Fail-Safe Science

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Xyonane Segovia, an Assistant Teaching Professor at Arizona State University. Her dissertation research focused on malaria, specifically looking at resistance evolution of the malaria parasite. Now, she’s in a position where she teaches various subjects including evolutionary medicine, global health and biology. Here, Xyonane talks about navigating an experiment f...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Hong Wang, a Professor in the Department of Physics at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. Her PhD research focused on atomic force microscope imaging of protein and DNA complexes, and her current work focuses on single molecule studies of DNA repair. Here, Hong talks about what it was like for her to navigate pregnancy (with twins) while in graduate s...

Hello Fail-Safe Science listeners! This is Olivia Davis- one of the co-founders of Fail-Safe Science. We hope you are all getting some much deserved rest and practicing self-care after a long year. We don’t have a new episode dropping this week, but we still wanted to pop on and check in with you all. In the meantime, if you are looking for mental health resources this holiday season, please check...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Holly Molinaro. Holly is currently a consultant for General Mills and Blue Buffalo dog food company where she assists on understanding animal behavior to create better products. Her PhD research focused on animal emotions, specifically dogs, and her work now is focused on broadly helping people help their animals, whether in zoos, shelters, or industry partners. S...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Kat Magnone, who at the time of this recording was an adjunct Chemistry instructor at Cincinnati State. Their dissertation research studied high school students learning about sodium chloride dissolution using molecular level animations. Here, Kat discusses their experience failing their qualifying exams on their first try at the second institution they went to fo...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Raúl Araya-Donoso. At the time of recording, Raúl was a Postdoctoral scholar at Arizona State University, but he has since moved on to a Postdoc position at Yale. His dissertation research focused on the genomic and ecological factors affecting speciation rates on lizards, and his ASU postdoc kept exploring that same topic. At Yale, he will be going further on tha...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Kate Weiss, an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Marist University. Her PhD research focused on understanding how wild carnivores make decisions about what they eat in urban environments. Now, her work focuses on understanding how to promote more sustainable futures for people and wildlife species by incorporating social, ecological, and evolutionary...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Mercy Salami, a senior lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria. Her dissertation research focused on the contribution of wild tree species to food security in northwestern Nigeria. Since then, her research has focused on the issues of development economics. Mercy specifically works on food sec...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Logan Gin, the Assistant Director for STEM in the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning at Brown University. His dissertation research focused on the experiences of STEM students with disabilities, and since graduating he’s been in this position working with graduate students and postdocs on professional development mostly around teaching and learning. Here, L...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Max Liboiron, a Professor in Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, where they run the CLEAR lab, the Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research. Max’s dissertation research focused on the emerging state of plastic pollution as a field, and their work now focuses on creating tools and infrastructures for community-based plastic polluti...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Patricia Rankin, a Chair and a Professor in the Department of Physics at Arizona State University. Her PhD research focused on particle physics, specifically charm photo production, and her work now primarily focuses on science policy, especially paving the way for women in STEM. Here, Patricia shares what it was like to work on lab experiments during graduate sch...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Sarah Habibi, the founder of Mito &Co, a children’s STEM education company based out of Toronto, Canada. Her dissertation research focused on characterizing novel drug targets in parasitic worms, and specifically looked at the parasite Haemonchus contortus, which infects livestock across North America. Now, her work focuses on science communication and STEM ed...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Nigel Rothfels, who is now retired (huge congrats!), but at the time of this interview was a Professor of History and Acting Vice Provost for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His dissertation research focused on how animals have been thought about in different historical times, but now his scholarly work is squarely in the humanistic study of ani...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Michele Clark, who is an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the Department of Energy in Washington D.C. Her PhD research focused on the drivers of invasive plant species and plant distribution within community forests in subtropical Nepal, where she lived and did research as a Fulbright scholar. Spe...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Sara Brownell, a Professor and biology education researcher at Arizona State University, where she studies how students and instructors navigate concealable stigmatized identities in academic science. Sara transitioned to studying undergraduate biology education during her postdoc. She received her Master’s from The Scripps Research Institute and her PhD from Stan...

Dr. Fernando Salinas-Quiroz is currently an Assistant Professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University. Their dissertation research focused on assessing the quality of Mexican daycare. In their current position, they study with and for trans youth (you can check out more of their work on their website here: https://www.transfermative.com/ ). In thi...

Dr. Leah Jones-Crank is an Assistant Professor in the School of Environment, Resources, and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Her PhD research focused on collaborative governance of the food-energy-water nexus in Phoenix, Arizona, and Cape Town, South Africa. Currently, she is expanding that research to focus on the environmental and ecological impacts of the food-energy-wate...

Dr. Matt Wund is a Professor in the Biology Department at The College of New Jersey, a primarily undergraduate institution, in Ewing, NJ. Matt’s PhD research focused on echolocation in bats, and during his postdoc, switched to behavior, evolution, and phenotypic plasticity in stickleback fish, which he continues now. Here, Matt discusses his experience with failing his comprehensive exams on his f...