STEM Tea

In this episode, host AJ Hinton is joined by Alissa Armstrong, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina (SC, USA). Armstrong uses the model organism Drosophila melanogaster – the fruit fly – to research how multiple organs communicate information about nutrition to one another.

Armstrong is a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Science Diversity Leadership (SDL) grantee, awarded for her study of inter-organ communication with adipose tissue and her long-standing commitment to mentoring and outreach activities since graduate school. Her passion for mentoring the next generation of Black and Brown students has been at the forefront of her science journey, and she is now participating in two programs: South Carolina – Advancing Diversity in Aging Research (SC-ADAR) and Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP). Here, she discusses her research, how she encourages a healthy working environment in her lab and how her mentoring work and mentoring practices help encourage diversity in 

• Introductions 00:00–02:07
• Could you tell us a bit more about your research focus? 02:07–03:23
• How did you secure a CZI SDL grant? 03:23–07:38
• What drives you to support and mentor students? And what should students look for in a mentor? 07:38–09:28
• How do you collaborate with students and mentees to get them excited about science, and how do you foster their growth and leadership within science? 09:28–12:00
• How do you encourage creative thinking in the workplace? And how does the sense of ‘belonging’ translate to an academic environment? 12:00–14:34
• What are your greatest mentoring accomplishments? 14:34–16:26
• When you were growing up, did people ever discourage you, and if so, how did you overcome that? 16:26–17:49
• What are some of your greatest science accomplishments? 17:49–18:51
• How can mentoring in science be improved? 18:51–20:08
• How does diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) fit into science spaces? 20:08–22:10
• What motivates you and your lab to do great science? 22:10–25:22
• How did you acquire the skills to be both a professional and personal support to your mentees? 25:22–27:55
• How do you and your lab set boundaries for productivity to ensure that you’re not over-working? 27:55–30:36
• What do you see your lab focusing on in the future? 30:36–31:56
• Where do you think DEI will go in science and mentoring in the future? 31:56–32:30
• Do you have any open postdoc or graduate positions at the moment? 32:30–34:02
• What’s the tea? 34:02–35:11
• Outro 35:11–35:36

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In this episode of the STEM Tea podcast, AJ Hinton discusses a career in academic publishing with Alexander Hutchison, the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cellular Physiology (NJ, USA). Following a PhD in Kinesiology and Exercise Science at the University of Houston (TX, USA) and working in academia for several years, Alexander changed career to working in scientific publishing and has also written a number of books.

• Introduction 00:00 – 03:15
• What is the difference between the Senior Editor and Editor-in-Chief of a journal? 03:15 – 06:03
• Take us through the day-to-day of an Editor-in-Chief. 06:03 – 09:55
• When commissioning for a special issue, how do you ensure its novel? 09:55 – 14:18
• How do you move the science forward to contribute to the larger community and not just the journal? 14:18 – 21:06
• How do you work with authors to cultivate high-quality and impactful research? And how do you make time to continue your own learning? 22:33 – 26:40
• What gaps do you see in the education system? 26:40 – 36:43
• How can scientists improve their science communication to those without an extensive science background? 36:46 – 40:29
• Tell us about the books that you’ve authored. 40:29 – 46:03
• How do you stay active? 50:36 – 51:30
• Outro 51:30 – 52:02

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Michelle Juarez is the Diversity Outreach Coordinator at Stony Brook University (NY, USA) and joins AJ Hinton on this episode of the STEM Tea podcast to discuss science communication, promoting biological education within communities and Frontiers for Young Minds, an open-access academic journal that publishes articles edited by kids for kids.

Contents:

o  Introduction 00:00 – 01:03

o  What has been your journey to the DNA Learning Center? 01:03 – 02:11

o  How are you communicating science to the wider community? 02:11 – 03:55

o  What are some key areas that could inspire and motivate students to be the best scientists? 03:55 – 06:48

o  Do you work with translations at Frontiers for Young Minds? 06:48 – 08:12

o  What drove you to become a mentor? 08:12 – 10:36

o  What are some accomplishments in your career that made you interested in science communication and mentoring? 10:36 – 13:00

o  Who inspires you? 13:00 – 14:26

o  Have you had any experiences where you needed to fail in order to succeed? 14:26 – 17:52

o  Could you discuss the importance of high-quality science being communicated to students? 17:52 – 20:11

o  What qualities do you have that have made you successful in your career thus far? 20:11 – 22:20

o  The importance of collaboration 22:20 – 25:27

o  What advice do you wish someone had given you earlier in your career 25:27 – 29:11

o  How can people learn about other career development opportunities outside of the lab? 29:11 – 32:32

o  How were you able to cultivate the leadership skills that you needed for your career in research administration? 32:32 – 36:23

o  Outro 36:23 – 38:15

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To kick off season 2 of the STEM Tea podcast, host AJ Hinton is joined by Aaron Streets, an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkley (CA, USA), to discuss the benefits of going abroad for your postdoc, the importance of being mindful as to which opportunities you agree to and celebrating your accomplishments.

Contents

• Introductions 00:00 – 01:38
• Could you tell us more about your research program? 01:38 – 03:10
• Why did you choose to go to Peking University for your postdoc? Can you speak Mandarin Chinese? 03:10 – 05:54
• Do you still take time to practice Mandarin today? 05:54 – 07:37
• Do you have advice on how to pick postdocs and faculty positions 07:37 – 10:20
• What did you have to assess when coming back to the States to ensure you could acquire the position that you wanted? 10:20 – 13:55
• Highlight some of your best mentorship experiences throughout the years 13:55 – 16:16
• How do you mentor someone who may have interests outside of science? 16:16 – 20:44
• What do you do to mentor students outside of the lab? 20:44 – 24:31
• How do you support alternative careers as a mentor? 24:31 – 28:12
• How did you prepare yourself for your new leadership position? 28:12 – 33:16
• How do you amplify others? How do you decide which opportunities you say yes to? 33:16 – 37:25
• What do you do for fun and to relax? How do you celebrate your accomplishments? 37:25 – 42:05
• The opportunities being a scientist provides and the possibilities within this career from science communication to changing policy 42:05 – 44:30
• Amplifying other voices and sharing opportunities 44:30 – 51:20
• What’s the tea? 51:30 – 52:24
• Where can people find out more about you? Do you have any advice for others? 52:24 – 57:35
• Final thoughts 57:35 – 59:12 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the STEM Tea podcasts, guests discuss how language discrimination affects non-native English speakers in academia, US laws prohibiting discrimination and how to create more inclusive workspaces.

This episode is moderated by Ella Adjei-Sowah, a graduate student at the University of Rochester (NY, USA) studying nanoparticles as drug delivery methods. She is joined by Haysetta Shuler, a DEI consultant and STEM mentor; Elsie Calderon Spencer, Administrative Director for the National Center for Children and Families at the Teachers College, Columbia University (NY, USA); Estevão Scudese, a researcher at the Laboratory of Biosciences of Human Motricity at the Federal University of State of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); and Cicely Wilson, an Associate Professor of Communications at Union University (TN, USA) who studies the lack of research featuring students and scholars of color in the field of communication. 

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This episode of STEM Tea is all about challenges specific to international students, such as language barriers, finding social and cultural acceptance and navigating visa restrictions.

Cicely Wilson, an Associate Professor of Communications at Union University (TN, USA) who studies the lack of research featuring students and scholars of color in the field of communication, hosts this episode and discusses these topics with Haysetta Shuler, a DEI consultant and STEM mentor; Elsie Spencer, Administrative Director for the National Center for Children and Families at the Teachers College, Columbia University (NY, USA); Ella Adjei-Sowah, a graduate student at the University of Rochester (NY, USA) studying nanoparticles as drug delivery methods; and Maria Namwanje, a clinical genomics scientist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (TN, USA).

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On International Women’s Day, the STEM Tea podcast was taken over by the wonderful Andrea Marshall, a staff scientist in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Vanderbilt University (TN, USA) studying age-related changes in mitochondrial networks. Andrea was joined by guests Heather Beasley and Mariya Sweetwyne; together, they drew on their experiences to discuss motherhood while in academia, the differences between equality and equity, why DEI efforts need to be more proactive than just providing visibility, and they consider starting their own institution…

Heather is a Postdoc at the Hinton Lab (Vanderbilt University) studying cancer biology, and Mariya is an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (WA, USA) whose research focuses on cellular mechanisms in kidneys.

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AJ chats with Keisha Hardeman and Arnaldo Díaz Vázquez about some of the challenges of being a first-generation student as an undergraduate through to a postdoc and faculty member. They discuss how mentors can empower their mentees to take control of their academic careers and provide a sense of belonging to ensure first-generation students feel supported.

Keisha is a Postdoctoral Scholar and PROVIDES fellow at The University of Texas Southwestern (TX, USA) in cancer biology studying how cells respond metabolically to different types of drugs. Arnaldo is the Assistant Dean for Diversity for the graduate school of biomedical science at The University of Texas South Western. 

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