

The Scientist Speaks
thescientistspeaks
A podcast bringing you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research. From The Scientist‘s Creative Services Team.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 30, 2020 • 19min
Repurposing Living Systems to Fight a Pandemic: Synthetic biologists repurpose cellular machinery to fight COVID-19
In this month’s episode, Repurposing Living Systems to Fight a Pandemic, we discuss how one synthetic biologist pivoted his research to join the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tiffany Garbutt from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Michael Jewett, Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and director of the Center for Synthetic Biology at Northwestern University, to learn more.
The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we will bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research. This month's episode is supported by Daicel Arbor Biosciences, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, and PHC Corporation of North America.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Scientist Speaks on your favorite podcast platform.

Sep 16, 2020 • 13min
Bonus LabTalk Episode: Myeloid Cells in Cancer and Science Advocacy: A Conversation with Miriam Merad
The Scientist is bringing you a new podcast series of special edition episodes! Get a sneak peek here and subscribe to the The Scientist's LabTalk channel for access to additional science stories.
The Scientist’s LabTalk podcast is produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. We explore topics at the leading edge of innovative research.
This episode is brought to you by Keystone Symposia. Don’t miss their upcoming virtual eSymposium on myeloid cells and innate immunity in solid tumors on September 21-23, 2020. Find more information at http://keysym.us/Myeloid21Scientist
One of the eSymposium’s speakers is Miriam Merad, a professor in Cancer Immunology and the Director of the Precision Immunology Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Merad about her research investigating how antigen presenting cells enhance anti-tumor immune responses and her recent advocacy work fighting against the foreign scholar visa ban.

Aug 26, 2020 • 14min
Experimental Cures for Fragile Patients: Prenatal Stem Cell and Gene Therapies
For a long time, scientists have searched for cures for genetic diseases. As stem cell and gene therapies proved to be viable therapeutic options, researchers turned to prenatal applications to see if they could develop ways to bring fetuses with life-threatening conditions to term. Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Amy O’Connell, a neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Tippi MacKenzie, a Professor of Surgery at the University of San Francisco Medical School, to learn more.
The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Scientist Speaks on your favorite podcast platform.

Aug 7, 2020 • 18min
A Game of Cancer and Evolution: Scientists leverage the principles of evolution to outwit cancer at its own game
The Scientist Speaks, is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we will bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.
In this month’s episode, brought to you by The Scientist and sponsored by 10x Genomics, we discover how scientists use the principles of evolution to model tumor dynamics and develop new treatment strategies for cancer. Tiffany Garbutt from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Robert Gatenby, chairman of the radiology department and co-director of the Center for Excellence for Evolutionary Therapy at the Moffitt Cancer Center, to learn more.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Scientist Speaks on your favorite podcast platform.

Jul 29, 2020 • 15min
Brains in the Palm of Your Hand: 3D Organoid Cell Culture
Researchers are developing a new set of tools for studying previously intractable diseases by differentiating and growing stem cells into 3D organ-like structures called organoids. In this month’s episode, we discuss using brain organoids to understand neurological conditions, such as autism spectrum disorder. Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Sergiu Pasca from the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University and the Uytengsu Director of the Stanford Brain Organogenesis Center, to learn more.
The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Scientist Speaks on your favorite podcast platform.

Jun 1, 2020 • 14min
Unusually Wired: Human Brains are Attuned to Appreciate Musical Pitch
In this month’s episode, we learn that human brains differentiate musical pitch a way that macaque monkeys do not. In fact, speech and music shaped the human brain’s hearing circuits. Researchers are studying these circuits with an eye on developing treatments for neurological disorders. Kathryn Loydall from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Bevil Conway, an Investigator at the NIH's National Eye Institute, to learn more.
The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we will bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Scientist Speaks on your favorite podcast platform.

Apr 28, 2020 • 18min
Hidden Hitchhikers: Lessons Learned from The Human Microbiome Project
In this month’s episode, we explore how results from the Human Microbiome Project have impacted our understanding of human health and disease. Kathryn Loydall from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Lita Proctor from the National Institutes of Health, former Director of the Human Microbiome Project, to learn more.
The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we will bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Scientist Speaks on your favorite podcast platform.

Mar 25, 2020 • 18min
Tackling Antibiotic Resistance: Viruses to the Rescue
Antimicrobial resistant infections are a major threat to global public health. In this month’s episode, we explore using bacteriophages to combat these deadly infections. Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Jason Gill, associate director of the Center for Phage Technology at Texas A&M University, and Steffanie Strathdee, associate dean of Global Health Sciences at the University of California, San Diego, to learn more.
The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.
Special thanks to Dr. Steffanie Strathdee and Dr. Jason Gill for sharing their experiences. Steffanie Strathdee and Thomas Patterson's book about his illness is "The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug: A Memoir." More information can be found at ThePerfectPredator.com.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Scientist Speaks on your favorite podcast platform.

Feb 26, 2020 • 19min
The Buzz About Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
Mosquito-borne diseases afflict a large portion of the world. In this month’s episode, we consider genetic methods to eradicate diseases such as Zika fever, Dengue fever, and malaria. Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Omar Akbari, professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of California, San Diego, to learn more.
The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we will bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Scientist Speaks on your favorite podcast platform.
Music attribution: Wholesome by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Jan 29, 2020 • 21min
Birds on the Brain: The Neuroscience Behind Songbird Communication and the Human Brain
In this month’s episode, we explore the neural mechanisms behind birdsong and what they tell us about human vocal learning and speech deficits in diseases such as autism spectrum disorder. Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Stephanie White, professor of Integrative Biology and physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, to learn more.
The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we will bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.
Special thanks to
Dr. Stephanie White from the University of California, Los Angeles for the normal, isolate, FoxP2, and Cntnap2 birdsongs
Dr. Yoko Yazaki-Sugiyama from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology for the Bengalese finch cross-fostered birdsongs
The Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics at The Ohio State University for the American Robin bird sounds.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Scientist Speaks on your favorite podcast platform.
Music attribution: Danse Macabre Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/