Master Minds

On this episode, Will sat down with Dr. Eric Green, the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (or NHGRI) since 2009, which is one of the research arms of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Prior to his appointment, Dr. Green trained at Washington University School of Medicine in the laboratory of Maynard Olson, and later as an assistant Professor of Genetics, where he spea...

In this episode, Will sat down with Dr. Aaron Ciechanover, biologist and Distinguished Research Professor in the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. Dr. Ciechanover is renowned for his work in studying the method that cells use to degrade and recycle proteins. While in the laboratory of Avram Hershko, they discovered that small proteins, called ubiquitin,...

Today, we sat down with Professor Tansu Daylan, astrophysicist, Assistant Professor of Physics, and faculty fellow at the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences here at WashU. Dr. Daylan works with data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite on the discovery and characterization of exoplanets. He is also interested in researching the particle nature of dark matter. Have you ever been i...

Today we sat down with Dr. Charles Rice, the Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Professor in Virology at Rockefeller University. Dr. Rice is an expert in RNA viruses, viruses that use RNA as opposed to DNA in their genome, and studies the body’s innate immune response to infection. However, he is most known for his work on Hepatitis C Virus, which causes liver disease and cirrhosis if untreated....

Today, we sat down with Dr. David H. Perlmutter, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of Washington University School of Medicine, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor. Dean Perlmutter leads one of the largest medical schools in the country, currently ranked #2 in NIH funding among US medical schools nationwide. He is also a pediatric...

In this episode, we’re talking to the “father of cardiac arrhythmia surgery”, Dr. James Cox. The former Division Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery here at WashU Med, Dr. Cox developed surgical procedures for multiple cardiac arrhythmias, including the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia, automatic atrial tachycardias, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation and ven...

Today, I sat down with Dr. Brian Kobilka, Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Kobilka is an expert on a class of receptors called G protein-coupled receports, or GPCRs, that are essential in a majority of biological processes including light, flavor, and odor perception and in the activity of adrenalin, dopamine, and serot...

Today, we sat down with Professor Mark Alford, theoretical physicist and former chair of the Department of Physics at Washington University. Prof. Alford researches the physics of ultra-high density matter, such as in the core of a neutron star to get insights on how particles behave in situations that we do not encounter on Earth. He has also done important work on characterizing Quantum Chromody...

Dr. Jonathan Kipnis is the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Immunology and Director of the Brain Immunology and Glia Center (BIG) at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Kipnis is well known for his discoveries on the interactions between the brain and the immune system, including meningeal lymphatics, previously thought to not exist, and how immune cell...

Today were talking to Dr. Sharon Deem, Director of the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine. Prior to this, Dr. Deem worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society and Smithsonian National Zoo. A veterinarian and epidemiologist by trade, she is also the current president of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians. Dr. Deem has conducted conservation and research projects in over...

Today we're talking to Prof. Jonathan Losos, William H. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Biology here at Washington University. Professor Losos is an internationally renowned scholar in the field of evolutionary biology. He also serves as the Director of the Living Earth Collaborative, an academic partnership between WashU, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the St. Louis Zoo to advance the...

Dr. Deanna Barch is a psychologist and Vice Dean of Research for the College of Arts and Sciences at Washington University. She is the George B. Couch Professor of Psychiatry and former Chair of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences as well as Professor of Radiology. Dr. Barch is known for her work using neuroimaging to characterize cognitive deficits in patients with mental illness s...

Br. Robert Macke is a Jesuit Astronomer at the Vatican Observatory and Curator of the Vatican Meteorite Collection. Br. Bob is the world expert on measuring physical properties of meteorites, including density, porosity, magnetic susceptibility, and thermal properties. He has been at the forefront of developing new methods, and improving old ones, to characterize meteorites and even lunar samples...

Prof. W.E. Moerner is the Harry S. Mosher Professor of Chemistry, Professor, by courtesy, of Applied Physics at Stanford University, and WashU alum! Professor Moerner is a physical chemist, a scientist that studies chemical processes using physics. In 1989, he and his postdoc developed a method that accomplished the first ever optical detection and spectroscopy of a single molecule, something that...

Dr. Albert H. Kim is the August A. Busch Jr. Professor of Neurological Surgery, Senior Vice-Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, and Professor of Genetics, Neurology, and Developmental Biology at Washington University School of Medicine. He is also the inaugural Director of the Washington University Brain Tumor Center and Surgical Director of the Pituitary Center. Dr. Kim is an expert in gliob...

Dr. Ali Ellebedy is the Associate Professor of Pathology and Immunology, of Medicine, and of Molecular Biology at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Ellebedy’s research surrounds B cell immune responses and he has made outstanding contributions to studying the COVID-19 virus. His work on the influenza virus informed initial vaccine development efforts, and his lab was instrumental in de...

Dr. Michael Diamond is an infectious diseases specialist and the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Diamond is widely recognized for his research on RNA viruses, particularly West Nile virus and Zika virus, contributing much to their molecular basis and immunity. His work as Associate Director of the Bursky Center for Human Immunology has led t...

Dr. Dineo Khabele is the Mitchell & Elaine Yanow Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine. She is a renowned physician-scientist specializing in gynecological oncology with a focus on ovarian cancer. In this episode, we discuss various aspects of ovarian cancer, such as causes, pathophysiology, and treatments. We also did...

Dr. David Gutmann is the Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor of Neurology and Director of the Neurofibromatosis Center at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Gutmann’s expertise lies in the study of neurofibromatosis, or NF, a genetic disorder which causes tumor growth in the nervous system throughout the body. His work has received international recognition, resulting in him being honore...

This week on Master Minds, we talked to Dr. Erik Herzog, Viktor Hamburger Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences and Professor of Biology at Washington University. Dr. Herzog is a chronobiologist - a scientist that studies how organisms create biological rhythms to help adapt to their environment. He is an expert on how the brain regulates circadian rhythms, which are physiological process...

Professor Cowsik is considered by many to be the 'Father of Astroparticle Physics' for his invention of the leaky box model for the observation of cosmic rays and his discoveries characterizing neutrinos and dark matter as having a role in the Big Bang. The James S. McDonnell Professor of Space Sciences here at WashU, he has been compared to Enrico Fermi for his immensely productive career...

Today, we will be learning about genetics and evolution with Professor Barbara Schaal, evolutionary biologist and the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor in Arts and Sciences at WashU. A pioneer in the field of plant evolution, she was one of the first to apply molecular genetic techniques to understanding evolutionary processes. Professor Schaal has served as president of the Botanical Soci...

Today, we are taking a deep dive into the brain to learn about psychology of memories. We sat down with Dr. Henry Roediger, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences here at WashU and co author of the book, “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning”. Dr. Roediger has been a pioneer in studying memory accessibility and retrieval, particularly...

In this episode of Master Minds, we sit down with Dr. Graham Colditz, epidemiologist and public health expert. Dr. Colditz is the Associate Director for Prevention and Control at Siteman Cancer Center and Chief of the Division of Public Health Sciences in the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine. He is also an adjunct professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan Scho...

In this episode of Master Minds, we sit down with someone who is somewhat of a celebrity among the pre-med students at WashU. Dr. Greg Polites is the founder of MedPrep, a series of classes that students can take to learn more about the field of medicine. He is, by training, an emergency medicine physician and currently serves as the chair of the central subcommittee on the Admissions Committee fo...