Scientist the Human Podcast

Dr. Aristotelis Tsirigos is an Associate Professor of Pathology and the Director of the Applied Bioinformatics Center at the NYU School of Medicine, where his group uses computational methods to study biology. In particular, his work has centered around using computer science to elucidate epigenetic alterations in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, also known as T-ALL. Prior to joining NYU as a faculty member, Dr. Tsirigos worked as a Research Scientist at IBM, which we discuss in this episode. For more information visit his lab page: Tsirigos Lab

Dr. Yiping He is an Assistant Professor of Pathology at Duke University, where his lab focuses on exploiting genetic alterations for cancer treatments, particularly for glioblastoma (GBM), a type of brain tumor. Another area of focus in the He Lab is medulloblastoma, which is a type of malignant pediatric brain tumor located in the cerebellum, the lower-rear area of the brain. One of the ways Dr. He conducts this research is using patient-derived tumor tissue, which we discuss in this episode. For more information visit his web page: He Lab

Dr. Bryan Field is an Assistant Professor of Physics at SUNY Farmingdale on Long Island, New York. He is a theoretical particle physicist, and his work focuses on understanding results from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN and in the past he has actively collaborated on experiments involving ATLAS, which is one of two general-purpose detectors at the LHC. In particular, Dr. Fields is interested in the properties of the recently discovered Higgs Boson in the Standard Model of particle physics, as well as a concept known as supersymmetry, which is discussed at length in this episode. For more information visit his web page: Dr. Bryan Field

Dr. Vanja Sisirak is a Research Associate in the department of Pathology at the NYU School of Medicine. He is a member of the Reizis Lab, where he studies the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease in which the the body's immune system attacks "self" rather than foreign pathogens. Although lupus is difficult to diagnose, an interesting marker of this disease is the presence of antibodies against one's own double-stranded DNA, which is among the topics discussed in this episode. For more information, visit the Reizis Lab web page.

Dr. Sarah LeBoeuf is a postdoctoral researcher in the department of Pathology at the NYU School of Medicine. She is a member of the Papagiannakopoulos Lab, where she uses genetically engineered mouse models to study the role of mitochondria and reactive oxygen species stress in the development and progression of lung cancer. Among the goals of Dr. LeBoeuf's research is to elucidate the metabolic rewiring of cancer cells of specific genetic backgrounds so that they can be targeted therapeutically with small molecule drugs. For more information, visit the Papagiannakopoulos Lab web page.

Joey Verdi is a PhD candidate in the lab of Dr. Jayne Raper at CUNY-Hunter College, where he is conducting research on the apolipoprotein L-1 (apoL1) gene and its variants across multiple species of primates and monkeys. The apoL1 protein produced by this gene is a part of a larger complex of proteins termed trypanosome lytic factors (TLFs), which contribute to the innate immunity of primates against African trypanosomes, a flagellated parasite. Joey's work lends itself to the Transgenic Cattle Project and in this episode we discuss his involvement in this endeavor.

Dr. Andrew Hill is a cognitive neuroscientist and lecturer at UCLA. He conducts research on attention and cognitive performance, and he is the Lead Neuroscientist for truBrain, a start-up that offers nootropic supplements, in the form of capsules and drinks (nootropics are drugs that may enhance memory and focus, however much of the research elucidating mechanisms of action of these drugs remains to be done). Dr. Hill is also a cofounder of Alternatives Addiction Treatment, a start-up that offers addiction treatment on the basis of biofeedback, discussed in this episode. For more information, visit the websites of truBrain and Alternatives Addiction Treatment.

Dr. Ernest Davis is a professor of computer science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. He is an expert on artificial intelligence - he studies the problem of representing commonsense knowledge (basic knowledge about the real world that is common to all humans) and expressing it in a form that is systematic enough to be used by a computer program. Dr. Davis' research includes topics such as the problem of reasoning about containers and the ontology of matter, both of which are discussed in this episode. We also go into detail about potential applications and whether or not artifical intelligence poses a threat. Visit his website for more information here.

Dr. Adric Riedel is a postdoctoral researcher in astrophysics and astronomy at the College of Staten Island in the City University of New York, focusing on local galactic kinematics and low mass and nearby stars. Paige Godfrey is an astrophysics and astronomy PhD student at the City University of New York, interested in studying the formation and evolution of low mass substellar objects. Among the topics both these researchers are interested in are brown dwarfs, discussed in this episode.

Follow Dr. Adric Riedel's astronomical research here.

Follow Paige Godfrey's thoughts on space here.

Dr. Andrew Darwin is a bacteriologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the NYU School of Medicine. His research focuses on bacterial cell envelope functions that prevent or respond to cellular stress occurring as pathogens infect their hosts. His lab use genetics, molecular biology, and biochemistry, along with various infection models, to study the human pathogens Yersinia enterocolitica and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Visit his lab page for more information: Darwin Lab