When Science Speaks

This week's episode features Melanie Flores, an MIT-trained chemical engineer, theater arts aficionado, and two-time TEDx speaker, who currently applies her multidisciplinary skills to her work as Director of Solutions Consulting at SymTrain, a firm that automates and scales role-play training and coaching. We discuss a range of issues such as: - Melanie's fascinating career journey - themes and c...

This week's episode features world-reknown fitness trainer and author Ronan Diego de Oliveira. We discuss a range of topics related to Ronan's approach to developing, describing, and teaching innovative fitness programs, including: - The science upon which   Ronan's 10X fitness program is based, the way he's a ble to explain scientific concepts with clarity and enthusiasm, and, in his opinion, wha...

This episode features part of the team behind an exciting, innovative, and just-launched online resource for bioscientists called Career Cognitive City. In this week's episode, you'll hear Rachel Rudlaff, Ph. D. and Tito Adhikary, Ph. D., two of the key leaders on the Cognitive City team, share details and plans for this expansive, organic platform, such as: Who will particularly benefit from Cogn...

In this week's episode featuring Thalyana Stathis, Ph. D., Manager, Office of Career & Professional Development, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, we discuss an array of topics related to career advancement and effective communication for scientists, including: - How Thalyana's involvement in ballet and Greek dance during her undergraduate studies at Cornell and also while earning her Ph. D....

This week's episode features biologist, author, and stand-up comedian Adam Ruben, Ph. D. We discuss issues related to science, comedy, and the importance of communication, including topics such as: - How Adam developed and uses both his scientific and communication skills - Whether he thinks all scientists should be able to clearly and crisply translate their work to general audiences without dumb...

This week's episode features renowned physicist Sabine Hossenfelder, Ph. D., author most recently of the book "Existential Physics" and creator of the popular YouTube channel, "Science Without the Gobbledygook." In this week's episode, we discuss a range of fascinating, mind-blowing topics such as: - "Does the past still exist?",  "Was the universe made for us?", and why, in Dr. Hossenfelder's wor...

This week's episode of the show features Patrick Mullane, Executive Director of Harvard Business School Online and Executive Education and author of book "The Father, Son, and Holy Shuttle: Growing Up an Astronaut's Kid in the Glorious 80s". We talk about a range of topics related to career development and the power of curiosity and critical thinking as well as what it was like growing up with an...

This week's episode features science writer and science policy veteran Sheeva Azma, a neuroscientist who's also a published author. In this episode, we discuss a range of communication and policy topics, such as: Sheeva's professional journey from being a research assistant in neuroscience to a legislative intern in the U.S. Congress How Sheeva made her own professional transition and some pitfall...

This week's episode features Sonali Majumdar, Ph. D., Assistant Dean for Professional Development at Princeton University. We discuss an array of issues related to career development, challenges faced by international students, and science policy, including: - Sonali's significant and successful transitions in her academic and professional journeys and what surprised her and what she wishes she'd...

This episode of When Science Speaks features Srikant Iyer, Ph. D., Associate Director of the New York Academy of Sciences. We discuss an array of topics related to career transitions and finding your professional passion, such as: - The grad school to career transition - Srikant's strengths to be a change agent and how these qualities inform how he creates experiences, delivers resources, and craf...

This week's episode features Pedro Resende, Ph. D. Pedro has successfully pivoted several times in his career journey - from his Ph. D. research to 5 years as a Postdoc and Co-Principal Investigator and, most recently, in 2018, to entrepreneur, when Pedro co-founded Chaperone, the first online marketplace of personalized career development for scientists. On this week's episode, we discuss a range...

How to make effective transitions in your professional life? Making transitions - from academia to industry, from one job role to another, from Ph. D. to Postdoc - can be challenging to navigate. This week's episode of When Science Speaks (link in comments) features Katherine Sugarman, M.D., a physician with more than 25 years of patient care and executive pharmaceutical experience in oncology, gl...

This week's episode of When Science Speaks  features Edward Duca, Ph. D. and Amanda Mathieson, M.Sc., science communication experts who are leaders of an innovative program on the island nation of Malta called STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math). Ed is a Science and Innovation Communication Lecturer at the University of Malta, co-runs the science communication STEAM Summer School,...

This week's episode features Sheril Kirshenbaum, a scientist and author working to enhance public understanding of science and improve communication between scientists, policymakers and the public.  Sheril currently hosts "Serving Up Science" at PBS Digital Studios and is executive director of Science Debate, a nonprofit nonpartisan organization working to get every candidate on record on science...

This week's special double episode features two interviews: my conversation with Jim Papa, who runs the Washington, D.C. office of Global Strategy Group (GSG), where he guides operations and strategy for GSG's public affairs, communications, and research practices, and Jim's interview of me for GSG's podcast, STAFFER.  As Partner at GSC, Jim advises CEOs and other C-suite executives grappling with...

This week's episode features Donna Gerardi Riordan, a nonprofit leader and innovator with more than three decades of experience bridging the gap between science and policy at the national and state levels.   Donna's most recent role is as Executive Director of the Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS). She previously served in similar roles in California at the California Council on Science...

On this week's episode, I speak with Martin Zaumanis, Ph. D., a scientist-project manager at Empa, an interdisciplinary research institute in Zurich, Switzerland that conducts cutting-edge materials and technology research.   In Martins' research, he strives to bring sustainability to the core of road construction - studying asphalt recycling, the use of waste materials in road construction and ap...

This week's guest is Michael Port, best-selling author, actor, and co-founder of Heroic Public Speaking. We discuss a range of communidation and career topics, such as: - How to effectively manage transitions in your professional life - As an author, actor, and professional speaker, the weaknesses Michael has noticed in public health communications about COVID - How to communicate complexity so ev...

On this week's episode, Gwen Acton, Ph. D. shares insights and stories from her long career in science, communication, and leadership, including: - How even short, encouraging recognition of excellent job performance can energize and motivate your team  - Lessons about leadership she employed when she was an undergrad in college and serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Pennsylvanian - As a Biol...

In this week's episode, Peter Barker, director of Orinoco Communications, a digital communications and content creation agency that combines storytelling and strategy to give research the reach it deserves, discusses key topics of storytelling, including: How developing communications in the visual, aural, and text media are similar similar and different How his perspective and experience in one m...

In this week's episode, Kumar Garg, Vice President, Partnerships at Schmidt Futures, discusses how to bring your science to life through crisp descriptions, engaging visuals, and related communication techniques. We discuss: - How Kumar's first job out of college (deputy communication manager on presidential candidate Howard Dean's campaign in New Hampshire) taught him about the value and principl...

On this week's episode, guest Kelly Ramirez, Ph. D., co-founder of the 15,000-member international organization 500 Women Scientists, and I discuss a range of topics related to the group's social activism and priorities including: The motivation for creating 500 Women Scientists - and the intention behind the name The organization's mission and vision 500 Women Scientists' decentralized organizati...

In this week's episode, Ryan Jenkins, co-author of the new book "Connectable" - which just was named the #7 bestselling book by The Wall Street Journal - discusses how the power of connection is vital for personal happiness and success at work. W We discuss:  S ome key themes and strategies readers can glean from "Connectable" How Ryan and co-author Steve Van Cohen define connection Why connection...

In this special episode, I talk about:   - Why I started the podcast almost 4 years ago  - The similarities between scientists and public policy professionals  - How a Western Union telegram sparked my interest in public policy - The qualities scientists often possess - due to their work - that are transferable to a successful career in policymaking

In this week's episode, Elaine Eisenman, Ph. D., a seasoned independent Board member, senior executive, educator, and advisor to high growth companies, joins the show to talk about managing the seismic changes affecting work during the pandemic, productive mindsets she's put to use during the many transition points in her professional journey, and related topics such as: What drew her to focus on...