The Symbiotic Podcast

The field of stem cell research has progressed immensely since its high-profile politicization in the early 2000s, with researchers now able to harvest cells from uncontroversial sources and manipulate them with ever-increasing accuracy and efficiency. Associate Professor of Biology and Biomedical Engineering Lance Lian talks about his key role in advancing our understanding and mastery of stem cells and the incredible medical applications they promise.

Sally Mackenzie is one of the world’s foremost experts on epigenetics, the study of how environmental changes affect the way genes are expressed. In this conversation we cover an epigenetic techniques she’s patented, the biotech company she founded, and the potential role that epigenetics could play in human health.Relevant LinksMackenzie Laboratory WebsiteEpicrop Technologies Inc.Trailblazers: Sally Mackenzie’s Vision for the Future of PlantsFeatured GuestSally MackenzieDirector of the Plant...

Laura Weyrich leads efforts to better understand the impact of diet on the communities of microorganisms residing in our mouths, and their influence on human health. In this livestreamed conversation, she talks about her work with Neanderthal teeth, the ethics of dealing with human remains, and shifts in human activity that have changed the makeup of our microbiomes.Relevant LinksMicroARCH Lab Website"The woman who loves the gunk on Neanderthal teeth." Cosmos Magazine, December 14, ...

Dr. Steven Schiff has spent much of his career fighting the scourge of infant infection, especially in low and middle-income countries with minimal healthcare infrastructure. In this livestreamed conversation, he explains the difficulties of working in places like Mbale, Uganda and Hanoi, Vietnam; shares hard-won victories in treatment and prevention; and forecasts future possibilities.Relevant Links:Steven J. Schiff, MD, PhD — Engineering Science and Mechanics Wiki PageFeatured Guest:Dr. Ste...

Nita Bharti is an expert on the interplay of population movement and disease and a pioneer in the use of unorthodox data sources to better inform public health decisions. In this livestreamed conversation, she shares her open-minded, intellectually curious approach to epidemiology on multiple continents, working with people, animals, and spillover events between the two.Relevant LinksThe Bharti Lab of Human Infectious DiseasesCenter for Infectious Disease DynamicsFeatured GuestNita BhartiHuck...

David Hughes has won a number of accolades, both from the academic world and in the mainstream media, for his work with PlantVillage. In this livestreamed opening episode of season three, Hughes talks about the factors in his life and career that have made him so effective and iconoclastic.Relevant LinksPlantVillageDonate to PlantVillageFast Company: How one scientist is saving crops around the world via AI-enabled appsDavid Hughes makes Newsweek’s inaugural list of 'America’s Greatest D...

On November 11, 2020, we hosted three members of Penn State’s Center for Disease Dynamics, all of whom all of them are deeply involved in ongoing international efforts to piece together a bigger picture of how and why new viruses like SARVS-CoV-2 emerge and spill over from other species to our own.Related Links:“How We Know The Coronavirus Wasn’t Made In A Lab” (Science Insider video)Researchers identify evolutionary origins of SARS-CoV-2Boni LabRISK Lab (Sagan Friant’s) Peter Hudson’s G...

On October 26, 2020, we teamed up with the hosts of the Podward State podcast to interview two members of Penn State’s coronavirus task force. Both have spent countless hours since that start of the pandemic doing all they can to help protect students, faculty, staff, and local community members in an ever-changing, endlessly challenging, and highly contentious environment.Relevant Links:Penn State COVID-19 DashboardHuck Institutes of the Life SciencesHershey Medical CenterPodward StateGuests...

On October 19, 2020, we teamed up with the hosts of Podward State – a Penn State student-produced podcast, to interview researchers working on a profoundly collaborative project designed to measure multiple impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on residents and students in Centre County, PA.Relevant Links:Data 4 Action sign-up page Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences Social Science Research InstituteClinical and Translational Sciences Institute Podward State Guests...

On August 20, 2020, we spoke to an interdisciplinary team of scientists collaborating at the intersection of physics, engineering, materials science, epidemiology, and information technology. Their work holds the promise of new rapid identification diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses through enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Relevant Links: Understanding Virus Evolution Through Deep Raman SpectroscopyNSF Convergence Grant to Study Virus EvolutionLasers Could Speed Up Coronavirus Diag...