Saturday Morning Lab

Hey friends, during our off-season of Saturday Morning Lab, I'm excited to announce a limited series called the "Summer Tour". In these few episodes, I interview, scientists, academics, and other professionals from around the world to collect their stories, voices, and wisdoms. Stay tuned for Summer Tour episodes coming soon!

In this finale episode of our second season, I sit down with Michael Eisen , Professor of Genetics and Development at UC Berkeley. We talk about how his love of sports inspired a career in science. We also talk about the challenges facing academia and its role in society. Mike is genuine, principled, and does not pull his punches. His informed perspective is helpful in addressing the systemic prob...

On this penultimate episode of season 2, I sit down with my friend, Tom Vondriska. Tom is a Professor of Medicine at UCLA where he studies the role of chromatin dynamics in cardiovascular disease. We discuss his early beginnings in a small Ohio town, his path to research, and perspective on the role of science and safeguarding the public trust. Check out Tom's Substack to get more of his take on i...

On this week's episode, I interview Mariana Weber, a kind and enthusiastic Medical Science Liaison.  We talk about her journey from a small town in Brazil to a PhD in microbiology, surviving layoffs and setbacks to land her first Medical Science Liaison role. Her secret? Resilience, mentorship, and taking ownership of her career. 

On this week's episode, I have the distinct privilege of sitting down with Professor Jen Heemstra . Jen is the chair of the chemistry department at  Washington University. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed book “ Lab Work to Leadership ”. She recounts her conservative upbringing, mentors who changed her path, finding research and academia, and wrangling with a surprising tenure setbac...

On this week's episode, I chat with the insightful Kim Prince , an expert in functional neurology and creator of Neuro Resilience Training . We talk about her early years in a small town in Southern Illinois, her early passion for medicine, discovering occupational therapy and cognitive therapy. We discuss her important work using physical movement as a therapeutic strategy for mental health thera...

On this week's episode, I have the joy of chatting with Jennifer Bezaire , a talented and kind cardiovascular perfusionist and movement educator. We discuss her experiences in the performing arts, her transition to nursing and ultimately cardiovascular perfusion. In this thoughtful discussion, we reflect on themes of self-exploration, care, what it means to provide healing to oneself and others an...

On this week's episode I have a deep and thoughtful conversation with Teresa Sellinger , a Physician's Weekly Editor for Formedics . We discuss her early life in the Midwest, her early passion for journalism, transition to communications and marketing, and her rich professional life that led her to a career in medical writing and editing. Teresa's wealth of life experience is inspiring and her per...

On this week's episode I have the privilege of chatting with Dr. Mel Thacker, an ear, nose, and throat surgeon, TED speaker, and founder and Master Coach at The Surgeon Coach . She is also one of the leading voices for reform in the field of surgery and medicine in general. We discuss how a childhood surgery set her on a path to the profession. We also delve into her experiences with the systemic...

On this week's episode, I speak to the visionary Dr. Catharine Young , Senior Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health and former Assistant Director of the Cancer Moonshot Program under former President Biden. We discuss her early beginnings in South Africa, and her incredible career path through biomedical research, scientific policy, fellowship at the National Academy of Sciences and curren...

This week, I speak to the thoughtful and passionate Kamil Gorecki , a biochemist/microbiologist at the University of California Irvine. We talk about his formative years in his native Poland and his passion for STEM. We also discuss his scientific training across Europe, completing his thesis work in the midst of his mentor's battle with cancer, and moving to Southern California to continue his in...

This week, I talk to my long time friend Kristin Luther an industry specialist in extracellular vesicles (EVs). We talk about her broad interest early in life, her foray into medical illustration, PhD years, and ultimate transition into industry. We also talk about the challenges facing EV biology (a topic near and dear to my own heart). Unexpectedly, we have a thoughtful conversation on the natur...

On this episode, I have the sincere pleasure of speaking with the incredibly creative and talented Emma Vidal . Emma is a scientific illustrator, art director, and founder of Draw Impacts where she and her team help scientists from academia to industry effectively convey their message and brand through art. We talk about her early years in a small fishing village in France, her fateful entry into...

Hey friends, on this special mini-episode, I celebrate International Women's Day by highlighting Arabic women who despite their historic and perhaps unparalleled heroism, service, scholarship, and preservation of culture and faith in this region are often overlooked, patronized and otherwise misrepresented by international media in general and Western media (and entertainment) in particular. I inc...

On this week's episode, I have the pleasure of chatting with the brilliant and effortlessly funny Dr. Gemma Alderton. Gemma is a consultant, editor and writer with nearly two decades of editorial experience in Nature and Science journals. We talk about her early passion for art and chemistry, and foray into research and scientific publishing. We also discuss at length the many challenges facing th...

On this week's episode, I chat with the brilliant and thoughtful Dr. Helen Collins , Assistant Professor of Cardiology at the University of Louisville. We talk about discovering her passion for research, the struggle to find a postdoc position at the height of the recession, moving to the US and establishing her research program exploring mechanisms that underlie female cardiovascular health and r...

This week, I revisit my episode with the fun, engaging, and thoughtful Julie Bauman , a graduate student at Stanford and a science content creator in her own right! Through her TikTok channel 60 Second Science she hopes to distill and disseminate science to the expert and lay public. We talk about her how she developed an early interest in science and medicine, pivoting away from medical school an...

On this first episode of season 2, I sit down with my colleague and friend, Kenneth Gouin , a brilliant and thoughtful bioinformatics scientist. We discuss his early interest in regenerative medicine, his pivot to bioinformatics, his experience in industry, and the importance of philosophical literacy in research. 

Hey Friends, Welcome to the second season of Saturday Morning Lab! We started a little later this year as I've been wrangling with a severe flu virus. But great things have also happened since season 1! I published a flagship paper from my lab ( https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.adp1338 ), and other cool developments I'm sharing in this promo! Season 2 episodes start Friday January...

On National Neonatal Nurses Week, I sit down with Amanda Williams, a neonatal clinical nurse specialist, content creator, and consultant at Amanda's NICU ED . We talk about her path to a nursing career, the unique calling of working in the neonatal intensive care unit, the challenges and the future of the nursing profession, and much more. Find Amanda's very helpful content on Instagram , Tiktok ,...

Hey friends, in this special episode, I review the book "Labwork to Leadership: a concise guide to thriving in the science job you weren't trained for". Scientists receive sufficient training to develop lines of investigation, but little to no training on leading the very people who make this effort possible. In this easy read, Jen offers first-hand insight into self-development, leading others, a...

My former research intern Jamie Lee stops by my office to record a bonus episode! We talk about her beginnings as a naturalist, a seeker, her "aha" moment for medicine and discovering her passion for research, and her path as a yogi. In our honest conversation, we discuss what resilience looks like for her. She is applying to MD/PhD programs (AMCAS ID: 15756334) this year so MSTP admissions commit...

On this last installment of Campfire Confessions, I reflect on having lunch with a friend I hadn't seen in a long time and one Arabic translator's experience working in a refugee camp on an Greek Island. 

On this episode of Campfire Confessions, I talk about a time when I caused havoc on the UC Irvine campus driving a semi-truck. I also talk about a very pleasant surprise by my research team. 

On the third installment of Campfire Confessions, I recount an awkward instance when a conference speaker showed up to an empty hall save one enthusiastic audience member. I also share a recent experience taking a train for the first time in years. For pics of the beautiful Glendale station, please find us on our Instagram page ( https://www.instagram.com/satmorninglab/ ).  As always, you're welco...