People Behind The Science Podcast - Stories From Scientists About Science, Life, Research, And Science Careers

Dr. Douglas Futuyma is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University. He also holds an appointment as a Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History. Throughout his career, Douglas has been fascinated by evolution and how species adapt to their environments. Much of his research has examined the ways in which insects that eat plants have evolved (or failed to evolve) in their ability to eat different kinds of plants. Beyond his specific research area of expertise, Douglas has taught courses on evolution and evolutionary ecology, as well as served as a general spokesperson for evolution. Douglas is a passionate naturalist who loves being outdoors and expanding his knowledge of natural history. He has also been an avid birdwatcher for the past 25 years. In addition, Douglas is an opera and classical music enthusiast. Douglas received his B.S. in Conservation from Cornell University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Sunny Wong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dermatology and the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Michigan School of Medicine. Sunny’s lab studies skin biology. Skin is a complex organ that covers our entire body and is composed of different cells and systems. He is interested in understanding how skin develops and what can go wrong in skin, particularly in skin cancer. His lab is working on projects examining how basal cell carcinoma tumors form, the genetics of these tumors, and how these tumors respond to drug therapies. In addition to his passion for science, Sunny loves creative writing and reading literature. Lately, he’s also enjoyed learning more about modern art, art history, and various artists. He received his B.A. from Cornell University in Biology and his PhD in Biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sunny was awarded American Cancer Society and A.P. Giannini Postdoctoral fellowships to conduct postdoctoral research at the University

Dr. Francisca Ikuenobe is a Professor of Geology and Geophysics at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. In her research, Franca studies rocks to understand the clues they can reveal about the living things, environments, and climates of the past. Franca is particularly interested in the microfossils of pollen, spores, and phytoplankton that are preserved in rock. She uses these to help determine the age of rocks and what they can tell us about the history of an area. Outside of science, Franca loves reading entertainment magazines like Vogue Magazine and watching entertainment news on TV. When Entertainment Tonight is about to start, she drops everything she’s doing to watch it. She received her B.Sc. in Geology from the University of Ife in Nigeria (now Obafemi Awolowo University). Afterwards, Francisca worked as a production geologist and subsequently a palynologist for Shell Petroleum Development Company for a year before enrolling in graduate school. She received her M.Sc. in applied geology

Dr. John Aitchison is President and Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research, the largest independent, non-profit organization in the U.S. that is focused solely on infectious disease research. In addition, John serves as an affiliate or adjunct Professor at the University of Washington, the University of British Columbia, the University of Alberta, and the Institute for Systems Biology. John’s research investigates the systems biology related to infectious disease by using technology, computation, and high throughput biology (“-omics”) to examine molecules in complex biological systems to better understand how the system will react to a new stimulus or perturbation. Their ultimate goal is to predict how effective a drug or vaccine will be against a particular disease and to implement it with high efficiency. When he’s not in the office or the lab, John loves to be out on the water sailing and racing sailboats. He’s also a fan of playing squash, skiing, spending time with his family, and being o

Dr. Madhav Marathe is a Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory within the Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Chalmers University, the Indian Institute of Public Health, and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. Madhav's research focuses on understanding the general principles that govern large networks, particularly networks that have social and technical components. Madhav and his team are working to understand how networks are formed, how they grow, how they change, how they can be used to solve problems, and how to make them more resilient. They use technology, including computer science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other tools to address critical problems in the study of complex networks. Outside of work, Madhav treasures his time spent with family and close friends. In particular, he and his family have fun engaging in deep discussions about wor

Dr. Eurie Hong is the Senior Director of Genomics at AncestryDNA. In her position, Eurie works on the algorithms that interpret the DNA provided in customer samples to tell people the regions of the world their ancestors may come from. She develops methods to analyze a person’s DNA and compare it to reference panels of DNA from other individuals. When she’s not at work, Eurie spends her time with her husband and six year old daughter. It’s exciting for Eurie to see her daughter trying new activities, and they recently went skiing together for the first time. In addition, Eurie enjoys cooking, eating, exploring different cuisine, and experimenting with her instant pot. She was awarded her B.S. Degree in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Chicago. Afterwards, she worked as a Biocuration Scientist and subsequently the Head of Scientific Curation for the Saccharomyces Genome Database at Stanford University School of Medicine. Eu

Dr. Brian Keating is a Professor of Physics at the University of California, San Diego. Additionally, he is the Co-Director of the Ax Center for Experimental Cosmology and Director of the Simons Observatory. Brian is also author of the book Losing the Nobel Prize: A Story of Cosmology, Ambition, and the Perils of Science’s Highest Honor. As a cosmologist, Brian studies the universe using a variety of different tools. In his research, he examines the stars, how the universe originated, and what (if anything) was present before our universe existed. Brian and his colleagues build instruments to detect the very first light in the universe by investigating an ancient heat called the cosmic microwave background radiation. This is a three degree Kelvin signal that resulted from the birth of the universe. Outside of science, Brian’s hobbies include flying airplanes and performing stand-up comedy. His interest in flight began when he was a young kid determined to become an astronaut, and he made his piloting dream co

Dr. Thijs Heus is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at Cleveland State University. Thijs’s research focuses on clouds and the impact they have on weather and climate. Some of the effects clouds can have include reflecting sunlight (which lowers temperatures) and transporting heat and moisture through the atmosphere. However, clouds remain one of the major sources of uncertainty in climate and weather predictions, partly due to their relatively small size and varying shapes. Thijs uses computer models and simulations to determine, for instance, what happens to clouds when temperatures change, and how the size of clouds impacts weather and climate. When the weather is nice, you can often find Thijs outdoors running. He also enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, and indulging in the many museums, music venues, sporting events, and restaurants in Cleveland, Ohio. He received Masters degrees in Physics as well as Meteorology and Physical Oceanography from Utrecht University in the Nether

Dr. Jennifer Ramp Neale is Director of Research and Conservation at the Denver Botanic Gardens. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Biology at the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Colorado Denver. The Denver Botanic Gardens is an accredited museum, a public nonprofit organization, and a research institution, so Jenny has a variety of different roles. She oversees the research conducted there, communicates their findings and the importance of science to different audiences, and works closely with land managers/owners to provide information on the local plants to help guide land management decisions. Jenny’s research focuses on applied conservation of plants, particularly rare and endangered species in Colorado. Jenny is a wife, mother, and outdoors enthusiast outside of work. She enjoys being active outdoors with her family playing soccer, skiing, camping, hiking, and generally having fun outside. Jenny’s passion for identifying plants and mushrooms is contagious, and as a result, her fami

Dr. Chris Barrett is Executive Director and Professor at the Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech, as well as a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech. Chris lives on a small farm in the Blue Ridge area of Virginia, and the they daily chores keep him quite busy. He also enjoys playing guitar and riding his motorcycle in his free time. At the Biocomplexity Institute, Chris and his colleagues are using computational methods to better understand our very complicated, interdependent, and multiscale world. They are studying how information is created, transmitted, and manipulated in living systems. Their goal is to take these large, multiscale, massively-interacting systems that have billions of interacting pieces and bring it into a state where people can begin to understand and make sense of them. Chris received a M.S. in Engineering Science and a Ph.D. in Bioinformation Systems from the California Institute of Technology. He also earned a U.S. Navy Aerospace Experimental Psychology

Dr. Bruce Beehler is an ornithologist and Research Associate in the Bird Division of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. Bruce spends much of his free time outside and immersed in nature. He enjoys playing tennis, going for hikes, and kayaking, as well as watching wildlife at the feeders outside his home. Writing scientific books is a big part of Bruce’s current work. He and two colleagues have begun planning for a comprehensive synthesis of all the available data for a particular mountain in New Guinea. This rich dataset on one location, will serve as a benchmark for future research studies. In terms of field work, Bruce is now solely focused on the birds of the boreal conifer forests of the U.S. and Canada. He is interested in understanding how the permanent resident birds survive in these forests year round. Bruce completed his undergraduate studies in American Civilization at Williams College and received his Masters and PhD degrees in Biology from Princeton University where

Dr. Michele Koons is a Curator of Archaeology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. When Michele’s not at work, she spends her time hanging out with her husband and one year old son. Some of her favorite activities include skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, cooking dinner with friends, and playing games like Trivial Pursuit and Settlers of Catan. As an archaeologist, Michele’s research involves studying people from the past using all of the clues they left behind. It’s like putting together a big puzzle to understand what people in previous civilizations did and how they did it. She was awarded her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh, her M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Denver, and her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Harvard University. Afterwards, Michele worked as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science before accepting her current position as curator there. Michele joined us for an interview to talk about some of her experiences i

Dr. Ian Winship is an Associate Professor and a former Alberta Innovates Health Solutions Scholar in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta. He is also Director of the Neurochemical Research Unit there. Much of Ian’s free time is spent on or near the ice rink. He coaches his son’s hockey team and his daughter’s ringette team, as well as playing on his own recreational hockey team. In the summer, Ian enjoys being outside, traveling, visiting the mountains, and relaxing at the beach. Ian is interested in understanding how we can reduce the damage early after a stroke and ways we can improve recovery in people who had a stroke a long time ago. His research also examines changes in the brain that lead to symptoms in other brain disorders like schizophrenia. Ian received his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in Psychology from the University of Alberta. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of British Columbia before returning to the University of Alberta to join the fac

Dr. Bryan Lewis is a Research Associate Professor working in the Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory at the Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech. Bryan works in the field of computational epidemiology. His research uses computers to simulate disease so they can make policy recommendations and help in response to an infectious disease epidemic. When he has spare time, Bryan likes going mountain biking and exploring the national forest nearby in Blacksburg, Virginia. He also enjoys swimming, hiking, and going for walks with his family and their dogs. He received his B.S. in Computational Biology from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master’s of Public Health specializing in Infectious Diseases from the University of California, Berkeley. Afterwards, Bryan attended graduate school at Virginia Tech where he was awarded his PhD in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology and then later joined the faculty. In this interview Bryan shares more about his life and research.

Dr. Suzanne Clough is the Chief Medical Officer at Amalgam Rx and Chief Innovation Officer at ArmadaHealth. In her free time, Suzanne revels in the pleasant chaos of her house with her husband, two children, and two dogs. She is also an athlete who enjoys basketball, swimming, and cycling. Suzanne is a physician by training, but she has been dedicating her efforts in recent years to investigating the behavioral science and psychosocial aspects of being a patient. She is working to discover what motivates people to engage in their healthcare, what creates barriers, and what can help people build reduce stress and build resilience. Through her companies, Suzanne develops digital health solutions that help people better manage their chronic diseases, improve their healthcare experience, and live happier lives. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from James Madison University and her medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She completed her residency and an endocrinology fello

Dr. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga is a Professor and Director of the Centre for Systems Neuroscience at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. He is also an author of the books Borges and Memory, Principles of Neural Coding, Imaging Brain Function with EEG, and the recently published book The Forgetting Machine. Rodrigo enjoys getting out of the lab to do different activities to give his mind a break from thinking about experiments. In particular, he enjoys hanging out with his wife and kids, playing sports, and practicing Judo. Rodrigo is interested in understanding how memory works and how the brain works in general. He conducts experiments to determine how the neurons in our brain make us see, feel, make decisions, and remember the things we experience and learn in our lives. The memory research in Rodrigo’s lab investigates how memories are formed, stored, consolidated, and forgotten. Rodrigo received his undergraduate training in physics from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina and was awarde

Dr. Edward DeLong is a Professor in the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawai’i Manoa as well as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT. When he’s not working, Ed loves to be out in nature. He enjoys spending time outside with his family, hiking, kayaking, and snorkeling in the beautiful coral reefs near his house. Ed has also taken up yoga to help him stay limber and relaxed. Research in Ed’s lab brings together a variety of disciplines to study microbial communities in the ocean. He is interested in their ecology, evolution, biochemistry, genomics, and their impacts on marine systems. Particularly of interest for Ed are the microscopic organisms that are the primary producers or “forests of the ocean” responsible for releasing oxygen and serving as food for other organisms in marine food chains. Ed received his B.S. in Bacteriology from the University of California, Davis and his Ph.D. in Marine Biology from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography

Dr. Abby Polter is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at George Washington University. Outside of the lab, Abby enjoys spending her free time curled up with a great book, conducting complicated cooking experiments in the kitchen, and visiting the many wonderful museums where she lives in Washington D.C. Her research examines how synapses on neurons producing neurotransmitters like serotonin are affected by adversity or stress during development, how neurons that produce dopamine are differentially affected in males compared to females, and why individuals respond differently to stress. These research questions are relevant for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance abuse disorders. Abby received her bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from Ohio Wesleyan University and her PhD in Neurobiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Before joining the faculty at George Washington University, Abby was a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University. Abby joined us for a

Dr. Joel Sachs is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Biology at the University of California, Riverside. For Joel, free time is best spent outdoors with his wife and two kids. They enjoy hanging out in their yard and hiking some of the fantastic trails in Southern California. Joel is also an avid gardener and landscaper. He has been working to transform his yard into a native habitat with plants like shrubs and cactuses. In Joel’s lab, they study bacteria that promote plant growth. He wants to understand how these bacteria work, how they are attracted from the soil into plants, how they get into plant cells, how plants maintain these microbes, and how these systems vary with different microbes. Some bacteria are beneficial for the plants, but others aren’t. Joel is investigating how plants deal with the diversity of microbes that they encounter and how they invest in the bacteria that can help them the most. He received his PhD in Integrative Biology from the University of Texas, Austin and was awarded

Dr. Ted Price is an Associate Professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the University of Texas, Dallas. He is also a neuroscientist with and the founder of a startup company called Ted’s Brain Science Products which develops non-opioid pain management products. Ted and his wife love spending time with their two year old daughter, and they are excited to welcome their second child into the family soon. Basketball is another one of Ted’s passions, and he wakes up early three days each week to hit the courts with his teammates. Though everyone experiences pain in their everyday lives, many people aren’t familiar with the extent of the issues caused by chronic pain. In his research, Ted is examining how the nervous system works and how it changes in response to experiencing pain. He wants to understand at the molecular level how pain becomes chronic and to develop new treatments to help people with chronic pain. Ted received his B.S. degree in neuroscience from the University of Texas, Dallas a