Y Life Science

Dr. Paul Frandsen (Plant and Wildlife Sciences) is joined by Gabi Jijon (PhD), Danyon Gedris (undergrad) and Ashlyn Powell (recently graduated).  They discuss their research projects with the genetics of caddisflies. Among other things, they talk about their future research plans and the reasons they enjoy learning about the the natural world. 

Episode Thumbnail (from right to left): Danyon Gedris, Gabi Jijon, Taden Lemmon

This episode was recorded on April 23, 2024.

Hosts Sylvia and Austen talk with Dr. Neil Hansen and graduate student, Elisabeth Currit about soil science and Elisabeth's research in Bears Ears National Monument. 

This episode was recorded on April 15, 2024.

Dr. Steve Peterson (Plant and Wildlife Sciences) and graduate students, Haley Moon and Otto de Groff, visit with student hosts Austen Lambert and Sylvia Duke. Sylvia will be joining Austen for the next few episodes and then take over when Austen graduates in the spring of 2024. Various topics are discussed on this episode including mine reclamation, wild horses, and Bristlecone Pine. Visit Dr. Peterson's Geospatial Habitat Analysis Lab.

This episode was recorded on March 5, 2024.

Amanda Rees, director of the BYU Sensory Lab and two of her assistant student managers, Mattie Prince and Lauren Cromarty, join Austen in this episode. They talk about the BYU Sensory lab and how students can participate in helping gather data for the food industry and for research in the food science and nutrition department. You can also follow the Sensory Lab on Instagram @byusensorylab.

This episode was recorded on November 17, 2023.

Dr. Brad Geary and two of his students, Jacob Henrie and Melissa Burrell, discuss their research projects and how they are finding new ways to solve problems related to plant growth.

Historically women have been excluded from exercise science research. Since Title IX, more studies have been done as there have been more female athletes. This episode of the Y Life Science Podcast explores the research conducted by Jessica Linde and Jayson Gifford. Jessica asked the question about exercise tolerance during different phases of the female menstrual cycle. Read more about this study here.

This episode was recorded on October 19, 2023.

Dr. Earlene Durrant (Dr. D) talks with Austen and Katy about her career in physical education and athletic training. She was inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame in 2000. You can read her bio here. Dr. D was selected as the honored alumnus for fall of 2023 for the College of Life Sciences. She was highlighted here in the college magazine (Impact) and this is a link to her seminar given on October 19, 2023 and a summary published on December 14, 2023.

This episode was recorded on October 12, 2023.

Dr. Rikelle Richards ([email protected]) and undergraduate student, Kyle Lyman, talk about their research study with nutrition and their work with the Provo Food and Care Coalition. Dr. Richards was recent awarded the 2023 General Education (GE) Professorship. Read more about Dr. Richards and this award here.

If you are a BYU student experiencing food or house insecurity, visit foodandhousinginsecurity.byu.edu. If you are interested in work with Dr. Richards and her research, you can email her directly.

This episode was recorded on September 27, 2023.

Dr. Timothy Jenkins and undergraduate student, Kelaney Stalker join Austen and Katy to discuss epigenetics. Kelany describes a project she worked on to be able to differentiate between menstrual blood and peripheral blood using epigenetics. This work has implications in forensic science that could potentially help in domestic violence and sexual assault cases.

This episode was recorded on September 27, 2023.

This episode introduces another research podcast called,  "Winging It! From Curiosity to Scientific Fact" produced by Dr. Steven Peck and his student research assistants. In this episode Courtney Roos and Sara Evans join Dr. Peck as they describe the scientific process and how they record and share their findings. They are specifically looking to answer questions about  birds and their songs.

This episode was recorded on September 18, 2023.