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

Dr. Talid Sinno is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering as well as Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also Director of Graduate Admissions. Talid received is PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a Lecturer and Postdoctoral Associate there before joining the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. Talid has received various awards and honors during his career, including an NSF Career Award. Talid is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. David Strayer is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah and Director for the Center for the Prevention of Distracted Driving. He received his Masters degree in Experimental Psychology from Eastern Washington University and his PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Afterward, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and worked briefly as a Member of Technical Staff at GTE Laboratories before joining the faculty at the University of Utah. David has received many awards and honors during his career, including being named a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Sciences, receiving the Interdiscipliniary Teaching Grand Award from the Psychology of Traffic, and being awarded the University of Utah Distinguished Scolarly and Creative Research Award. David's research has also been featured among Discover Magazine's 100 Top Science Stories in 2003 and 2005. He has also giving briefings

Dr. George Hajishengallis is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. He received his Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree from the University of Athens in Greece and his PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Following postdoctoral studies in Immunology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University at Buffalo, George served on the faculty at Louisiana State University Health Science Center and the University of Louisville before joining the Faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. George has been elected as a Fellow of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science and was a recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award in Oral Biology from the International Association of Dental Research (IADR) in 2012 and the AADR/IADR William J. Gies Award in the Biological Research Category in 2014. George is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Elizabeth Stacy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. She received her Masters degree in Botany from the University of Georgia and her PhD in Biology from Boston University. She then completed postdoctoral research at Concordia University in Canada before joining the faculty at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Elizabeth is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Nancy Mills was a Murchison Professor (2011-2014) at Trinity University. She received her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Arizona and she spent a few years teaching at Carleton College in Minnesota before joining the faculty at Trinity. Nancy has received many awards and honors during her career, including selection as a Council on Undergraduate Research Fellow, the Distinguished Achievement Award in Scholarship from Trinity University, the American Chemical Society Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution, and the Piper Professor state-wide teaching award. She has also been elected as a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Z. T. Scott Faculty Fellow at Trinity in recognition of outstanding teaching. Nancy is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Tara C. Smith is an Associate Professor in Epidemiology at Kent State University and Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Iowa. She received her PhD in Microbiology from the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Epidemiology at the University of Michigan. Afterward, Tara served on the faculty at the University of Iowa for about nine years before joining the faculty at Kent State. Tara is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Ricardo Araneda is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland. He completed his undergraduate studies in Biochemistry at the University of Concepcion in Chile and his undergraduate thesis project at the Catholic University in Santiago. Afterward, he came to the U.S. and conduct research at St. Louis University. Ricardo received his PhD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and served as a postdoctoral fellow and then Associate research scientist at Columbia University before joining the faculty of the University of Maryland. Ricardo is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Dennis Bente is an Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He received a doctor of veterinary medicine degree and PhD from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, Germany. He completed postdoctoral research at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio and served as a research fellow in the Special Pathogens Program at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg Canada. Dennis is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Diana Percy is a Research Entomologist at the Natural History Museum, London, UK. She received her Masters degree in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh, and her PhD in Plant-Insect Interactions from the University of Glasgow. Afterward, she undertook a postdoctoral Leverhulme Trust fellowship at CSIRO, Australia, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. She then served as a Research Associate at the University of British Columbia before joining the research staff of the Natural History Museum. Diana is here with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Paul Breslin is a Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Rutgers University, a Member at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology of the School of Dental Medicine at University of Pennsylvania. He received his PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Paul has received many awards and honors during his career, including a Bill and Melinda Gates Grand Challenges Explorations Award in 2009 for Malaria Research as well as one in 2011 for Childhood Nutrition Research. He has also received the American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology in the area of perception and motor performance and was  recently awarded the 2014 North America service award from the Food, Nutrition, and Safety Program of the International Life Sciences Institute. Paul is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Duane Diefenbach is an Adjunct Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Pennsylvania State University and Leader of the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. He received his Master's degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Maine and his PhD in Forest Resources from the University of Georgia. Afterwards, Duane worked as a Biometrician for the Pennsylvania Game Commission for about seven years before accepting positions with the Pennsylvania Unit and Penn State. Duane is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Brian Romans is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech. He received his Masters degree in Geology from the Colorado School of Mines and his PhD in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University. He then worked as a Research Scientist at Chevron Energy Technology for a few years before accepting his current position at Virginia Tech. Brian is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Rachel Wong is a Professor in the Department of Biological Structure at the University of Washington. She received her PhD in Vision Neuroscience from Australian National University. Afterward she served as a Research Associate at the National Vision Research Institute of Australia. Rachel then conducted postdoctoral research as a CJ Martin Fellow at Stanford University and then an RD Wright Fellow at the Vision, Touch, and Hearing Research Centre. She served on the faculty Washington University in St. Louis before joining the faculty at the University of Washington. Rachel is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Marc Cadotte is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the endowed TD Professor of Urban Forest Conservation and Biology at the University of Toronto, Scarborough. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. Marc is also the Executive Editor of the journal Applied Ecology. Marc received his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Tennessee and completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara. Marc is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Lily Wang is a Professor of Architectural Engineering in the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction and the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Faculty Development in the College of Engineering at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She received her PhD in Acoustics from Pennsylvania State University. She then worked as a research fellow in the Department of Acoustic Technology at the Technical University of Denmark before accepting a faculty position at UNL. Lily has received many awards and honors during her career, including the R. Bruce Lindsay Award, the top award given by the Acoustical Society of America to a person under 35 years of age. Lily has also been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award as well as numerous awards from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln for teaching and mentorship.

Dr. Zachary Hambrick is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University. He received his Masters degree and PhD in Experimental Psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology before joining the faculty at Michigan State University. Zach is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. James "Jacy" Bird is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Boston University. He received a Masters of Engineering Science in Coastal Engineering from James Cook University in Australia and a Masters in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University. He earned a PhD in Engineering Science from Harvard University as well and completed an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining the faculty at Boston University. James has received a number of awards and honors during his career, including a Fulbright Scholarship and an NSF CAREER Award. Jacy is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Dawn Bazely is a Professor of Biology and former Director of the Institute for Research Innovation in Sustainability at York University. She received a Masters degree in Botany from the University of Toronto and her PhD in Zoology from Oxford University. Afterward, she completed an Ernest Cook Research Fellowship at Somerville College at the University of Oxford and a Trevelyan Research Fellowship at Selwyn College at the University of Cambridge before joining the faculty at York. Dawn is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Norman Ellstrand is a Professor of Genetics in the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences at the University of California, Riverside and Founder and past Director of the center for conservation biology and the Biotechnology Impacts Center there. Norm received his PhD in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University before joining the faculty at the University of California, Riverside in 1979. Norm has received many awards and honors during his career, including a Fulbright Fellowship, election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship. He is also an accomplished author noted for writing the book Dangerous Liaisons?: When Cultivated Plants Mate with Their Wild Relatives. Norm is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Patrick Moore is an American Cancer Society (ACS) Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, the Pittsburgh Foundation Chair in Innovative Cancer Research, the Director of the Cancer Virology Program, and Co-Director of the Cancer Virology Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh. He received a Master's degree from Stanford University, followed by a medical degree and Master's Degree from the University of Utah College of Medicine, and a Master's of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. Patrick also trained at the Centers for Disease Control as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer. He worked for the U.S. Center for Disease Control and New York City Department of Health before returning to academia as a faculty member at Columbia University where he remained for eight years before accepting his current position at the University of Pittsburgh. Patrick has received many awards and honors, including the Meyenburg Foundation Award for Cancer Research, the