Straight from a Scientist Medical Research Education and Discussion Podcast

This episode is part of a new series put on by UNC Pharmacology .  Lab to Life exposes students, staff, and faculty to the journey of alumni as they navigate their career post-PhD.  It's inspirational, informative, and a great guide for anyone looking for alternate careers in science.  Special thanks to Nicole Arnold at UNC Pharmacology for letting us record, and of course to Lisa for coming to ta...

This week we talked with Anton Rogachov, a 5th year PhD student in Dr. Karen Davis's Lab at the University of Toronto.  The Davis Lab focuses on using brain imaging like resting-state fMRI to understand functional abnormalities in the brains of chronic pain patients.  The majority of Dr. Davis's work looks at the functional communication between different brain regions and networks in order to und...

In our second interview with Aaron Devanathan, a PhD student in the Kashuba Lab at UNC Pharmacy, we dive deeper into the strategies researchers use on the cutting edge of HIV research, including the technical challenges, tools, and model systems that make the science possible.  We cover past, present, and future HIV therapies and also explore the innate immune system in aging and within the contex...

Today, back by popular demand is Miguel Mateas, a Clinical Nutritional Neuroscientist who studies how the microbiota affects the brain.  Diversity and abundance in gut microbiota leads to a healthy and balanced system, called eubiosis.  But when that balance is lost, the gut's ability to absorb nutrients suffers, which is called dysbiosis.  We discuss his new review article, which covers markers o...

Connor Wander talked to Waylin Yu about his research in the overlap of pain, negative emotion, and addiction.  Waylin studies the fundamental roles of neurons in different areas of the brain, such as the amygdala, that may be responsible for these reactions, both independently and in relation to each other.  This includes chronic pain, anxiety, and alcohol and drug dependence, looking at activity...

We talked to Alyssa Olenick, also known as Little Lyss Fitness for her online fitness presence and training programs, about her research in metabolic flexibility and nutrition strategies.  Listen in to hear about proper health, fitness, and the science behind popular diet plans such as the  Ketogenic diet , a high-fat, low-carb diet sometimes used to treat severe epilepsy in children, and Intermit...

We spoke with Faviola Dadis, the CEO of NeuroReality who is using the company to fund her PhD research.  NeuroReality specializes in the development of medical software using VR in order to create an immersive and fun gamified neurorehabilitation program for individuals who experience cognitive deficits following a stroke (and eventually for other clinical populations).  Using virtual reality and...

Science isn't perfect and one of it's biggest problems revolves around the publishing process, by which scientists share their findings with the public after peer review.  However, this sharing can be quite limited in both what is shared and who gets to see it.  Open access science, shared publicly, can enhance the discovery process, but implementing open access can be difficult.  We talk about ne...

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI). CTE is mainly seen in athletes who participate in contact sports such as football, but it also spans to military personnel. In this roundtable episode, we discuss where the latest research stands on this topic as well as explore the clinical and pathological manif...

Hey SFS listeners! Julian and Connor met up online to discuss the past, present, and future of SFS.  Thanks for sticking with the podcast as we learn more about podcasting and science communication in general.  We've got a lot in the works for the summer, and are excited to bring you loads of new content! We must ask a favor with this new push to polish SFS!  Itunes reviews are one of the best way...

Our final ComSciCon interview is with Aaron Devanathan.  Aaron studies HIV infection and elimination in the Department of Pharmacy at UNC Chapel Hill in the Angela Kashuba Lab.  HIV, or Human Immuno-deficiency Virus, is the virus that causes AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.  While modern medicine has done wonders in treating the symptoms of an HIV infection, current drugs fail to elim...

We had the chance to talk with Georgia Atkin-Smith about different types of cell death, autoimmune disorders, and the optimistic future of the field.  Georgia is a final year PhD student in Biochemistry and Immunology at the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, Melbourne, Australia. Her PhD project focuses on a type of cell death termed apoptosis and the consequence of this process in disease...

We had the opportunity to speak with Claudia Alarcón López, better known as @the.nanotechgirl .  She is a Mexican INCQ (Ingeniero En Nanotecnología Y Ciencias Químicas) student who has the goal of spreading knowledge of science through Instagram, with a special focus on nanotechnology.  Nanotechnology is manipulation of matter on an  atomic ,  molecular , and  supramolecular  scale which can be ap...

The next installment of the ComSciCon podcast blitz stars Ashish Kapoor!  We discuss flexible electronics and smart textiles.  These game-changing technologies are already showing up in stores and threaten to completely overhaul how we use and think about clothing.  Smart textiles can be used in the military, medical emergencies, or just everyday use.  We talk about other practical applications of...

Our second ComSciCon Triangle interview was with Stephanie Teeter from NC State.  Stephanie is a technician for two biomedical engineering labs, and she is working towards her PhD in Science Education.  We discuss practical applications of biomedical engineering, like prosthetics, and the challenges with Science Education in academia.       Follow Stephanie on Twitter . Read more on the lab webpag...

We got the chance to sit down with Suzanne Hartley, a graduate student at North Carolina State University.  Suzanne researches how to help Bluebirds in their surprisingly violent turf war with House Sparrows, and how we can use this war to learn about environmental toxins like pesticides or other chemicals.  Bluebirds are a beautiful, native species in North America, but they are constantly harass...

  Straight from a Scientist headed south for Spring Break and got a chance to speak with Dr. Frances Colón.  Dr. Colón served as science adviser to the State Department under the Obama administration.  We discuss the responsibility scientists have to communicate their findings directly to the public, and how scientists can enact change by putting pressure on civic leaders. Connect with Dr. Colón o...

Jean Rivera completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Puerto Rico (UPRM) majoring in Chemistry, with minors in Psychology and Biology. His undergraduate research focused primarily on explosives and forensic chemistry in the laboratories of Dr. Samuel Hernandez and Dr. Carmen Vega. He then pursued a 2-year research internship at Tufts Medical School as an NIH-PREP scholar in the Neur...

The SSMV Aquarium is totally funded by donations, which pay for food, animals, and maintenance. If you are interested in supporting these efforts to teach Nashville high school kids marine biology, please visit the gofundme page. Last week, we got the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Jordan Grigor, a postdoc working at the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV).  He is both an educator a...

Today we sit down and talk with Irene Gonzalez about Parkinson Disease. Irene is a Master student who is currently studying neurodegenerative diseases. In this podcast, we cover the molecular pathology of Parkinson as well as discuss some promising new treatments. Connect with Irene on Instagram   Any other questions?   Let us know!   We appreciate your feedback. You can now support the podcast at...

This week we sit down with Ricky Barrett, a PhD candidate at the University of Central Florida (UCF).  Ricky researches the poorly understood role of immune cells like macrophages in fat metabolism.  The immune system isn't just for protecting against infections- it is a key regulator of metabolism and is often overlooked!  We discuss all of this in the context of atherosclerosis, which can cause...

Alzheimer's disease is the most predominant neurodegenerative disorder of our time, and is an imminent health crisis in countries like the United States, where 15 million people are expected to suffer from the disease by 2050.  Alzheimer's disease is an age-related disorder that causes brain shrinkage, memory loss, and eventually, death.  This week we discuss major paradigm shifts in Alzheimer's d...

Today we spoke with Neuroscientist Daniel Toker about theories of consciousness and how mathematical models can be used to study the brain. We get philosophical on the scientific basis of consciousness as well as cover the complex concept of free will. Daniel Toker is a neuroscience PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley who did his undergrad in philosophy and neuroscience at Prince...

This interview podcast features Maya Gosztyla, an undergraduate researcher at THE Ohio State University. Maya researches the genetics of axon guidance, or brain wiring in fruit flies, and runs her own Alzheimer's Disease learning blog called AlzScience. We discuss her research, how she balances work with free time, and how she worked her way into her first research lab without hands-on experience....

Today we interview Miguel Mateas about the intriguing field of nutritional neuroscience: how does the food we eat affect our brain function.   About Miguel   Miguel Toribio-Mateas is a nutrition practitioner (BSc Hons Nutritional Medicine) and clinical neuroscientist (MSc) living in the UK and working in London. Miguel got a Santander Bank Scholarship for doctoral research in 2016 and is currently...