People Behind the Science Podcast

Dr. Franklin West is an Associate Professor in the Regenerative Biosciences Center at the University of Georgia. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Morehouse College and was awarded his Ph. D. in stem cell biology from the University of Georgia. Franklin then worked as an Assistant Research Scientist at the University of […] The post 886: Dr. Franklin West: Developing...

Dr. Meenal Datta is the Jane DeFlorio Collegiate Professor and associate professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, where she directs the Tumor Immune Microenvironment & Mechanics (TIME) Lab. She received her BS in chemical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and her PhD in chemical and biological engineering […] The post 885:...

Dr. Saad Bhamla is Assistant Professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University and was awarded […] The...

Dr. Verónica Pérez Rodríguez is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY). She earned a B.A. in Anthropology as well as a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Texas at El Paso. Verónica then attended graduate school at the University of Georgia where she was […] The post 883: Dr. Verónica Pérez Rodríguez: Unearthing Clues to...

Dr. Erica Walker is the RGSS Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health. She received her bachelor’s degree in math and economics from Simmons University, her master’s degree in environmental economics/urban planning from Tufts University, and her ScD degree in environmental health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public […] The post 882: Dr. Eric...

Dr. Chris Cederroth is an Assistant Professor within the laboratory of Experimental Audiology working on tinnitus within the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. He received his PhD from the University of Geneva, Switzerland for which he was awarded the Denber-Pinard Prize from the University of Geneva. During that time, […] The post 881: Dr. Chris...

Dr. Lauren Ponisio is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Oregon. She received her B.S. degree in biology with honors in ecology and evolution, as well as her M.S. degree in biology, from Stanford University. Lauren was awarded her Ph. D. from the Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management […] The post 880: Dr. Lauren Ponisio: Working to Pr...

Dr. Greg Wilson Mantilla is a Professor in the Department of Biology, Adjunct Professor in Department of Earth & Space Sciences, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Burke Museum, and Director of the DIG Field School at the University of Washington. He is also a Research Associate at the University of California Museum of Paleontology. […] The post 879: Dr. Greg Wilson Mantilla: Exa...

Dr. Julia Bailey-Serres is Director of the Center for Plant Cell Biology and Distinguished Professor of Genetics at the University of California, Riverside. She also holds the University of California John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Chair and is Professor of Rice Physiology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. She was awarded her B.S. in biology […] The post 878: Dr. Julia...

Dr. Alan Cohen is Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Chair of Biological Complexity and Healthy Longevity, and Co-Director of the Science of Health Program in the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at Columbia University. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Asian Studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, […] The post 877: Dr. Alan Cohen:...

Dr. Isaac Harris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomolecular Sciences and the Center for Discovery in Cancer Research at McMaster University. He received his bachelor’s of engineering degree in chemical engineering and PhD in molecular biology from the University of Toronto. Next, he conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard medical school […] The post 876:...

Dr. Mariana Byndloss is Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Mariana earned her DVM, MSc in veterinary pathology, and PhD in veterinary pathology from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil. She was awarded the Brazilian National Prize for best PhD thesis in Veterinary Medicine. Afterwards, Mariana […] The p...

Dr. Amy Williams is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences and Assistant Director of the Astraeus Space Institute at the University of Florida. Amy received her B.S. in Earth & Environmental Science from Furman University, her M.Sc. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the University of New Mexico, and her Ph. D. in […] The post 874: Dr. Amy Williams: Searching f...

Dr. Simon Sponberg is Dunn Family Professor and Assistant Professor in the School of Physics and the School of Biological Sciences, as well as Adjunct Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). He received his B.A. in physics and biology from Lewis & Clark College and his Ph. D. in […] The post 873: Dr. Simon Sponberg: Finding Out...

Dr. Martha Muñoz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University. She received her B.A. in biology from Boston University. Afterwards, Martha worked as a Fulbright Research Scholar at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid, Spain. She was awarded her Ph. D. in Organismic & Evolutionary Biology […] The post 872: Dr. Martha Muño...

Dr. Steven Platt is a Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Herpetologist for Southeast Asia. He received his BSc. in Forestry and Wildlife Management from Louisiana State University, his MSc. in Biology from Southeastern Louisiana University, and his PhD in Zoology from Clemson University. Afterwards, Steve worked for WCS from 1996 – 2001. In 2001, Steve transitioned to working in academia. [...

Dr. Sharlene Santana is Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington and Curator of Mammals at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. She completed her undergraduate training in biology at the University of the Andes in Venezuela, and she was awarded her Ph. D. in Organismic […] The post 870: Dr. Sharlene Santana:...

Dr. Ashok K. Shetty is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics and Associate Director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Texas A&M University, Naresh Vashisht College of Medicine. Ash earned his Ph. D. in Neuroscience from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, and he completed postdoctoral research […] The post 86...

Dr. Ayse Turak is Associate Professor and Associate Undergraduate Chair of the Department of Engineering Physics at McMaster University. Ayse received her B.Sc. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from Queens’s University and her PhD from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto, where she was a Canada Graduate Scholar. Afterwards, […] The...

Dr. Sydney Glassman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology at the University of California, Riverside. She completed her B.A. in Biology with a Concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Pennsylvania. Next Sydney received a Master’s of Environmental Studies degree in Environmental Biology from the University […] The...

Dr. Edwin “Ted” Bergin is Professor and Chair of Astronomy at the University of Michigan. He completed his undergraduate training in Astronomy at Villanova University, and he was awarded his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Massachusetts. Before joining the faculty at the University of Michigan, Ted worked as an astronomer/astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian […] The...

Dr. Cori Richards-Zawacki is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Director of the Pymatuning Lab of Ecology at the University of Pittsburgh. Cori received her Bachelor’s degree in engineering and biology as well as her PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology both from the University of Michigan. She conducted postdoctoral research at […] The post 865: Dr. Cori...

Dr. Tim Long is Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Macromolecules Innovation Institute at Virginia Tech. He was awarded his B.S. in Chemistry from St. Bonaventure University and his Ph. D. in Chemistry from Virginia Tech. Prior to joining the faculty at Virginia Tech, Tim worked as an Advanced Research Scientist and subsequently a Senior […] The post 863: Dr. Tim Long: Developing Nov...

Dr. Tajie Harris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience in the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia. She received her B.S. degree in biology from Bemidji State University in Minnesota and her Ph. D. in microbiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Afterwards, Tajie conducted Postdoctoral Research in immunoparasitology at the University […] The post 8...

Dr. Eric Pop is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering as well as Materials Science & Engineering at Stanford University. Eric received his B.S. in electrical engineering, B.S. in physics, and a M.Eng. in electrical engineering from MIT. He was awarded his PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Afterwards, Eric conducted postdoctoral research at […] The post 86...