STEMherst

In this podcast, I (Ivy Haight) interview two sophomores who participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program this summer (who happen to be two of my close friends). They discuss what they researched, why they decided to participate in SURF, advice they have for students considering SURF, and what Amherst is like over the summer.

On May 4th, 2021, Amherst STEM Network (ASN) hosted a conversation on science communications with Apoorva Mandavilli. As the Health and Science journalist for The New York Times, Mandavilli has been key in disseminating crucial information about COVID-19 this past year. Through this podcast, she answered questions regarding the rewards and difficulties of her career, her path to this career, and much more.

In this podcast, Editor-in-Chief Aditi Nayak ‘23 introduces Dr. Victoria Fang, who graduated from Amherst College in 2011 with a biology degree. Since then, she received her MD/PhD from New York University’s School of Medicine and is currently a dermatology resident at the University of Pennsylvania. Along her journey to becoming a physician-scientist, she also founded JRNLclub, an organization that increases collaboration in the research community by making it easier for researchers to efficiently understand publications. Here, she shares her path from Amherst to residency, why she founded JRNLclub, and the insights she gained about imposter syndrome along the way.

In this podcast, I (Ivy Haight '25) introduce Professor Becky Hewitt, a new environmental studies professor with research focused in the arctic. She discusses her background, what goes into starting up a lab (more than you would think!), her hope in the midst of climate change, and more.

In this episode of the Stemherst podcast, chemistry students Charlie Blue Arm '22 and Nicole Chung '22 discuss the merging of STEM and humanities with professor Ted Melillo of environmental studies and history, amongst other things such as his recent book, and his course structure.

In this podcast, I talk to Professor Olshansky, a new professor at Amherst, about his journey in chemistry, his research with quantum dots, and his experience as a professor during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode, Liam Flockhart Ford '23, Hannah Goldberg ‘22, Maira Owais ‘23, and Max Spelke ‘23 introduce AC Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA)’s segment of the STEMherst podcast. SOA is a club on campus with a focus on raising awareness for ocean-related issues and actively furthering ocean sustainability efforts.

Today you will hear a conversation I (Aditi Nayak '23) recently had with Professor Kim, a new Neuroscience and Biology professor at Amherst College who used to teach at Stanford University. She researches the SHANK protein that can be found in neurons of the brain. This protein plays a specific role in forming synapses, which is where neurons connect with each other. It also plays a role in dendritic spine maturation. She specifically examines the role of zinc and the signaling pathways associated with the SHANK protein. Her research sheds a light on autism spectrum disorders and neuropsychiatric diseases. We remembered to start recording midway through our conversation while speaking about how she ended up researching this topic. So let's tune into that part of her story. A transcript of this interview is available at www.amherststemnetwork.com. 

In today’s podcast, we introduce you to Jason Williams, Amherst College’s very own chemical hygiene officer.  During this conversation, Jason highlights his background upon how he became a chemical hygiene officer in the first place, along with basic lab safety procedures one ought to know when working in the lab.  He also mentions significant advice surrounding lab safety in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.  He is open to any questions that anyone has either about lab safety or about his role at Amherst College. A transcript of this podcast is available at www.amherststemnetwork.com. 

In this podcast, Hill Yin and Scott Song (COVID advisory board that manages the ACBACCI database) had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Douglas Lowy '64. As the Acting Director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute and Chief of the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology within the National Cancer Institute, Lowy spoke about COVID19 knowledge. His HPV research led to the development of the HPV vaccine, so he also spoke about his previous work and what the process of vaccine development entails. A transcript of this interview is available at www.amherststemnetwork.com where you can follow along with the audio. Cover image courtesy of www.cancer.gov.