People Behind the Science Podcast Stories from Scientists about Science, Life, Research, and Science Careers

Dr. Jia "Leo" Li is an Associate Professor of Physics at Brown University. He is a condensed matter experimental physicist, and his research involves stacking different layers of two-dimensional (2D) material together to discover new electronic properties that could revolutionize future technology, including the next generation of computers and electronics. In his free time, Leo enjoys rock climbing and trail running. Running is a great way to clear his mind when he is frustrated from a failed experiment or stuck on a particular equation. He finds parallels between finding solutions to physics problems and identifying the perfect running or climbing routes. Leo completed his undergraduate studies at Tsinghua University in China, and he received his MS and PhD degrees in Physics from Northwestern University. Afterwards, Leo worked as a postdoctoral researcher in physics at Columbia University before joining the faculty at Brown University where he is today. He has been the recipient of a Sloan Research Fellowship, a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and Brown University’s Salamon Faculty Award for excellence in scholarly work. In our interview, Leo shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Eric Kmiec is Director of the Gene Editing Institute of the Helen F. Graham Cancer and Research Institute at Christiana Care Health System. He also holds faculty appointments at the University of Delaware and the Wistar Institute. Eric and his colleagues are working to develop new ways to treat cancer by destroying the genes that cause cancer cells to be resistant to typical therapies like chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy. Throughout his life, Eric has enjoyed sports. He particularly likes playing baseball and hockey, and he still plays baseball competitively in a league in Philadelphia. Eric also spends much of his time doing landscaping and yard work. He Received his B.A. in Microbiology from Rutgers University, his M.S. in Cell Biology and Biochemistry from Southern Illinois University, and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Florida School of Medicine. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Rochester before joining the faculty at the University of California, Davis in 1987. Since then, he has served on the faculty of Thomas Jefferson University, the University of Delaware, and Delaware State University. In addition, Eric founded, consulted for, and served as Vice President of Kimeragen, Inc., he was Chief Scientific Advisor for the Genomics Division of Tapestry Pharmaceuticals, was an Eminent Scholar and Director of the Marshall University Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, and also served as Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Officer, and a Board Member of OrphageniX. Eric has received numerous awards and honors over the course of his career, including receipt of the 2012 Proudford Foundation Unsung Hero Award in Sickle Cell Disease, designation as an Honorary Commander of the 436th Air Wing at Dover Air Force Base in 2013 and 2014, and also induction into the Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville Alumni Hall of Fame in 2012. Further, Eric and the team at the Gene Editing Institute were recently awarded the inaugural Life Sciences and Bio Innovation Award from the Philadelphia-Israeli Chamber of Commerce. In our interview, Eric shared his experiences in life and science.

Dr. Andrew Felton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences within the College of Agriculture at Montana State University-Bozeman where he is Principal Investigator of the Felton Lab there. Andrew splits his time between teaching and his research lab. His research focuses on dry land ecosystems, which includes deserts, grasslands, and shrublands. Studies in his lab examine how these ecosystems function, what plants and animals are present, and how the ecosystems respond to changes in the availability of water. Climate change impacts the size of precipitation events and increases evaporation through higher temperatures, and Andrew’s lab is also working to understand the implications of these changes for ecosystems that are already water-limited. Living in Bozeman, Montana, Andrew enjoys spending time in the mountains and the beautiful National Parks nearby, including Yellowstone. In the winter, he is an avid downhill skier, and he likes to go rock climbing in the summer. His other hobbies include playing guitar, listening to music, reading, drinking great coffee, going out to eat, and spending time with family and friends. He completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Minnesota, majoring in Biology, Society, and Environment. Afterwards, he was awarded his PhD in ecology from Colorado State University. Next, he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Utah State University. He then received a U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, and he conducted research at Chapman University before joining the faculty at Montana State University. In our interview, Andrew shares insights and stories from his life and science.

Dr. Edward DeLong is a Professor in the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawai’i Mānoa as well as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT. Research in Ed’s lab brings together a variety of disciplines to study microbial communities in the ocean. He is interested in their ecology, evolution, biochemistry, genomics, and their impacts on marine systems. Particularly of interest for Ed are the microscopic organisms that are the primary producers or “forests of the ocean” responsible for releasing oxygen and serving as food for other organisms in marine food chains. When he’s not working, Ed loves to be out in nature. He enjoys spending time outside with his family, hiking, kayaking, and snorkeling in the beautiful coral reefs near his house. Ed has also taken up yoga to help him stay limber and relaxed. Ed received his B.S. in Bacteriology from the University of California, Davis and his Ph.D. in Marine Biology from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research at Indiana University. Ed has worked as a research scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, a faculty member at the University of California, Santa Barbara, a research scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and a faculty member at MIT before accepting his current position in Hawai’i. His honors and achievements include the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, the DuPont Young Faculty Award, the Apple Bioinformatics Cluster Award, the Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky Medal of the European Geosciences Union, the Proctor and Gamble Award in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, American Society for Microbiology D.C. White Research and Mentorship Award, the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award, A.G. Huntsman Medal for Excellence in Marine Science, and the Moore Foundation Marine Microbiology Investigator Award. Ed is also an Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Microbiology. Ed has also been elected as an Associate of the European Molecular Biology Organization and is the Vice President and President Elect of the International Society of Microbial Ecology. In addition, he currently serves as the co-director of the Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology (SCOPE). Ed joined us for a conversation about his experiences in life and science.

Dr. Emma Louise Spanswick is an Associate Professor and a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Tier II Canada Research Chair in Geospace Dynamics and Space Plasma Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary. Emma studies the Earth’s natural space environment, which is connected to our upper atmosphere and extends into the region around the Earth. Emma’s research examines this environment using remote sensing to examine the physics of the dynamics of the space environment, and they also investigate space weather, which encompasses all phenomena in space that can impact systems and technologies that are in orbit and on Earth. As part of her work, Emma also develops and designs remote sensing instruments and deploys them in the field to collect data. Outside of science, Emma spends much of her time with her family, including her two sons. They enjoy hiking, mountain biking, and being outdoors together. Emma's hobbies also include boxing and going to the gym for a good workout. She completed her undergraduate studies in physics and was awarded her PhD in physics from the University of Calgary. Next, she worked at Los Alamos National Lab as a Visiting Scientist. Afterwards, she returned to the University of Calgary as a Research Scientist, and subsequently the Associate Director of the Auroral Imaging Group, before joining the faculty there in 2019. Emma was among researchers who received the 2018 Robert H. Goddard Award for Exceptional Achievement in Science, and she has been named among Avenue Magazine Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40. In this interview, she shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Kyle Cromer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. In his lab, Kyle takes gene editing a step further beyond just modifying “the typos” in DNA to correct them back to what the code should be. He uses genome-editing approaches to introduce new functions into cells for different therapeutic purposes. Kyle has always been interested in visual art, so he enjoys visiting art museums and has dabbled in creating his own art as well. He and his wife have been stretching their own canvases and creating their own abstract paintings, each meticulously planned and sketched out in advance. Most recently, the two of them have been immersed in preparations for the birth of their first child. He completed his BS in Animal & Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech and his PhD in Genetics at Yale University. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research in Genetics at Harvard Medical School. Next he worked as a postdoctoral fellow and subsequently an instructor in Pediatrics at Stanford University before joining the faculty at UCSF. He has received various awards and honors over the past several years, including the Stanford Bio-X Star Mentor Award, the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy Career Development Award, the UCSF Program for Breakthrough Biomedical Research New Frontier Research Award, the American Society of Hematology Junior Faculty Scholar Award, the Mary Anne Koda-Kimble Seed Award for Innovation from the UCSF School of Pharmacy, and the Catalyst Award from UCSF Innovation Ventures. In this episode, Kyle shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Philip J. Landrigan is a pediatrician and a public health doctor. He is Professor of Biology, Director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good, and Director of the Global Observatory on Planetary Health at the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society at Boston College. He is also Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In his work, Phil’s goal is to better understand how toxic exposures in the environment harm human health. As a pediatrician, he focuses primarily on the impacts on children’s health. On the public health side, he aims to harness science to prevent toxic exposures to keep kids healthy and prevent disease. His research has spanned many areas, including the health impacts of lead poisoning, air pollution, pesticides, plastic pollution, and chemical pollution. When he’s not working, Phil loves to spend his time outdoors, particularly hiking and kayaking. He is also an avid reader and enjoys spending the evenings sitting down with a good book. Phil completed his undergraduate studies in biology at Boston College and earned his MD from Harvard Medical School. After an internship at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, he completed his residency at Boston Children’s Hospital. Phil also earned a MS degree with distinction in Occupational Medicine from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of London. Phil worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai before joining the faculty at Boston College. He also spent a sabbatical working at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Phil has earned numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including the Gold Medal for Distinguished Service to Humanity from the National Institute of Social Sciences, Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council for Science and the Environment, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Healthy Child Healthy World, the Child Health Champion Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Meritorious Service Medal of the U.S. Public Health Service, multiple Commendation Medals from the Navy and Marine Corps, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, the National Defense Service Medal, and many others. He is also an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Epidemiological Society. In addition, he is an elected Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine, New York Academy of Medicine, New York Academy of Sciences, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, American College of Epidemiology, Royal Society of Medicine, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Karen Strier is the Vilas Research Professor and Irven Devore Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Karen is a Primate behavioral ecologist. She is working to understand the biological basis of human behavior, evolution, and adaptation by studying our closest living relatives. Research in Karen’s group involves observing a critically endangered primate, the northern muriqui, in its natural habitat to understand how their behaviors are similar to or different from human behaviors. When she’s not in the lab or observing primates in the wild, Karen enjoys being outside, going for walks in nature, cooking delicious multi-course meals for her friends and family, reading, and spending time with her cats. Karen received her B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology and Biology from Swarthmore College, and she was awarded her M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Harvard University. After completing her Ph.D., Karen served as a lecturer at Harvard University and subsequently became a faculty member at Beloit College. She joined the faculty at UW-Madison in 1989. Karen has received numerous honors and awards throughout her career, including being elected as a Fellow of the American Anthropological Association, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition, she is an Honorary Member of the Latin American Society of Primatologists and the Brazilian Society of Primatologists, and she has received an Honorary Doctoral Degree from the University of Chicago. Karen has been the recipient of the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation, the H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowship, Kellett Mid-Career Faculty Researcher Award, and WARF Professorship from UW-Madison, the Hilldale Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research & Public Service from UW-Madison, and the Distinguished Primatologist Awards from the American Society of Primatologists and the Midwest Primate Interest Group. She is currently the President of the International Primatological Society. In our interview, Karen shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Joseph S. Takahashi is Professor and Chair of Neuroscience and the Loyd B. Sands Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is also an Investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Joe and his lab members are trying to better understand the biological clocks in our bodies that control our 24-hour schedules. Within each of us are internal clocks that are genetically controlled. A special set of genes within nearly all of our cells turns on and off each day to regulate a wide variety of biological functions, and Joe is studying these genes and how they contribute to our biological rhythms. Functions influenced by our biological clocks include our sleep schedules, blood sugar, body temperature, liver metabolism, and many other aspects of our physiology. When Joe isn’t at work, he enjoys playing tennis, skiing, hiking, eating delicious food, and drinking great wine. Joe received his B.A. in biology from Swarthmore College and he was awarded his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Oregon in Eugene. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research as a pharmacology research associate at the National Institute of Mental Health. Before moving to UT Southwestern, Joe served on the faculty of Northwestern University for 26 years. Over the course of his career, Joe has received numerous awards and honors including the Honma Prize in Biological Rhythms Research, the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award, the Searle Scholars Award, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Unrestricted Grant in Neuroscience, the C. U. Ariens Kappers Medal, the Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award from the Sleep Research Society, the W. Alden Spencer Award in Neuroscience from Columbia University, and the Peter C. Farrell Prize in Sleep Medicine from the Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep Medicine. He has also been elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Member of the National Academy of Medicine, and an Honorary Member of The Japanese Biochemical Society. In our interview, Joe shared his experiences in life and science.

Dr. Michael Treadway, Winship Distinguished Research Professor in Psychology at Emory University, dives into the brain's decision-making processes regarding effort and mental illness. He discusses the impact of major depression on motivation, revealing how personal experiences, like card games with family, shape our choices. The conversation covers cutting-edge research linking inflammation to motivational deficits in depression and the importance of mentorship in science. Treadway shares his journey through both successes and setbacks, emphasizing resilience and the search for meaning in both research and life.