Scientist

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Alix Deymier is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Dental Medicine at UConn Health. Initially interested in science through art conservation and ceramics, Alix is a materials scientist whose lab examines dental ceramics (or bones) and acid-base diseases that affect those materials. She chronicles her training and emphasizes the importance of negotiation. Thanks to a mutual understanding with her advisers, Alix was able to pursue her intellectual interests at every turn, and when it came time to start her independent research career in 2017, she continued the types of projects she started during her postdoctoral position. Located in Farmington, Connecticut, UConn Health provides a beautiful and interdisciplinary environment where Alix can learn from experts from medicine, dentistry, and engineering. Encouraging other faculty members to include their preferred gender pronouns in email signatures, Alix Deymier is also passionate about diversity and inclusion in academia and scientific research, and she draws from her own experiences as part of the LGBTQ community to become an advocate for others. Alix says that she's too proud of her interests outside of work not to share them publicly, so on the first day of class to her students, she gives a presentation called "I Have a Life," where she shows her involvement in political protests and hobbies like dance. Her message is that it's OK to be a scientist who loves other things in life besides science.

This episode is supported by Toshiki's Patreon patrons.

Luciano Marraffini is a Professor at The Rockefeller University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. A microbiologist interested in how bacteria function, he heads the Laboratory of Bacteriology. His research group examines CRISPR-Cas systems that help bacteria and other microbes acquire immunity against invading viruses. Comprising six types and found in various bacterial species, these systems employ diverse mechanisms to capture and degrade viral DNA and RNA. The acronym CRISPR stands for clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats. Emphasizing the "regularly interspaced" characteristic of these systems, Luciano delves into the importance of the intervening sequences between the repeats called spacers and explains that these snippets of viral genomes contain information about bacterial evolution. Luciano's efforts to understand the mechanisms of CRISPR at the molecular level spans more than a decade, and he shares his experiences following his instincts and performing experiments on a staphylococcal CRISPR system during graduate school. With the support of his PhD and postdoctoral advisers, he went on to author seminal publications in the field, and his contributions have led to a gene-editing revolution. A native of Argentina, Luciano reflects on how his family life has intertwined with his scientific career, and continuing to conduct research at the frontier of the CRISPR field, he expresses that he's happy that he gets to do what he loves to do every day.

Daniel Mindiola is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. He is an organometallic chemist and leads a research group studying organometallic catalysts involved in various industrially relevant chemical transformations. One of the subjects of his research is the activation of the molecule methane, the major component of natural gas, and the long-term application of this research area is to harness methane as a carbon source via non-combustion processes. In addition to the functionalization of methane, his work has highlighted the use of Earth-abundant, early transition metal catalysts in dehydrogenation reactions of linear alkanes that form terminal olefins. Dan views himself as a fundamental chemist, focusing on understanding the mechanism of a given reaction and using that information to optimize the catalytic activity of new compounds. Because his students receive a well-rounded chemistry education throughout their training, he is proud to say that graduating from the Mindiola group leads to successful career prospects. After moving to Michigan from Venezuela with his family, Dan found a passion for the sciences in high school and in college at Michigan State University. Thanks to the encouragement of his undergraduate research adviser, he was a recipient of an ACS Scholars Program fellowship, and he continues to give back to the program, mentoring underrepresented minority students and serving on the Minority Affairs Committee of the American Chemical Society. Dan earned his PhD from MIT, completed a postdoctoral research position at the University of Chicago, started his independent career at Indiana University in 2002, and moved to Penn in 2013, where he established a lab outfitted with a custom nitrogen purification system. He reflects on how his Venezuelan heritage has influenced his career and hopes to encourage young people that a humble background doesn't preclude them from becoming participants in the scientific workforce.

Scientist is a podcast about people who do science. Hosted and produced by Toshiki Nakashige. Listen to the trailer featuring interview guests from Season 2 of the podcast.

Victor Torres is Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology at New York University School of Medicine. We talk about Staph infections, vaccinations, and Puerto Rico. This is a special live episode in collaboration with RockEDU at The Rockefeller University.

For more information:

• Victor Torres' lab website

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website on Staphylococcus aureus

• RockEDU Science Outreach website

Kathryn Ibata-Arens is Vincent de Paul Professor of Political Science and Director of the Global Asian Studies Program at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. We talk about political economy, service to the Japanese American community, and having a family.

For more information:

• Beyond Technonationalism: Biomedical Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Asia by Kathryn C. Ibata-Arens

• MITI and the Japanese Miracle: The Growth of Industrial Policy, 1925-1975 by Chalmers Johnson

• Depaul University Global Asian Studies Program website

• US-Japan Council TOMODACHI Initiative website

Eugene Chang is Martin Boyer Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago in Chicago, IL. We talk about the gastrointestinal microbiome, his role in a collaborative research team, and how mentorship shaped his physician-scientist career.

For more information:

• The Microbiome Center website

• Michael Field, MD (1933–2014) by Eugene B. Chang, Stefano Guandalini, Mrinalini C. Rao, Joseph H. Sellin, Carol E. Semrad, and Howard Worman

• I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong

Kenneth Gillingham is Associate Professor of Economics at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies of Yale University in New Haven, CT. We talk about energy economics, methodology, and the federal government.

For more information:

• Solar power is contagious. These maps show how it spreads. by Brad Plumer

• White House Council of Economic Advisers website

• William Nordhaus 2018 Nobel Prize Winner video and article

• Climate Feedback website

Gregory Plunkett is Director and Curator of the Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics at the New York Botanical Garden. We talk about phylogenetic analysis, naming plants, and Vanuatu.

For more information:

• Traditional Shelters, Cyclone Houses, and the Temptations of Modern Construction on the New York Botanical Garden website

• Linguist K. David Harrison to Document Plants, Languages in Vanuatu by Ryan Dougherty

Michael Balick is Vice President for Botanical Science and Director of the Institute of Economic Botany at The New York Botanical Garden. We talk about ethnobotany, collaboration, and chewing on ginseng.

For more information:

• Plants, People, and Culture: The Science of Ethnobotany by Paul Cox and Michael Balick

• Plants and People of Vanuatu project description

• Category 5 Cyclone Pam Devastates Vanuatu by Alan Taylor

• Ancient Wisdom, Modern Practices: Three Decades of Studying the Plants and People of Belize on the New York Botanical Garden website

• 2015 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology lecture by Tu Youyou