What drives women in science to challenge the status quo? The Life of Her Mind host, Mia Wood, discusses this question and more with Dr. Agnes Caruso, Head Consultant at Caruso International, a consulting firm specializing in the diagnostics industry, and founder of geneIQ, a nonprofit genetics and diagnostic organization aimed at helping people make sense of their genome.

Hear Dr. Caruso 

• discuss the evolution of diagnostic tools, and the need for integrating multi-omics data and AI to create holistic patient diagnostics, especially for conditions with vague symptoms
• highlight the importance of collaboration, particularly given that successful diagnostic solutions require input from engineers, microbiologists, regulatory experts, and other specialists
• discuss her career transition from academia to diagnostics, and her experience as a product manager, where she combined technical and business skills to develop products that addressed customer needs
• detail the importance of point-of-care diagnostics for underserved populations and the role of patient education in combating misinformation.

If  you’re inspired by women who are reimagining science and shaping the future of discovery and how that discovery happens, this conversation is one you won’t want to miss.

Episode Resources:

Dr. Caruso: LinkedIn page

Caruso International's site

GeneIQ's site

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Share your feedback: Have questions for our guests or suggestions for the show? Fill out our  feedback form - we'd  love to hear from you!      

Connect & explore more: Visit  ⁠The Life of Her Mind⁠ to listen, share, and access links and resources. Check out Labroots  scholarship opportunities ⁠here⁠. Submit a scientific poster to be featured in our event(s) ⁠here⁠.

What drives women in science to challenge the status quo? The Life of Her Mind host, Mia Wood, discusses this question and more with Dr. Suanna Crowley, anthropologist, geoscientist, founder of Headfort Consulting, science communications specialist, and Lead Archaeologist with SWCA, a national environmental consulting firm.   

Hear  Dr. Crowly   

• Discuss her path to science, particularly anthropology and geosciences, inspired by early exposure to nature shows on television and a fascination with human societies
• Explain her work in applied anthropology, which involves applying academic knowledge to solve practical problems outside the academy, such as preserving archaeological resources and improving patient experiences in medical settings
• Consider the growing importance of applied sciences as traditional academic roles diminish, particularly how anthropologists contribute to fields like technology and policy by understanding human interactions with new systems and processes
• Detail her experience designing a social media campaign for a scientific discovery that reached 4.5 billion people globally, achieving 3.5 billion social media impressions within 48 hours

If  you’re inspired by women who are reimagining science and shaping the future of discovery and how that discovery happens, this conversation is one you  won’t want to miss. 

Episode Resources:

Suanna's LinkedIn

"Dr. Dirt" Profile

Anthropology Career Readiness Network Blog Posts

Mass Archaeology ("Diggin' In") Episide 6(S1)

    —     

Share your feedback: Have questions for our guests or suggestions for the show? Fill out our  feedback form - we'd  love to hear from you!      

Connect & explore more: Visit  The Life of Her Mind to listen, share, and access links and resources. Check out Labroots  scholarship opportunities here. Submit a scientific poster to be featured in our event(s) here.

What drives women in science to challenge the status quo? In this episode of The Life of Her Mind, host Mia Wood sits down with Dr. Katherine Roe, Chief Scientist in the Laboratory Investigations Department at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). 

Hear Dr. Roe:   

- explain her initial interest in science, which led her to graduate magna cum laude from Syracuse University, with degrees in biology and psychology

- discuss her graduate work in psychology and cognitive science at the University of California San Diego, culminating in a PhD

- discuss her post-doc fellowship at Johns Hopkins University and then research fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health

- explain the development of her thinking about the use of non-human animals in the sciences and her move to PETA

- discuss the challenges and opportunities of shifting scientists’ thinking from traditional non-human animal experimentation in the sciences

- explain ways in which new and emerging techniques and technologies for scientific experimentation are superior to non-human animal testing

- discuss the opportunities to influence funding sources, like the NIH, on moving away from costly and minimally useful non-human animal testing in the sciences 

If  you’re inspired by women who are reimagining science and shaping the future of discovery and how that discovery happens, this conversation is one you  won’t  want to miss.   

Episode Resources:

Dr. Roe's Academia.edu Page

Dr. Roe and Dr. Juan Carlos G. Marvizón Debate Animal Experimentation

Some of Dr. Roe's publications

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Share your feedback: Have questions for our guests or suggestions for the show? Fill out our  feedback form - we'd love to hear from you!   

Connect & explore more: Visit  The Life of Her Mind to listen, share, and access links and resources. Check out Labroots scholarship opportunities here. Submit a scientific poster to be featured in our event(s) here.   

What drives groundbreaking women in science to push beyond boundaries? In this episode of Life of Her Mind, Mia Wood sits down with Dr. Shella Keilholz, Principal Investigator in The Keilholz Mind Lab at Emory University and Georgia Tech. Dr. Keilholz discusses her academic journey, starting with physics and eventually focusing on non-invasive brain imaging through MRI. 

Hear Dr. Keilholz  

• explain how her interest in combining physics with medical science led to the study of biomedical engineering, particularly MRI technology

• describe her transition from studying blood flow and kidneys to brain imaging during her postdoc position at NIH, where she had access to high-field MRI scanners

• discuss an interdisciplinary research approach to scientific knowledge, highlighting the challenges and benefits of collaborating across fields like physics and neuroscience

• emphasize the importance of understanding brain function, including the role of neuromodulatory nuclei in controlling large areas of the cortex

• reflect on the nature of science as a search for truth and the need to embrace complexity rather than oversimplifying findings

• discuss the overhyping of research results and the public's tendency to view science as providing definitive answers, rather than understanding the nuances and uncertainties involved. 

If you’re inspired by women who are reimagining science and shaping the future of discovery, this conversation is one you won’t want to miss.  

Episode Resources:

Faculty Profile: Emory

Faculty Profile: Georgia Tech

The Keilholz Mind Lab

Scholarly Publications

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International Day of Women and Girls in Science Giveaway - Official Rules

Prize: Four (4) winners will each receive a $25 gift card the the Labroots Science Store

How to Enter: Comment on any episode of Life of Her Mind on your preferred podcast platform with either: (a) a question you'd love to ask a woman scientist, OR (b) your favorite Life of Her Mind episode or guest Subscribe to Life of Her Mind wherever you listen to podcasts for 10 bonus entries (optional)

1. Submit the entry form ⁠here⁠ with your name, email, and confirmation of steps completed

Entry Period: Entries accepted from January 29, 2026 8:00 am through February 11, 2026 5:00 pm PST.

Eligibility: Open to listeners 18 years or older. Void where prohibited by law. Winner Selection: Four winners will be selected via random drawing on or around February 12, 2026. Winners will be notified via email within 48 hours of selection and must respond within 72 hours to claim prize. If a winner does not respond, an alternate winner will be selected.

Limit: One entry per person.

Additional Terms:

1. No purchase necessary to enter or win
2. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received
3. Prizes cannot be transferred or substituted
4. Life of Her Mind/Labroots is not responsible for lost, late, or undeliverable prizes
5. Email addresses will only be used for giveaway administration and winner notification
6. This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other podcast platform
7. By entering, participants agree to these official rules

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

Share your feedback: Have questions for our guests or suggestions for the show? Fill out our ⁠feedback form⁠ - we'd love to hear from you!

Connect & explore more: Visit ⁠The Life of Her Mind⁠ to listen, share, and access links and resources. Check out Labroots scholarship opportunities ⁠here⁠. Submit a scientific poster to be featured in our event(s) ⁠here⁠. 

Dr. Jeanne Jordan discusses her long and exemplary career, which was prompted by growing up in the era just before the polio vaccine was created and an outbreak of Newcastle disease in her father’s flock of chickens. Jeanne talks about her work in global public health, scientific education, and her experiences navigating a male-dominated professional environment, while emphasizing the importance of mentoring young scientists and making research accessible to local communities. Jeanne brings her decades of experience and expertise to bear as the Director of the International Institute for Public Health Laboratory Management a collaboration between APHL and George Washington University, which provides a training platform for international public health lab professionals.   

Among the topics Jeanne discusses are her journey into science and virology research, her decision to pursue a degree in medical technology -- which led to her first job at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she worked in microbiology and parasitology –her subsequent work at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and her first publication. 

Episode Resources:

• Profile, Milken Institute School of Public Health
• Profile, American Society for Microbiology
• Profile, University of Pittsburgh
• Google Scholar

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International Day of Women and Girls in Science Giveaway - Official Rules

Prize: Four (4) winners will each receive a $25 gift card the the Labroots Science Store

How to Enter: Comment on any episode of Life of Her Mind on your preferred podcast platform with either: (a) a question you'd love to ask a woman scientist, OR (b) your favorite Life of Her Mind episode or guest Subscribe to Life of Her Mind wherever you listen to podcasts for 10 bonus entries (optional)

1. Submit the entry form here with your name, email, and confirmation of steps completed

Entry Period: Entries accepted from January 29, 2026 8:00 am through February 11, 2026 5:00 pm PST.

Eligibility: Open to listeners 18 years or older. Void where prohibited by law. Winner Selection: Four winners will be selected via random drawing on or around February 12, 2026. Winners will be notified via email within 48 hours of selection and must respond within 72 hours to claim prize. If a winner does not respond, an alternate winner will be selected.

Limit: One entry per person.

Additional Terms:

1. No purchase necessary to enter or win
2. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received
3. Prizes cannot be transferred or substituted
4. Life of Her Mind/Labroots is not responsible for lost, late, or undeliverable prizes
5. Email addresses will only be used for giveaway administration and winner notification
6. This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other podcast platform
7. By entering, participants agree to these official rules

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

Share your feedback: Have questions for our guests or suggestions for the show? Fill out our feedback form - we'd love to hear from you!

Connect & explore more: Visit The Life of Her Mind to listen, share, and access links and resources. Check out Labroots scholarship opportunities here. Submit a scientific poster to be featured in our event(s) here. 

Dr. Veena Joy, the U.S. Lead for Strategic Partnerships in Allergy and Autoimmunity at Thermo Fisher Scientific discusses her career transition from academic research to industry work at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Driven by her interest in health economics and the underexplored aspects of autoimmune disease diagnostics, Dr. Joy transitioned to a focus on translational medicine and autoimmune diagnostics. Emphasizing the value of thinking beyond narrow specializations, Dr. Joy discusses how her diverse experiences have enabled her to make a broader impact in the autoimmune diagnostics field, particularly improvements in autoimmune disease diagnostics. The holistic diagnostic approaches Dr. Joy discusses include the consideration of factors like genetic predisposition, environmental triggers, and societal influences. In addition, health economics, the role of empathy and innovation in scientific advancements also play roles in a complete approach to diagnostics, with the ultimate goal being to improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Joy notes that, while diagnostic improvements have been ongoing for 20-30 years, there has been significant momentum in the past decade, particularly with advancements in CAR-T therapy, which holds promise for eliminating certain autoimmune diseases. More specifically, Dr. Joy discusses the potential of CAR T-cell therapy to revolutionize autoimmune disease treatment by re-engineering cells and removing certain autoimmune conditions.

Women face notable diagnostic challenges, like receiving timely and accurate diagnoses for autoimmune conditions when, for example, symptoms are dismissed as hormonal or not taken seriously by healthcare providers. Dr. Joy further notes that women tend to deal with symptoms on their own and that there are significant disparities in diagnosis rates between women and men, with women being diagnosed or misdiagnosed at higher rates despite comprising the majority of autoimmune condition patients. Addressing these issues to improve women's health and access to care, particularly for marginalized groups, is a major goal.

By focusing on improving diagnostic techniques and ensuring their value through health economics, Dr. Joy’s holistic approach to diagnostics is aimed at reducing those disparities. Educating clinicians and patients, as well as optimizing the use of existing diagnostic tests are part of this more complete picture.

Dr. Joy emphasizes the importance of empathy in science and highlights Thermo Fisher's commitment to innovation and patient care under CEO Mark Casper. With various challenges and opportunities in the scientific community, scientists must be collaborative changemakers by considering multiple perspectives and impacts of their work.

Episode Resources:

B·R·A·H·M·S Biomarkers for Preeclampsia Screening

Upcoming Micro-Lecture 

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Connect & explore more: Visit The Life of Her Mind to listen, share, and access links and resources. Check out Labroots scholarship opportunities here. Submit a scientific poster to be featured in our event(s) here. 

Dr. Kellie Smith is an Associate Professor of Oncology in the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. In this interview, Dr. Smith shares how she came to study science and specialize in T-cell immunology and immunotherapy. She also discusses how she developed an original assay for detecting anti-tumor immune responses in specific types of lung cancer, called MANASCORE. She also shares some details about the goal of comprehensively understanding immunotherapy-resistant immune cells.  Dr. Smith reveals the basic thought process that led her to a focus on integrating multi-omics technologies to study tumor-reactive T cells in the setting of various cancer types, with a specific focus on lung cancer; what brought her to Johns Hopkins, and how remaining at the institution throughout her career been an asset to her research.   

In a field that is highly technical and requires sustained, years-long dedication that some people could find draining or otherwise unrewarding — the big Hollywood moments are presumably rare. Dr. Smith describes how she paces herself, determines benchmarks, and frames big-picture questions that structure her work.   

Finally, scientists have long worked at the center of the tension between advancing (empirical) knowledge, and the realities of socio-political and cultural pressures. Dr. Smith discusses how scientists should grapple with the current tension.

Episode Resources:

• Profile Page, Johns Hopkins Medicine
• Google Scholar Page
• Keynote Presentation: Immunogenomic Characterization of Tumor-Reactive TIL in Lung Cancers w/ Live Q&A
• Keynote Presentation: Characterizing the phenotype, function, and spatial interactions of tumor-reactive TIL

Connect & explore more: Visit The Life of Her Mind to listen, share, and access links and resources. Check out Labroots scholarship opportunities here. Submit a scientific poster to be featured in our event(s) here. 

Dr. Stephanie Poindexter is a biological anthropologist at the University of Buffalo specializing in primatology. Doctor Poindexter conducts field, lab, and desk-based research into how primates use and navigate their habitats. More specifically, Doctor Poindexter investigates primate movement, morphology, and cognition. Of particular interest is the slow loris. Dr. Poindexter investigates how the environment, other animals, and their own cognitive and physical capacities influence the nocturnal slow loris's movement.

In this episode, we learn how Dr. Poindexter loved primates as a child, planned for medical school, then rediscovered and fell in love with primatology as an undergrad. We also learn how Dr. Poindexter came to specialize in the slow loris, and how she expands the scope of thinking about evolutionary drivers of movement and cognition.

Episode Resources:

• Faculty Page, University at Buffalo
• Check out Dr. Poindexter’s conservation work at Project Chimps

Stay up to date on the latest in science at ⁠Labroots.com⁠.

Kinesiology Professor Shilo Nelson’s story highlights the important point that there is no one correct way to approach a career in STEM.

Our conversation covers a range of topics, including the following:  

• Prof. Nelson’s experience in the United States Air Force
• How Prof. Nelson parlayed her discipline and physical fitness into a stint as a Seattle Sea Hawks cheerleader;
• The importance of seeing – and taking – opportunities that don’t seem obvious fits with one’s background;
• How Prof. Nelson’s path as a kinesiology major at Eastern Washington University led to body building, work as an aerobics instructor, goat yoga, and more!

Stay up to date on the latest in science at ⁠Labroots.com⁠.

Tomi Akingbade is the founder of the Black Women in Science Network and a Ph.D. student in Neurochemistry at the University of Cambridge. Tomi’s scientific research centers on the inflammatory mechanisms of aggregates in Alzheimer’s disease.  Interested in science since childhood, Tomi founded the Black Women in Science Network as a response to the lack of frank conversations about being a Black woman in science, and the supportive community such conversations generate. The image of what it is to be a scientist is changing, and must continue to do so, if the sciences are to achieve a comprehensive understanding of nature. Partly to that end, Tomi is working to expand the Black Women in Science Network into a global organization.

Cambridge University neurochemistry Ph.D. student, Tomi Akingbade is founder of the Black Women in Science Network. Tomi’s scientific research centers on the inflammatory mechanisms of aggregates in Alzheimer’s disease.

Our conversation covered a range of topics, including the following: 

• How Tomi discovered neuroscience early in high school, but didn’t study in the field until years later because she didn’t know it was a career path
• The trials and tribulations of finding your way to – and through – a Ph.D. program, and the importance of supportive mentors throughout
• How Tomi started work in a virology lab in February 2020 – just before the COVID pandemic started
• How Tomi decided to start the Black Women in Science networking group in 2018

Episode Resources:

• Tomi Akingbade on LinkedIn
• Black Women in Science Network

Stay up to date on the latest in science at ⁠Labroots.com⁠.