The Symbiotic Podcast

On June 8, 2020, we spoke to Riane Eisler and David Loye, two veteran systems scientists who have collaborated for more than 40 years as both researchers and marriage partners. In this wrap-up of a 2-part conversation, we explore the promise of partnership and perils of domination on the road to conscious social evolution.

Relevant Links:

• DavidLoye.com
• Rediscovering Darwin by David Loye
• Complete List of Books on Darwin by David Loye
• RianeEisler.com
• The Chalice & the Blade by Riane Eisler
• Nurturing Our Humanity by Riane Eisler and Douglas P. Fry
• What are Social Wealth Economic Indicators?
• The Social Wealth Index

Guests:

• Riane Eisler
  Systems Scientist, Cultural Historian, Attorney, Social Activist, Author
• David Loye
  Psychologist, Evolutionary Systems Scientist, Author

On June 8, 2020, we spoke to Riane Eisler and David Loye, two veteran systems scientists who have collaborated for more than 40 years as both researchers and marriage partners. In this first of a 2-part conversation, we unpack lost insights of Darwin and explore the basics of cultural transformation theory as a tool to evolve society.

Relevant Links:

• DavidLoye.com
• Rediscovering Darwin by David Loye
• Complete List of Books on Darwin by David Loye
• RianeEisler.com
• The Chalice & the Blade by Riane Eisler
• Nurturing Our Humanity by Riane Eisler and Douglas P. Fry
• What are Social Wealth Economic Indicators?
• The Social Wealth Index

Guests:

• Riane Eisler
  Systems Scientist, Cultural Historian, Attorney, Social Activist, Author
• David Loye
  Psychologist, Evolutionary Systems Scientist, Author

In this episode, recorded in-person on February 4, 2020, we talked to a team of Penn State researchers and about the stunning advancements made in recent years in the field of electron microscopy. 

Up for discussion was a short history of electron microscopy, including how the addition of cryogenics has enabled new materials and structures to be imaged, and how breakthroughs in certain scientific fields have enabled advances in some very different disciplines. We also talked about how Penn State has robustly supported the development of cryo-EM and leveraged its advantage to create a world-class instrumentation facility.

Relevant Links:

• Kelly Lab
• Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility at Penn State

Guests:

• Deb Kelly is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Center for Structural Oncology at Penn State. Her research involves the innovative use of cryoelectron microscopy and in situ transmission electron microscopy to deeply investigate the tiniest of biological structures. Dr. Kelly's mission is to engineer new molecular paradigms to create a world without cancer.
• Jennifer Gray is an assistant research professor and staff scientist at Penn State's Materials Research Institute, specializing in transmission electron microscopy and cryoelectron microscopy. As a highly specialized technologist working at the convergence of materials and life sciences, Gray helps researchers from both camps to benefit from the breakthroughs made by the other. 
• Cameron Varano is Assistant Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Penn State. Her research in structural biology involves prolific use of cryoelectron microscopy to examine and categorize exosomes involved in the development of metastatic cancer.

Aiming to better understand the efficacy of public health messaging in a pandemic, a team of Penn State researchers designed and deployed an unusually open-ended survey that has been translated into 23 languages and reached more than 73 countries. This episode recorded via Zoom on May 20, 2020.

Relevant Links:

• Penn State College of Medicine COVID-19 Survey
• The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)
• CDC Coronavirus Resources

Guests:

• Robert P. Lennon, MD, JD – Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine; Associate Professor, Penn State Law
• Lauren J. Van Scoy, MD – Associate Professor, Department of Medicine Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine; Associate Professor, Department of Humanities; Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences
• Cletis Earle, MS, CHCIO – Chief Information Officer, Penn State Health
• Russell Branzell, CHCIO, FCHIME, FACHE, FHIMSS – Chief Executive Officer and President, College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)

In this episode, recorded via Zoom on May 11, 2020, we talked to Penn State personnel about their involvement with the Manufacturing and Sterilization for COVID-19 Project, or MASC. We discussed how University staff and researchers used their resources and expertise to produce and extend the effective life of personal protection equipment needed by medical providers during the pandemic.

Relevant Links

• Manufacturing and Sterilization for COVID-19 (MASC) Initiative
• MedRxiv
• BioRxiv
• Prusa Face Shield
• Eva J. Pell ABSL3 Laboratory for Advanced Biological Research
• CDC: Recognizing the Biosafety Levels
• N95DECON.org
• Netflix Docuseries Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak

Guests:

• Moriah Szpara – Associate Professor of Biology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology
• Timothy Simpson – Paul Morrow Professor in Engineering Design and Manufacturing
• Melissa James – Facilities Coordinator, Eva J. Pell Laboratory for Advanced Biological Research

For this special collaborative episode recorded via Zoom on May 6, 2020, we partnered with the Democracy Works podcast to explore the dynamic and sometimes tense relationship between peer-reviewed scientific research and public policy decision-making. And we discuss how these tensions have been brought to the forefront by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Our discussion focuses on the work of our guest Taylor Scott, Associate Director of the Research-to-Policy Collaboration at Penn State and Primary Investigator on a Huck-funded research project titled "Rapid Translation of Research into Coronavirus Policy Response." We are also joined by Michael Berkman, Director of The McCourtney Institute for Democracy, and Jenna Spinelle, host of the Democracy Works podcast.

Relevant Links:

• Rapid Translation of Research into Coronavirus Policy Response
• Research-to-Policy Collaboration
• Child Maltreatment Solutions Network
• Democracy Works Episode ft. Frances E. Lee: Does Congress Promote Partisan Gridlock?

Guests:

• Taylor Scott – Associate Director, Research-to-Policy Collaboration; Research Assistant Professor, Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center
• Michael Berkman – Director, McCourtney Institute for Democracy and Professor of Political Science
• Jenna Spinelle – Communications Specialist, McCourtney Institute for Democracy; Host, Democracy Works Podcast

In this brief “special announcement” episode, Symbiotic Podcast host Cole Hons lays out the new direction and format for Season 2, a series of COVID-19 Research Briefs that explore radically open and transparent efforts currently underway worldwide to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Relevant Links:

• Season 01, Episode 06: Confronting Global Outbreaks
• Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences COVID-19 Research Response
• AskCIDD.psu.edu (Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics)
• medRxiv.org
• bioRxiv.org

On February 4, 2020 as the COVID-19 virus began to go global, Cole spoke with three scientists from the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics to hear their perspective on the outbreak. The resulting conversation uncovers aspects of humanity’s complex relationship with viruses that don’t often reach the mainstream media. 

Relevant Links:

• Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
• McGraw Lab (Vector Biology Group)
• Matt Ferrari Lab
• The Bharti Lab

Guests:

• Beth McGraw is Professor and Huck Scholar in Entomology, and directs Penn State’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics. Her research focuses on dengue virus transmission by mosquitoes. McGraw is currently investigating evidence that mosquito and virus genotypes affect patterns of human disease. She is also interested in the use of a bacterium called Wolbachia for biocontrol.
• Matt Ferarri is Associate Professor of Biology at Penn State. He uses the mathematical and statistical tools of computational biology to understand patterns of disease incidence, and the effects of heterogeneity across time and space. Ferarri currently collaborates with Doctors Without Borders to track incidence of measles in sub-Saharan Africa. 
• Nita Bharti is Lloyd Huck Early Career Professor and Assistant Professor of Biology at Penn State. She investigates the interactions between behavior and biology to inform public health intervention strategies. Using satellite data, Bharti has pioneered new methods to track seasonal movements of the human population, with profound implications for improving vaccination campaigns.

In this episode, Cole and his guests discuss a transdisciplinary effort at Penn State to advance the printing of living tissues, from skin to bone to organs. Combining the efforts of engineers, nanotechnologists, and surgeons, the team has coined a new term – “intraoperative bioprinting” – to describe their approach.

Relevant Links:

• Bioprinting Lab
• Machine sucks up tiny tissue spheroids and prints them precisely

Guests: 

• Ibrahim Ozbolat is Hartz Family Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Penn State. His major research interest is bioprinting and tissue engineering.
• Daniel Hayes is an associate professor of Biomedical Engineering at Penn State, with an emphasis on nanomaterials, macromolecules, and composite structures, for applications ranging from regenerative medicine to lab-on-a-chip technologies.
• Dino Ravnic is an assistant professor in Penn State’s Department of Surgery. He directs the Plastic Surgery Research Laboratory at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, which focuses on the creation of engineered tissue that is suitable for microsurgical implantation.

In this episode, Cole and his guests discuss Penn State’s launch of the world’s first Center for Parasitic and Carnivorous Plants. These fascinatingly strange organisms have much to teach us about the outrageous diversity of life - especially now that we have the capacity to study them at every scale, from the molecular to the ecological.

Relevant Links:

• The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

Guests:

• Claude dePamphilis, Professor of Biology at Penn State, studies the genomics, evolution, and functional biology of parasitic plants.
• Tanya Renner, Assistant Professor of Entomology at Penn State, investigates the evolution of chemical and structural defense, particularly as they relate to carnivorous plants.
• Tomas Carlo-Joglar, Associate Professor of Biology at Penn State, studies seed dispersal ecology, foraging behavior, and plant ecology, with a focus on parasitic mistletoes.