STEM Tea

In this episode of STEM Tea, AJ chats with Chrystal Starbird and Aileen Fernandez about how institutions can make diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) improvements. They talk about the needs of DEI and how this should be incorporated into the classroom from schools to undergraduate and postgraduate studies and beyond.

Chrystal is a faculty member at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (NC, USA) in the biochemistry and biophysics department and is a structural biologist studying cell surface receptors. Aileen is a postdoc at Yale School of Medicine (CT, USA) in the department of pathology and studies translational oncology and is passionate about cancer health disparities.

• Introduction 00:00 – 05:55
• Future career goals 05:55 – 11:08
• What is DEI to you? 11:08 – 16:35
• How well do you think academia and industry are doing with integrating real DEI change? 16:35 – 23:31
• What can leaders focus on to create authentic DEI change at their institution? 23:31 – 32:29
• How do we monitor an institution’s performance towards DEI? 32:29 – 48:18
• What do you think the future of DEI will look like? 48:18 – 50:23
• Discussion about the importance of mentoring in DEI DEI 50:23 – 55:50
• Should proof of DEI be required for grant mechanisms? 55:50 – 1:04:24
• What’s the tea? 1:04:24 – 01:12:25

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

In this episode of STEM Tea AJ and Tina speak to Melanie McReynolds, HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellow and Rising Assistant Professor at the Pennsylvania State University (PA, USA). Here she discusses her research on the intersection of metabolic decline and aging, overcoming challenges along the route from her postdoc to her faculty position and key advice on grant writing and choosing the right postdoc position for you.

What emerges throughout the episode though, is the consistent theme of Melanie's powerful faith and how it has helped her on numerous occasions throughout her career. Melanie reveals the tools and proverbs, taken from her faith and applied in a professional scientific context, that have empowered her to find her voice, reducing the impact of her speech impediment on her professional interactions, helping her address imposter syndrome and so much more.

• Intro: 00:00-01:05 
• Introduction to Melanie and her early research: 01:05-02:35 
• Melanie's research and transition from postdoc to faculty position: 02:35-04:00 
• Overcoming hurdles during postdoc studies: 04:00-08:50 
• Building community around faith-based science: 08:50-11:45 
• Melanie’s journey to postdoc and stepping out on faith: 11:45-17:35 
• Finding her voice and using faith to guide her next steps in science: 17:35-20:05 
• Overcoming imposter syndrome: 20:05-23:30 
• What do you want to do for individuals as you build yourself up? 23:30-25:20 
• What are the next steps in faith-based science and mentoring? 25:20-27:25
• Techniques for caring for your mental health: 27:25 – 31:20 
• Advice on pursuing your dream and applying for grants 31:20-33:50 
• Choosing a postdoc, and picking a research query to follow: 33:50-38:00 
• What’s the tea today? 38:00-39:00

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

AJ, your STEM Tea host, chats with Jose Gomez, Vivian Gama, Edgar Garza López and Elsie Spencer (all Vanderbilt University; TN, USA) about their different paths through academia and their research. Together, they discuss their experiences of developing leadership skills and continuously improving their approaches to mentoring. The panel concludes with a discussion about their experiences as Latino or Latina in STEM.

• Introduction: 00:00 – 01:30
• Introduction to the panel of guests: 01:30 – 02:47
• Elsie Spencer’s research in STEMM education and DEI efforts within the field: 02:47 – 05:09
• Elsie Spencer’s research on maternal health 05:09 – 06:41
• Vivian Gama’s research program: 06:41 - 08:33
• Vivian Gama’s journey through academia and approach to mentoring: 08:33 – 12:59
• Jose Gomez’s research background and journey through academia: 12:59 – 17:29
• Edgar Garza Lopez’s research background and postdoc work: 17:29 – 23:48
• How did you cultivate your leadership skills? 23:48 – 35:27
• How do you continue to become a stronger mentor? 35:27 – 44:03
• Experiences as a Hispanic scientist: 44:03 – 56:00
• What’s the tea? And concluding thoughts: 56:00 – 01:04:57
• Social media: 01:04:57 – 01:06:19

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

In this episode of STEM Tea, AJ talks to Stanley Andrisse, Assistant Professor at Howard University (DC, USA) and Executive Director of the nonprofit From Prison Cells to PhD, whose mission is, "to reach, touch, and change the lives of individuals with disadvantaged backgrounds through advocacy, mentoring, and policy change."

Stanley's drive to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who have been incarcerated transition into professional careers, is matched only by his passion for endocrinology research. Hear AJ and Stanley discuss his story, from his latest publication on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in black women, his work to understand the pathways that lead to insulin resistance, the intergenerational impact of incarceration and mentoring practices.

You can also get an insight into his recently published book, From Prison Cells to PhD: It is Never Too Late to Do Good, and find out how scientists and the general public can do more to support the people Stanley helps.

• Introduction: 00:00-01:35
• Introducing STEMTea guest, Stanley Andrisse: 1:33-03:05
• Understanding mechanisms of insulin resistance: 03:05-05:20
• PCOS and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Black women: 05:20-07:05
• Good mentoring practices and inspirations: 07:05-09:40
• Examples of mentoring improving critical thinking and relationships with failure: 09:40-11:30
• Developing a mentoring relationship: 11:30-16:30
• Life experiences that improve mentoring capabilities: 16:30-21:50
• The Endocrine Society and two recent publications: 22:45-28:50
• Pell Grants and their inaccessibility to the incarcerated: 28:50-34:00
• NSF grant and STEM Ops: 34:00-38:15
• Incarceration, higher education, family structure and intergenerational impacts of both: 38:15-44:20
• The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones and From Prison Cells to PhD by Stanley Andrisse 44:20-49:30
• Takeaways and conclusions 49:30-51:30
• Ways scientists can support From Prison Cell to PhD 51:30-52:25
• What’s the tea? 52:25-54:47

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

In the first episode of STEM Tea, we provide an introduction to the series and our host, the enigmatic Antentor Othrell Hinton Jr, Assistant Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Vanderbilt University (TN, USA), and learn more about his mission to improve the state of mentoring and DEAI in STEM.

In this episode, Antentor dives into a conversation with Christina Termini, Assistant Professor at the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center (CA, USA) about mentoring practices, LatinX representation in STEM and the role that scientific societies, such as the American Society of Cell Biology, can play in the development of their members.

• Introduction: 00:00-03:10
• Christina's Research in hematopoietic stem cells and cancer treatments. 03:10-06:20
• Building mentoring networks and addressing microaggressions: 06:20-09:05
• Isolation in academic spaces and countermeasures: 09:05-10:30
• The community of scholars and the 1000 Black scientists lists: 10:30-17:00
• What are you drinking? 17:30-18:00
• Mental health in mentoring: 18:00- 20:30
• The work of the American Society of Cell Biology developing mentors: 20:30-23:00
• Equalling opportunities with virtual and non-traditional faculty interviews: 23:00-26:50
• Building the 100 Latinx list: 26:50-29:30
• Contact Tina: 29:30-31:55
• Coming up on STEM Tea: 32:10-34:54

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