The Lab Coats & Life™ Podcast

In this episode, Dr. Nicole Quinn speaks with scientist Dr. Chantelle Leveille and software engineer Peyton Lee from the Allen Institute for Cell Science about the power of interdisciplinary collaboration in modern research. Chantelle shares her journey from biochemistry and biophysics into large-scale imaging data analysis, while Peyton discusses combining his interests in programming, design, an...

  In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Brenda Raud speak with Dr. Alae Kawam, a surgical pathologist in New York City, about burnout in medicine and the biomedical sciences. Drawing from her personal experience in medical training, Dr. Kawam explains the core components of burnout, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment, and explores how systemic pressu...

  In this episode, Dr. Nicole Quinn speaks with Dr. Rachel Owen, a sustainability and science policy entrepreneur and founder of RKO Consulting, about how scientists can engage effectively in policy and advocacy. Rachel shares her journey from soil science to science policy and explains how researchers can get “in the room” with policymakers through professional societies, relationship-buildi...

  In this episode, Dr. Nicole Quinn speaks with Dr. Tenneille Ludwig, board member of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, and Dr. Rita Carsetti, President of the International Union of Immunological Societies, about the essential role scientific societies play in the global research ecosystem. They discuss how societies bring researchers together across borders, establish guidel...

  In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Daylon James speak with Dr. Sarahanne Field, Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Trial and Error, about the importance of publishing negative results and studying science itself through meta-science. Sarahanne shares how the journal was founded to challenge publication bias and create space for well-...

  In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Brenda Raud speak with Dr. Rachel Perry at the Yale School of Medicine about the long-standing expectation that scientists must move between institutions or countries to advance their careers. Rachel shares her unconventional path of remaining at Yale from undergraduate training through faculty appointment, and discusses the intentional decisions, ment...

In this episode, co-hosts Drs. Nicole Quinn and Arun Sharma speak with Euan Adie, Founder of Altmetric, about rethinking how we measure research impact beyond traditional citations. Euan shares the origin story of Altmetric and explains the difference between attention and real-world influence, including policy, education, and clinical impact. The conversation explores the challenges of reforming...

  In this episode, co-hosts Drs. Nicole Quinn and Jason Goldsmith chat with Rob Henderson, President and CEO of BioTalent Canada. Rob shares insights on workforce trends in the life sciences and explains why the biggest skills gaps in biotech aren’t technical, but in so-called “success skills” like communication, project management, and critical thinking. He discusses how co-ops, internships,...

In this episode, co-hosts Drs. Nicole Quinn and Jason Goldsmith chat with Dr. César de la Fuente, Presidential Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. de la Fuente discusses his work using AI to discover new antibiotics, and building a new large language model in his lab. He talks about opportunities for AI to assist researchers with administrative tasks, as well as current limi...

In this episode, co-hosts Drs. Nicole Quinn and Arun Sharma chat with Tamara Poles, Founder and CEO of Universal SciCom . Tamara discusses her career path into science communication and how she helps scientists become effective communicators. She also talks about the importance of authenticity and storytelling when engaging with the public, and how early-career scientists can cultivate their commu...

In this episode, co-hosts Drs. Nicole Quinn and Daylon James chat with Drs. Lisa Corwin and Sandhya Krishnan from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Dr. Corwin is an Associate Professor and Principal Investigator of the REACH Lab , which studies how early-career scientists engage with and persevere through challenges in their research. Dr. Krishnan is a NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Postdoc...

In this episode, co-hosts Drs. Nicole Quinn and Brenda Raud chat with Dr. Judy Mielke and Kate Gardner, Co-Founders of scientifyRESEARCH , a database that helps connect researchers with funding opportunities. They discuss trends in scientific funding, how to be strategic when applying, and opportunities for researchers in lower- and middle-income countries. Images courtesy of Dr. Judy Mielke and K...

In this episode, co-hosts Drs. Nicole Quinn and Arun Sharma chat with Dr. Karen Kelsky, the founder of The Professor Is In , an online resource, book and consultancy for navigating academic careers. Dr. Kelsky shares how she has helped over 15,000 PhDs find fulfilling paths inside and outside academia, reflects on her own career journey, and gives practical advice for thriving in the academic job...

In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Jason Goldsmith chat with Lynn Csontos, VP of Regulatory Affairs at STEMCELL Technologies. Lynn discusses the process of developing reagents for the manufacture of cell and gene therapies, how standards vary from country to country, and the need for diversity in clinical trials. She also talks about her career transition from research and development to regul...

Guest: In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Brenda Raud chat with Dr. Nokuthula Mchunu, Deputy Director of the African Open Science Platform. Dr. Mchunu discusses challenges faced by scientists in Africa, including infrastructure limitations, language barriers, and inequities in research funding and publishing. She shares insights on fostering equitable partnerships, strengthening research syste...

In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Daylon James chat with Dr. Brandon Stell, Research Scientist at the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris and Founder of PubPeer.com , a website that provides scientists with a forum to discuss published research literature. Dr. Stell talks about his and his co-founders’ motivations for launching, and the platform’s impacts since then....

Guest: In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Jason Goldsmith chat with Dr. Alex Shalek, the J. W. Kieckhefer Professor in the Institute for Medical Engineering & Science and the Department of Chemistry at MIT. He and members of his lab strive to engineer and create technologies and methods achievable by any lab, anywhere in the world through open source experimental protocols and computationa...

Guest: In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Brenda Raud chat with Dr. Sara Yeo, an Associate Professor of Communications at the University of Utah. Specializing in science and risk communication, Dr. Yeo’s research explores the intersection of science, media, and politics. She talks about building trust and engagement in science communication and how humor can help. She also discusses unconventi...

Guest: In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Arun Sharma chat with Dr. Caroline Hookway, a Scientist at the Allen Institute for Cell Science , who specializes in live-cell imaging. She talks about how to choose the right technology to answer scientific questions, strategies to ensure quality and reproducibility, and overcoming barriers to adopting new technologies. Image courtesy of Dr. Caroline...

Guest: In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Daylon James chat with Dr. Richard Sever, Assistant Director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York and Co-founder of the preprint servers  bioRxiv  and  medRxiv . He discusses how preprints can help advance science, the role of funding, and the future of peer review. Image courtesy of Dr. Richard Sever Get...

Guest: In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Arun Sharma chat with Dr. Raeka Aiyar, Vice President of Scientific Outreach & Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) . Raeka is an experienced geneticist turned science communicator, whose research has focused on applying genomics to the study of disease, with the goal of enabling precision medicine...

Guest: In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Daylon James chat with Dr. Nika Shakiba, Allen Distinguished Investigator and Assistant Professor at the School for Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia. Nika has a passion for outreach and mentorship and is co-founder of the  Advice to a Scientist initiative. Nika and the hosts talk about how the landscape of mentorship is chan...

Guest: In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Jason Goldsmith chat with Dr. Nima Najand, Director of the Life Sciences Innovation Hub  at the University of Calgary. They discuss the ways in which scientists can transition their research into the clinic with a focus on transferring early-stage technologies from academic labs to industry, starting spin-off companies, and strategies for commercializa...

Guest: In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Brenda Raud chat with Dr. Jennifer Polk, a career coach, educator, and recognized expert in careers for graduate students and PhDs. They discuss the big question facing many academics, “to postdoc or not to postdoc?”, and key questions to consider when making the decision. Dr. Polk, who runs the website From PhD to Life , talks about how to find your n...

Launching in February 2024, the Lab Coats & Life Podcast will provide listeners with reflective conversations with guests from all corners of science who are passionate about passing on their knowledge and experience to others. Although this podcast is for scientists, it is not your typical science podcast. Instead, each episode aims to keep you informed about useful soft skills, relevant tren...