STEM Tea

This episode of STEM Tea, hosted by Elsie Calderon Spencer (Columbia University, NY, USA), sheds light on the implicit biases of workplace dress policies. Elsie is joined by Haysetta Shuler, Maria Namwanje and Ella Adjei-Sowa to discuss the continued policing of hair and cultural dress in professional settings and how the perception of what ‘professionalism’ should look like creates barriers that...

In this episode of the STEM Tea podcasts, guests discuss how language discrimination affects non-native English speakers in academia, US laws prohibiting discrimination and how to create more inclusive workspaces. This episode is moderated by Ella Adjei-Sowah, a graduate student at the University of Rochester (NY, USA) studying nanoparticles as drug delivery methods. She is joined by Haysetta Shul...

This episode of STEM Tea is all about challenges specific to international students, such as language barriers, finding social and cultural acceptance and navigating visa restrictions. Cicely Wilson, an Associate Professor of Communications at Union University (TN, USA) who studies the lack of research featuring students and scholars of color in the field of communication, hosts this episode and d...

On International Women’s Day, the STEM Tea podcast was taken over by the wonderful Andrea Marshall, a staff scientist in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at  Vanderbilt University  (TN, USA) studying age-related changes in mitochondrial networks. Andrea was joined by guests Heather Beasley and Mariya Sweetwyne; together, they drew on their experiences to discuss motherhood whi...

AJ chats with Keisha Hardeman and Arnaldo Díaz Vázquez about some of the challenges of being a first-generation student as an undergraduate through to a postdoc and faculty member. They discuss how mentors can empower their mentees to take control of their academic careers and provide a sense of belonging to ensure first-generation students feel supported. Keisha is a Postdoctoral Scholar and PROV...

In this episode of STEM Tea, AJ chats with Chrystal Starbird and Aileen Fernandez about how institutions can make diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) improvements. They talk about the needs of DEI and how this should be incorporated into the classroom from schools to undergraduate and postgraduate studies and beyond. Chrystal is a faculty member at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (...

In this episode of STEM Tea AJ and Tina speak to Melanie McReynolds, HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellow and Rising Assistant Professor at the Pennsylvania State University (PA, USA). Here she discusses her research on the intersection of metabolic decline and aging, overcoming challenges along the route from her postdoc to her faculty position and key advice on grant writing and choosing the right pos...

AJ, your STEM Tea host, chats with Jose Gomez, Vivian Gama, Edgar Garza López and Elsie Spencer (all Vanderbilt University ; TN, USA) about their different paths through academia and their research. Together, they discuss their experiences of developing leadership skills and continuously improving their approaches to mentoring. The panel concludes with a discussion about their experiences as Latin...

In this episode of STEM Tea, AJ talks to Stanley Andrisse, Assistant Professor at Howard University (DC, USA) and Executive Director of the nonprofit From Prison Cells to PhD, whose mission is, "to reach, touch, and change the lives of individuals with disadvantaged backgrounds through advocacy, mentoring, and policy change." Stanley's drive to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds and those...

In the first episode of STEM Tea, we provide an introduction to the series and our host, the enigmatic Antentor Othrell Hinton Jr , Assistant Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Vanderbilt University (TN, USA), and learn more about his mission to improve the state of mentoring and DEAI in STEM. In this episode, Antentor dives into a conversation with Christina Termini , Assistant P...