Vitamin PhD Podcast

Send us Fan Mail

This episode of Vitamin PhD’s Teaching season bring us to graduate education, in which we hear from guests Rachel Stumpf, Education Specialist at the UC Davis Center for Educational Effectiveness, and Steve Wolverton, professor in University of North Texas’ Department of Geography and the Environment. Our guests tell us what it is like to help students navigate the in’s and out’s of graduate school while helping them to succeed academically. We also hear about the different paths that can be taken to educate graduate students and the importance of developing yourself before you can help develop others.

Send us Fan Mail

In the second episode of Vitamin PhD’s Teaching season, we learn from Takeo Rivera, an assistant professor of English at Boston University, and Kathryn Spilios, the Director of Instructional Labs, Director of the Learning Assistant Program, and Master Lecturer in Biology at BU. Our guests help to educate us on the challenges and rewards of teaching in an undergraduate setting. We also learn how they came into their current positions and the experiences they gained along their journey to teaching. 

Send us Fan Mail

In the first episode of Vitamin PhD’s 7th season, our new hosts Jenna and Shaunesse’ are joined by Stephanie M. Curenton, an associate professor at BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, and Jennifer Formichelli, a former English teacher at Boston University Academy. We hear from our guests about the importance of early childhood education and teaching in an effective manner that allows young minds to truly cultivate. We direct our listeners to https://www.buacademy.org/formichelli/ where they can learn more about the life of Dr. Formichelli and donate to the causes she cared deeply about during her time on Earth. 

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, we meet our new hosts for Season 7 of VitaminPhD, Shaunesse' Jacobs from the School of Theology and Jenna Rindy from the Department of Biology, Jenna and Shaunesse' talk with Matt and Heather, the season 6 hosts, about how they got interested in hosting the podcast and share what excites them about digging into the skill of teaching.

Send us Fan Mail

In the final episode of the Research Skills Season, Heather and Matt put together their favorite “tips and tricks” that guests shared over the season, ranging from recommended readings and practical tips to general perspectives and reflections on their graduate training experience.  

This episode features nearly all of our previous guests, including Dr. Greg Wright (Episode 1 - What is Research?); Dr. Yasmine Dolreyes and Dr. Brad Johnson (Episode 4 - Mentoring); Dr. Eden Medina (Episode 5 - Interdisciplinary Research); Dr. Vincent Smith and Ms. Kalpana Jain (Episode 6A - Reaching a Broader Audience I: Community Relationships and Episode 6B - Reaching a Broader Audience II: Academics and Media); and Mr. Louis Rameriez and Dr. Renee Spencer (Episode 7 - Research Ethics).  We also highlight some recommended reading from our Graduate Student panelists Dana Ahern from University of California Santa Barbara and Kristin Tzok from Boston University.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Heather and Matt talk about research ethics with Luis Rameriez, a PhD Candidate in Neuroscience at Boston University, and Dr. Reneé Spencer, the Associate Dean of Research in Boston University’s School of Social Work and Chair of the Charles River Institutional Review Board (IRB). Our guests explore our responsibilities as researchers--and people--during research design, data collection, analysis, and dissemination, even if our research does not directly include human subjects.

This episode features our Graduate Student panel, Amanda Ruiz from Brown University, Dana Ahern from University of California Santa Barbara, Kiara Lee from Brown University, and Kristin Tzok from Boston University, reflecting on ethics in research in their respective fields of study.

Send us Fan Mail

In the second part of this two-part episode, Matt and Heather discuss disseminating research findings beyond the “ivory tower'' and explore how to reach a broader audience, especially as academics are now expected to be able to translate their findings to make their work meaningful to colleagues across disciplines and to the general public. Heather and Matt are joined by Kalpana Jain, Senior Religion and Ethics Editor at The Conversation, learning from her experiences as a researcher, journalist, and editor for an academically-focused and public-facing publication. 

Send us Fan Mail

In the first part of this two-part episode, Matt and Heather discuss disseminating research findings beyond the “ivory tower'' and explore how to reach a broader audience, especially as academics are now expected to be able to translate their findings to make their work meaningful to colleagues across disciplines and to the general public.  Heather and Matt are joined by Dr. Vincent Smith, MD, MPH, the Division Chief of Newborn Medicine at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University Medical School, to discuss communicating and collaborating with diverse populations within and outside of academia.

This episode features our Graduate Student panel, Dana Ahern from University of California Santa Barbara, Kiara Lee from Brown University, and Kristin Tzok from Boston University, discussing their elevator pitches when speaking to a variety of different audiences.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of Vitamin PhD, Heather and Matt talk about the rewards, challenges, and possibilities of interdisciplinary research, as well as how to cultivate successful interdisciplinary collaboration and research agendas. They are joined by Dr. Eden Medina, Associate Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at MIT. 

This episode features our Graduate Student panel, Amanda Ruiz from Brown University, Dana Ahern from University of California Santa Barbara, Kiara Lee from Brown University, and Kristin Tzok from Boston University, discussing transdisciplinary research.

Dr. Medina's new book: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/cybernetic-revolutionaries

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Matt and Heather are joined by Dr. Yasmine Doleyres, Senior Engineer at BD, and Dr. Brad Johnson, psychologist and researcher on effective mentoring relationships to explore an important but under-discussed area of graduate training: mentorship.  They discuss mentoring, and what mentor/mentee relationships can (and should) look like, what to expect in your mentoring relationships, and how to be an excellent mentee and mentor. 

This episode features our Graduate Student panel, Amanda Ruiz from Brown University, Dana Ahern from University of California Santa Barbara, Kiara Lee from Brown University, and Kristin Tzok from Boston University, reflecting on mentorship experiences and best practices.