BIO5 Institute at the University of Arizona and share in the success we achieve here. The different administrative departments within BIO5 look for ways to engage with students and train them on the business side of science. One of those departments is the Public Affairs department where students assist with communications and marketing projects, community and faculty events, and other special projects. One such project is our undergraduate internship program, the BIO5 Ambassadors.  

Amy Barber is joined on Science Talks by two of those BIO5 students(now University of Arizona alumni): Paulina Garza and Drew Seiser. They worked as Public Affairs student assistants and co-facilitated the BIO5 Ambassadors program. Garza graduated in May 2024 with a degree in management information systems and works in technology consulting. Seiser also graduated in May 2024 with her BS in cell and molecular biology and aims to pursue a PhD.  

Students are an important part of the BIO5 Institute at the University of Arizona and share in the success we achieve here. The different administrative departments within BIO5 look for ways to engage with students as well as train them on the business side of science. One of those departments is the Public Affairs department where students assist with an array of communications and marketing projects, community and faculty events, and other special projects. One such project is our esteemed undergraduate internship program, the BIO5 Ambassadors. 

Today Amy Barber is joined by two of those very important BIO5 students (now University of Arizona alumni): Paulina Garza and Drew Seiser. They worked as Public Affairs student assistants and co-facilitated the BIO5 Ambassadors program. Garza graduated in May 2024 with a degree in management information systems and works in technology consulting. Seiser also graduated in May 2024 with her BS in cell and molecular biology and aims to pursue a PhD.

Air pollution, which has implications for human health particularly in urban areas, may be attributed to volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. VOCs in the atmosphere have various sources, but of rising concern are those originating from personal care items, cleaning products, and industrial solvents. 

Amy Barber and Caroline Bartelme were joined by Dr. Gemma Purser a 2024 BIO5 Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Laura Meredith’s lab in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences. Specializing in atmospheric and analytical chemistry, Dr. Purser works to further understand VOCs so we better understand how they impact urban green spaces and air quality. 

Dr. Gemma Purser left the University of Arizona at the end of June 2024. 

A chronic wound does not heal in an orderly set of stages or predictable amount of time. These wounds often remain in the inflammatory stage for too long, taking years to heal, or never healing at all. Biomedical research uses regenerative medicine, tissue repair, nanotechnology, and various biomaterials to target chronic injuries like this. It’s important for researchers to focus on targeting an anti-inflammatory response within molecules, using regenerative techniques to combat oxidative and inflammatory stressors that would otherwise exacerbate the healing process. 

For this episode of Science Talks, Amy Barber talks with Dr. Carlos Zgheib, an associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. Dr. Zgheib leads the Laboratory for Fetal and Regenerative Biology with Ken Liechty and is the surgeon-in-chief at Diamond Children's Medical Center at Banner’s Children. 

In many cases where babies are born prematurely, they often have underdeveloped lungs. This can cause breathing problems and neonatal lung diseases that require long-term treatment, or even lung transplantation. It’s critical for research to be done to provide treatments that can help these premature babies survive so they can grow up healthy. 

Amy Barber is joined on Science Talks by Dr. Vlad Kalinichenko, an internationally renowned research scientist and director of the Phoenix Children’s Research Institute at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix. Kalinichenko was recently awarded a $3M grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop new treatment methods for lung disease in premature infants. 

Understanding the role of cardiac myosin binding protein-c in muscle function can offer insight into cardiovascular disease. Mutations and abnormalities in this protein can lead to defects in the cardiac system, including heart failure in adults.   

Amy Barber and Caroline Bartelme are joined by Dr. Angie Greenman, a 2024 BIO5 Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Samantha (Sam) Harris’ lab in the Department of Physiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. Dr. Greenman studies the molecular mechanisms of cardiac myosin binding protein-c that will hopefully lead to better outcomes for understanding muscle function and cardiac disease. 

Amy Randall-Barber and her co-host, Paulina Garza, welcomed Byrdie Lopez to the latest episode of Science Talks. Lopez is a University of Arizona undergraduate pursuing a double major in biochemistry and molecular cellular biology on track to attend pharmacy school. Her journey at the BIO5 Institute began as a KEYS Research intern in 2022 working with BIO5 member Wei Wang in the R Ken Coit College of Pharmacy. Only a few years later, she is a student assistant with KEYS, conducting outreach to local high schools, and diving deeper into investigating how chemistry can help cancer patients.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects nearly half of American adults and is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Researchers are working to better understand the role of the peripheral nervous system, the part of your nervous system that lies outside your brain and spinal cord, in the development of cardiovascular as well as renal diseases. Amy Randall-Barber from the BIO5 Institute was joined on Science Talks by Dr. Christopher Banek, BIO5 member and assistant professor in the Department of Physiology at University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson. Dr. Banek works in the nexus of cardio-renal-neural physiology, studying the causes of hypertension and polycystic kidney disease. 

Induced pluri-potent stem cells (iPSC) are widely used in therapeutics for disease modeling, regenerative medicine, and drug discovery. Using patients’ cells, scientists can regenerate their cells into iPSC and recreate new organs for patients who need them. Amy Randall-Barber from the BIO5 Institute was joined on Science Talks by Dr. Ekta Minocha, a 2023 BIO5 postdoctoral fellow working in the Jason Wertheim lab at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. Dr. Minocha's work focuses on the development of bioartificial liver tissues. She hopes that one day they can replace a failing liver in the human body and expedite the waiting time associated with organ transplants.