A world-renowned scientist and recipient of the National Medal of Science in 2011, Dr. Leroy Hood co-founded the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in 2000, served as its first President from 2000-2017 and is a Professor and Chief Strategy Officer. In 2016, ISB affiliated with Providence where Dr. Hood now serves as Emeritus Science Advisor. He received his MD from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and his PhD in biochemistry from Caltech. Dr. Hood was a faculty member at Caltech from 1967-1992, serving for 10 years as the Chair of Biology. During this period, he and his colleagues developed four sequencer and synthesizer instruments that paved the way for the Human Genome Project’s successful mapping and understanding of the human genome. He and his students also deciphered many of the complex mechanisms of antibody diversification. In 1992, Dr. Hood founded and chaired the Department of Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Washington, the first academic department devoted to cross-disciplinary biology. Dr. Hood is currently carrying out studies in Alzheimer’s Disease, cancer, and wellness. He is pioneering a 1 million patient genome/phenome project, and is bringing scientific (quantitative) wellness to the contemporary U.S. health care system. Dr. Hood has played a role in founding 15 biotechnology companies including Amgen, Applied Biosystems, Arivale, and Nanostring. He has co-authored textbooks in biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology, genetics, and systems biology. Dr. Nathan Price is CEO of Onegevity, a division of Thorne HealthTech. He is also a (on leave) Professor at the Institute for Systems Biology, where he and Lee Hood co-direct the Hood-Price Lab for Systems Biomedicine. Additionally, Dr. Price is an affiliate faculty at the University of Washington in the Departments of Bioengineering, Computer Science & Engineering, and Molecular & Cellular Biology. In 2019, he was selected by the National Academy of Medicine as one of their 10 Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine. Dr. Price co-founded Arivale, a scientific wellness company, that was named as Geekwire’s 2016 startup of the year. Dr. Price is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) and is on the Board of Advisors for the American Cancer Society (WA). He was also the chair of the NIH study section on Modeling and Analysis of Biological Systems (MABS). Dr. Price has also served on numerous scientific advisory boards, including for Roche (personalized healthcare division), Providence St. Joseph Health, Sera Prognostics, Trelys, Basepaws, the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Thought Leaders Council, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability. Dr. Price served on the National Academy of Medicine committee to set best practice guidelines for developing omics-based tests in clinical trials from 2010-2012. He has served on the editorial boards of several scientific journals, including Cell Systems, Science Translational Medicine, BMC Systems Biology, Industrial Biotechnology, Biotechnology Journal, and was previously a Deputy Editor of PLOS Computational Biology. He is also a fellow of the European Society of Preventive Medicine. He has published over 180 scientific papers (H-index > 62) and given over 200 invited talks.

How is speech and ability to perform action affected by aging? On episode 394, Dr. Helen Nuttall of Lancaster University joins us to discuss effects of aging on speech, how our minds work in different capacities, and some of her research in the field. Dr. Nuttall is a Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience and a BBSRC New Investigator in the Department of Psychology at Lancaster University UK, where she leads the Neuroscience of Speech and Action (NoSA) Laboratory. The NoSA Lab investigates research questions surrounding how speech, action, and cognitive function are represented in the brain; how these functions work in health and disease; and how they are affected by the ageing process. To answer these questions, they use a variety of methods, including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), electroencephalography (EEG), Magnetic Resonance Imagining (MRI), electromyography (EMG), and behavioural techniques. You can check out her research here, see her faculty page here, and follow her on Twitter @hel_nuttall.

On this episode of the show, we bring back past guest Gary Kazazian for an update on happenings in his content-creation world, as well as in the fishing community that he participates in with California Surf Fishing and twin Kaspar, who has also been on the show. We go over his efforts, mindset in the field, the value of connection in community, and more. Gary has written the book California Surf Fishing, and also takes people out on guided trips to hone their skills. Some good perspective is brought here on taking deliberate action in an area of your interest, such that what you build will be in the category that matters to you, so there is a sense of pride there.

Hello and welcome to episode 392 of the show. In this one, I cover a variety of topics similar to what I covered on a livestream attempt a couple of days prior. This includes material on other podcasts, the personal development space, the space for relationships and dating, and some recent and upcoming episodes. Adding in these solo episodes is good to bring up some of the show’s framework. More livestreaming coming in the future.

Nita A. Farahany is a leading scholar on the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging technologies. She is the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy at Duke Law School, the Founding Director of Duke Science & Society, the Faculty Chair of the Duke MA in Bioethics & Science Policy, and principal investigator of SLAP Lab. On “The Battle for Your Brain”: “A new dawn of brain tracking and hacking is coming. Will you be prepared for what comes next? Imagine a world where your brain can be interrogated to learn your political beliefs, your thoughts can be used as evidence of a crime, and your own feelings can be held against you. A world where people who suffer from epilepsy receive alerts moments before a seizure, and the average person can peer into their own mind to eliminate painful memories or cure addictions. Neuroscience has already made all of this possible today, and neurotechnology will soon become the “universal controller” for all of our interactions with technology. This can benefit humanity immensely, but without safeguards, it can seriously threaten our fundamental human rights to privacy, freedom of thought, and self-determination. From one of the world’s foremost experts on the ethics of neuroscience, The Battle for Your Brain offers a path forward to navigate the complex legal and ethical dilemmas that will fundamentally impact our freedom to understand, shape, and define ourselves.” Farahany received her AB in Genetics, Cell, and Developmental Biology from Dartmouth College, an ALM in biology from Harvard University, and a JD and MA from Duke University, as well as a Ph.D. in philosophy. In 2004-2005, Farahany clerked for Judge Judith W. Rogers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, after which she joined the law faculty at Vanderbilt University. In 2011, Farahany was the Leah Kaplan Visiting Professor of Human Rights at Stanford Law School.

Welcome to a great multi-person discussion on episode 390 of the show, with two past guests returning to the program. In person with me during this recording in Florida is returning guest Rebecca Faith Lawson, while we have Bronwyn Williams of South Africa returning to the show remotely. We go over a few discussion topics that originated from current thoughts and happenings, as well as from Bronwyn’s recent short clips on her Substack. These include: those who take advantage of others and those who are taken advantage of the return on investment in a life physical books versus Ebooks and how the tangible connects to reality optimism rubbing some people the wrong way who in society controls the narrative, and how it is felt It was great to take part in this discussion, and to have Rebecca and Bronwyn on the program. You can check out my past episode with Rebecca here and here, and my past episode with Bronwyn here.

Sukun Chopra joins us on episode 389 of The Armen Show Podcast. Sukun helps to create emotional awareness in the world, and is podcast host of Becoming an Epic Being. We spoke about a variety of topics in relation to self-awareness, well-being, conflict resolution, and more. From her description, “We’ve all grown up with ideas and beliefs that become our model for living life. What if these beliefs weren’t serving our best interests and were holding us back from living an empowered, authentic and connected life? Our mission is to arouse your curiosity, encourage you to question conventional ideas and give you tools to navigate through stuff we all struggle with.”

Brian S. Lowery is an American social psychologist. Lowery obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1996, and subsequently began graduate study at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned a master’s degree in 1998 and a doctorate in 2002. Social psychologist and Stanford professor Brian Lowery presents a provocative, powerful theory of identity, arguing that there is no essential “self”—our selves are social creations of those with whom we interact —exploring what that means for who we can be and who we allow others to be. There’s nothing we spend more time with, but understand less, than ourselves. You’ve been with yourself every waking moment of your life. But who—or, rather, what—are you? In Selfless, Brian Lowery argues for the radical idea that the “self” as we know it—that “voice in your head”—is a social construct, created in our relationships and social interactions. We are unique because our individual pattern of relationships is unique. We change because our relationships change. Your self isn’t just you, it’s all around you. Lowery uses this research-driven perspective of selfhood to explore questions of inequity, race, gender, politics, and power structures, transforming our perceptions of how the world is and how it could be. His theory offers insight into how powerful people manage their environment in sophisticated, often unconscious, ways to maintain the status quo; explains our competing drives for deep social connection and personal freedom; and answers profound, personal questions such as: Why has my sense of self evolved over time? Why do I sometimes stop short of changes that I want to make in life? In Selfless, Lowery persuasively breaks down common assumptions and beliefs; his insights are humbling. Despite what many may think, we aren’t islands unto ourselves; we are the creation of the many hands that touch us. We don’t just exist in communities, we are created and shaped by them. Our highs and lows are not only our own but belong to others as well. By recognizing that we are products of relationships—from fleeting transactions to deep associations—we shatter the myth of individualism and free ourselves to make our lives and the world accordingly. 

On this Food For Thought Friday with Rebecca, we go into a few topics of importance in society, with Rebecca Faith Lawson coming to us from the University of South Florida for an impromptu discussion on many fronts. We discuss some statistics on the nuclear family, polarization of views, those who do expressing versus those who could bring a lot to expression, and more. What is the value of the nuclear family, and why has it become less common in recent decades? How has polarization affected the communication landscape, and is everyone being averaged into a person that doesn’t showcase any extremes? Do the people who have a voice belong having a voice, and do others who don’t bring out their voice have lots to contribute? I was glad to have Rebecca join on this Food For Thought Friday, and you can check out her past discussions on the show here (authenticity, belief, time horizons) and here (self-awareness, discernment, content creation).

Sheena Iyengar is the S. T. Lee Professor of Business in the Management Department at Columbia Business School and the best-selling author of The Art of Choosing (2010). She is a leading expert on the study of innovation, choice, leadership, and creativity and regularly consults with a range of organizations on methods for innovation. She joins on episode 386, where we discuss her upcoming book Think Bigger, which comes out April 11. “In Think Bigger, Sheena Iyengar—an acclaimed author and expert in the science of choice—answers a timeless question with enormous implications for problems of all kinds across the world: “How can I get my best ideas?” Iyengar provides essential tools to spark creative thinking and help us make our most meaningful choices. She draws from recent advances in neuro- and cognitive sciences to give readers a set of practical steps for coming up with powerful new ideas. Think Bigger offers an innovative evidence-backed method for generating big ideas that Iyengar and her team of researchers developed and refined over the last decade. For anyone looking to innovate, the black box of creativity is a mystery no longer. Think Bigger upends the myth that big ideas are reserved for a select few. By using this method as a guide to creative thinking, anybody can produce revolutionary ideas.”