Vitamin PhD Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, Emma and Aly start off their season with a conversation with Dr. Shari Tishman. Dr. Tishman is a Senior Research Associate at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on the teaching of thinking, the role of close observation in learning, and learning in and through the arts. This week's episodes discusses how to ut...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we will be meeting our new hosts for Season 8 of Vitamin PhD, Alyssa Kreikemeier and Emma Bortz. They will be talking with Jenna and Shaunesse', the season 7 hosts, about their most rewarding teaching moments, along with who influences them within the teaching field. The hosts also discuss what the management season will bring for listeners. 

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Jenna and Shaunesse’ are joined by guests LaNysha Adams, education consultant and owner of Edlinguist Solutions LLC, and Rhonda Caston, post-doctoral fellow at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. This episode, we reach beyond academia to gain insight into how we can use our teaching skills elsewhere. We learn about the challen...

Send us Fan Mail Today our hosts interview guests for the Special Education episode Vitamin PhD, featuring Stephanie Cox Suárez, a previous associate professor in the Special and Elementary Education Department at BU, and Johny Daniel, an Assistant Professor at Durham University in the UK. Our guests hone in on the importance of not only being passionate about your teaching, but being well-informe...

Send us Fan Mail We learn the skills behind Online Education in today’s episode of Vitamin PhD from guests John Rindy, Assistant Vice President for Career and Academic Progress, and Brian Danielson, Director of the Center for Teaching  and Learning, both at Slippery Rock University. We touch on the incredible challenge that comes along with educating students virtually, especially in the current e...

Send us Fan Mail This episode of Vitamin PhD’s Teaching season bring us to graduate education, in which we hear from guests Rachel Stumpf, Education Specialist at the UC Davis Center for Educational Effectiveness, and Steve Wolverton, professor in University of North Texas’ Department of Geography and the Environment. Our guests tell us what it is like to help students navigate the in’s and out’s...

Send us Fan Mail In the second episode of Vitamin PhD’s Teaching season, we learn from Takeo Rivera, an assistant professor of English at Boston University, and Kathryn Spilios, the Director of Instructional Labs, Director of the Learning Assistant Program, and Master Lecturer in Biology at BU. Our guests help to educate us on the challenges and rewards of teaching in an undergraduate setting. We...

Send us Fan Mail In the first episode of Vitamin PhD’s 7th season, our new hosts Jenna and Shaunesse’ are joined by Stephanie M. Curenton, an associate professor at BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, and Jennifer Formichelli, a former English teacher at Boston University Academy. We hear from our guests about the importance of early childhood education and teaching in an eff...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet our new hosts for Season 7 of VitaminPhD, Shaunesse' Jacobs from the School of Theology and Jenna Rindy from the Department of Biology, Jenna and Shaunesse' talk with Matt and Heather, the season 6 hosts, about how they got interested in hosting the podcast and share what excites them about digging into the skill of teaching.

Send us Fan Mail In the final episode of the Research Skills Season, Heather and Matt put together their favorite “tips and tricks” that guests shared over the season, ranging from recommended readings and practical tips to general perspectives and reflections on their graduate training experience.   This episode features nearly all of our previous guests, including Dr. Greg Wright (Episode 1 - Wh...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Heather and Matt talk about research ethics with Luis Rameriez, a PhD Candidate in Neuroscience at Boston University, and Dr. Reneé Spencer, the Associate Dean of Research in Boston University’s School of Social Work and Chair of the Charles River Institutional Review Board (IRB). Our guests explore our responsibilities as researchers--and people--during research...

Send us Fan Mail In the second part of this two-part episode, Matt and Heather discuss disseminating research findings beyond the “ivory tower'' and explore how to reach a broader audience, especially as academics are now expected to be able to translate their findings to make their work meaningful to colleagues across disciplines and to the general public. Heather and Matt are joined by...

Send us Fan Mail In the first part of this two-part episode, Matt and Heather discuss disseminating research findings beyond the “ivory tower'' and explore how to reach a broader audience, especially as academics are now expected to be able to translate their findings to make their work meaningful to colleagues across disciplines and to the general public.  Heather and Matt are joined by...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Vitamin PhD, Heather and Matt talk about the rewards, challenges, and possibilities of interdisciplinary research, as well as how to cultivate successful interdisciplinary collaboration and research agendas. They are joined by Dr. Eden Medina, Associate Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at MIT.  This episode features our Graduate Student panel, Amand...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Matt and Heather are joined by Dr. Yasmine Doleyres, Senior Engineer at BD, and Dr. Brad Johnson, psychologist and researcher on effective mentoring relationships to explore an important but under-discussed area of graduate training: mentorship.  They discuss mentoring, and what mentor/mentee relationships can (and should) look like, what to expect in your mentori...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Vitamin PhD, Matt and Heather discuss many aspects of publishing and research dissemination, from the overall process to the challenges and rewards. This episode compiles insights and wisdom gleaned from nine different guests who will be featured in episodes throughout the season, including professors, working professionals, and graduate students across academic...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Heather and Matt discuss the research process and how to design research questions. They are joined by guest Michael Gennert, robotics engineering professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and member of the Education and Workforce Advisory Committee at the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute. . Given his work with the ARM Institute, they also as...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Vitamin PhD podcast, co-hosts Matthew Boyd and Heather Mooney introduce themselves and the scope of the season before tackling the question, “what is research?” with Dr. Greg Wright, UC Merced Associate Professor and Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Global Economy and Development.   Our Graduate Student panel, Amanda Ruiz, Brown University, Dana Ahern,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet our new hosts for Season 6 of VitaminPhD, Heather Mooney from the Sociology department and Matt Boyd from Computer Engineering. Heather and Matt share some information about their exciting new topic for this season, exploring the core capacity of research skills and how PhD/postdoc students can create more informed research projects!

Send us Fan Mail In the final episode of season 5, Rohin and Jess are joined by Dr. Ritu Raman, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, and Iam Gaieck, an ORISE fellow at the US Department of Energy, about their career paths and the importance of good communication in a variety of life experiences. We talk about challenges in communication faced by international students, how to advocate for...

Send us Fan Mail In part one of the final episode of season 5, Rohin and Jess are joined by Dr. Ritu Raman, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, and Iam Gaieck, an ORISE fellow at the US Department of Energy, about their career paths and the importance of good communication in a variety of life experiences. We talk about challenges in communication faced by international students, how to...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode, Jess and Rohin are joined by Professor Derek Turner, a science philosopher from Connecticut College, and PhD Candidate Meredith Schmehl, Public Engagement & Communications Chair for the National Science Policy Network. This week’s episode is about the tools needed to effectively communicate with a broad audience and how each of our speakers have evolved...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of VitaminPhD, Jess and Rohin are joined by Rachel Petherbridge, a PhD student at Harvard University, and Deboki Chakravarti, a science writer and YouTuber. Throughout this exciting conversation, we learn from both of our speakers about the important role communication plays in the age of COVID-19, the role social media plays in transforming how we engage with scie...

Send us Fan Mail In the second installment of this two-part series, Rohin and Jess talk with an esteemed panel including Dr. Adrienne Hollis, senior climate justice and health scientist and Dr. Astrid Caldas, senior climate scientist, both from the Union of Concerned Scientists, and PhD student Rob Ulrich from UCLA about their work in speaking up! This two part series explores the balance between...

Send us Fan Mail In this 2-part series, Rohin and Jess talk with an esteemed panel including Dr. Adrienne Hollis, senior climate justice and health scientist and Dr. Astrid Caldas, senior climate scientist, both from the Union of Concerned Scientists, and PhD student Rob Ulrich from UCLA about their work in speaking up! This two part series explores the balance between advocacy and credibility and...