When Science Speaks

As a PhD scientist and inventor, Brad has an extraordinary ability to effectively translate complex scientific topics into engaging language accessible to general audiences.

On this week's episode we discuss:

How Brad developed this unusual dual ability and how his experience with the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) sharpened his science "explainer" skills.

How Brad uses that "translator" skill in his role as CEO and as an investor

Why it's so challenging for many scientists to distill and clearly communicate their research in ways that resonate with non-experts

What advice Brad has for listeners who want to sharpen their communication skills

Brad's longstanding leadership in the biotech space for more than 30 years and his perspectives on how the industry has evolved since the early days when he was starting out in the industry

What advice Brad has for listeners who may be conducting research in an academic setting right now but are interested in a career in biotech

How can scientists, experts, and others who want to set the record straight can counter the flood of falsehood and deception around COVID

If you could give one piece of advice to his younger self starting out in his career after getting the PhD, what would it be

On this week's episode, Jordan Birnbaum, VP and Chief Behavioral Economist at ADP, shares nuggets of practical, powerful wisdom for leading high-performing teams.

Drawing from his unique career journey - from securities trader, to senior VP in the middle of an IPO at Juno Online Services, to owner and CEO of a multi-million-dollar media production and live event studio on Hollywood Boulevard - Jordan delivers high-impact, actionable advice during this week's interview, including:

- How to interpret and understand motivations in human behavior within organizations

- Applying a "What's-in-it-for-me" and "What's-in-it-for-us" leadership model to maximize organizational performance

- Why to focus on 3 employee needs - autonomy, mastery, and relatedness - to be an effective leader

- The role of persuasion and how to use authentic, honest strategies for moving your team forward

As organizational and workplace structures are reconfigured in response to the pandemic, you won't want to miss Jordan's fascinating and widely applicable insights.

In this week's episode, Iain MacLeod Ph.D., co-founder, CEO and Chief Science Officer of Aldatu Biosciences, joins Mark in discussing a range of issues related to virology and public health - and why we can't "vaccinate our way out of the pandemic".

Topics include:

How Iain became interested in pathology and virology

What motivated Iain to get his law degree and how it informs his work and professional perspective

What led Iain to co-found Aldatu Biosciences and his priority projects there right now

Iain's February 2021 article in StatNews in which he makes a point that may startle - and likely disappoint - readers, writing: "We can't vaccinate our way out of this pandemic. And the myopic focus on achieving herd immunity through mass vaccination may even make it tougher for America — and the world — to defeat Covid-19."

The need to strengthen the U.S. public health infrastructure and how Iain would prioritize the improvements

On this week's episode, serial successful entrepreneur, mentor, and author Kris Kelso discusses key leadership topics and his new book, "Overcoming The Impostor: Silence Your Inner Critic and Lead with Confidence" (https://overcomingtheimpostor.com). Certified as a leadership coach, Kris has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs, business owners, and leadership teams. He is also a contributing writer for publications including Fast Company, Authority Magazine, and The Nashville Business Journal. Kris has founded multiple companies and served on the boards of directors of several non-profit organizations.

His reading List for Entrepreneurs can be found at https://www.kriskelso.com/entrepreneurs-reading-list/

On this episode, you'll learn about Kris's high-impact work and insights, such as:

- The similarity - in neurological terms - of brain activity triggered by anxiety and brain activity resulting from excitement and how to use this proximity as a way to manage Impostor Syndrome.

- Whether Impostor Syndrome can be overcome or whether it merely must be managed

- Why Chris thinks Impostor Syndrome isn't discussed more and why there aren't more resources for how to cope with, and overcome, it

- How being part of supportive communities, such as those organized by UNH's Graduate School (e.g., Winter Writing Retreat, writing accountability group), can help reveal that others are struggling with similar problems, a realization that can be helpful in overcoming Impostor Syndrome

- Imposter Syndrome through the intersectionality lens, i.e., how experiencing and addressing Impostor Syndrome can differ when our multiple and intersecting identities are considered, such as whether Impostor Syndrome should be addressed differently in cases of a white male, a black female, or an international graduate student - similarities, differences, and what educators need to keep in mind

This week's episode features Russ Harrison, Director of Government Relations for IEEE-USA, the American component of the world's largest technical professional society, IEEE, with nearly 170,000 individual members across the United States. IEEE-USA supports the career growth and public policy interests of its members, who are technical professionals.

Our conversation covered a range of advocacy and policy issues, including:

• Common misperceptions about policymaking Russ hears from audiences during his frequent talks with IEEE-USA members, their questions, and how he responds to them

• Areas Russ believes technical professionals - in general - need to further develop to be successful as advocates for their policy priorities

• Which assets technical professionals have in interactions with policymakers and their staffs - including some that perhaps engineers, for example, don't even realize they have

• How advocacy has been affected by COVID

• Central principles of Russ's own advocacy approach, and how his approach has developed over the years

• IEEE-USA's priorities for shaping policy and how Russ sees policy and regulation developing in the future

This week's episode features, Roshni Rao, PhD, inaugural Director of PHutures, the new resource for PhDs and Postdocs at the Johns Hopkins University, discussing professional development, life design and connections.

Topics include:

The PHutures initiative at Johns Hopkins - its mission and Roshni's goals for the program

What it was like and how she was able to address and overcome the challenges associated with all the major, on-the-fly changes required by the pandemic

The kinds of programming PHutures offers

As a leader who earned her PhD in the U.S. and did her Postdoc in Washington, DC, how her perspective on the international PhD and Postdoc experience is influenced by her own first-hand experience.

How being a non-U.S. citizen studying and training in the U.S. at the PhD and Postdoc levels ties to career exploration and also how Roshni is addressing - as director of PHutures - some of these specific challenges, like navigating visas

As someone now in a leadership role at one of the most prestigious U.S. universities, does imposter syndrome still manifest itself and how Roshni helps PhD students and Postdocs cope with - and hopefully conquer - imposter syndrome

What Roshni means by "relationship building" when she emphasizes its importance to her students and trainees and how she "teaches" it, if you will, along with examples or illustrations she uses to help her program participants internalize it

How relationship-building has benefited her career and whether she always was adept at building professional relationships

One thing that listeners could do today to initiate or strengthen a beneficial professional relationship?

Looking over the horizon, how she sees demand across PhD and Postdoc programs in the U.S. developing for the types of transferable skills that PHutures offers

In this week's episode, I'm joined by Palesa Mothapo, Ph.D., Head of Postdoctoral Research Support in Stellenbosch University's Division for Research Development located in Stellenbosch, South Africa's Western Cape province, for an informative and interesting discussion of topics including:

- How Palesa first developed her interest in Zoology and then later, decided to focus on invasive species

- In her role at Stellenbosch University, where she helps postdocs making the transition from academia to industry, the types of skill development strategies and resources she draws upon in working with her trainees

- Which knowledge, skills, or abilities postdocs typically already possess that Palesa finds are most relevant to a transition to industry, and which are often most in need of further development

- How Palesa goes about helping trainees learn to effectively communicate complex scientific topics to general audiences and her own approach to translating and distilling her research work so it's engaging and accessible to non-experts

- What it was like for Palesa to serve as a Mandela Washington Fellow in 2018 and how she feels the experience may have influenced her perspective and work

- Palesa's plans and goals for 2021

In Dr. Kahnweiler's second appearance on the show, the "Champion of Introverts" discusses her new book, "Creating Introvert-Friendly Workplaces", and a range of related topics, including:

- The benefits and risks for introverts of remote work and how to avoid "Creative Paralysis"

- Finding the right balance of connection and downtime for introverts, who tend to need time alone to recharge, and the role of co-working spaces as a way to strike that balance

- How the "Introvert Revolution", as Dr. Kahnweiler calls it, has shaped attitudes of employers over time with respect to introverts

- Should introverts mention that personality trait during a job interview with a potential employer?

- How and whether extroverts should strive to also tap into characteristics of introverts - to be an ambivert, as she mentions in your book ?

- How Dr. Kahnweiler sees the environment for introverts post-pandemic, in terms of the prevalence of introvert-friendly polices, more commonly accepted communication channels, and related issues

Jovana Milosavljevic-Ardeljan, Ph.D. is a scholar from Serbia who came to the U.S. in 2014 to pursue a master's degree in Linguistics and stayed for her Ph.D. in Education specializing in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies.

In this episode, we discuss a range of science communication and mentoring topics affecting Ph.D.s, including:

• Why Science communication skills and their importance tends to be downplayed in Ph.D. programs
• The consequences of underdeveloped communication skills in various settings, from employment to mentoring relationships
• How Jovana's experience teaching English as a second language in her home country of Serbia informs her current work at University of New Hampshire
• Themes and learnings for healthy, productive mentor-mentee relationships covered during the 3-part series on mentor-mentee relationships she developed and delivers
• The Northeast U.S. and Canada regional competition of Three-Minute Thesis (3-MT)
• One thing listeners can do right after listening to the show that would improve their communication skills

In this special episode, executive coach, team effectiveness consultant, author, and podcast host Guy Bloom explains his "Living Brave" approach, talks about his new book "Living Brave Leadership" and related performance topics such as:

What's "Living Brave" leadership and how can it strengthen your own leadership muscles?

How Guy went from a 4-time martial arts Hall of Famer to a winner of the UK's Training Journal Magaine's Best Leadership Program

How Guy enables leaders, teams and organizations to lead without the need of positional power.

What Guy means by "Living Brave Leadership", the term he coined to describe his leadership approach

The types of services Guy delivers through his consulting firm

What Guy means about "Beating the Drum" within an organization until the organization resonates.

How can scientists - typically trained to follow the data - be effective leaders?

How does someone get the courage - particularly experts who know the facts and have the evidence - to speak up?

What's one thing listeners can do after the interview to start on the journey to "Living Brave"?