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

Dr. Marie McNeely, featuring top scientists speaking about their life and c

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Sep 19, 2022 • 34min

674: Piecing Together the Patterns and Processes that are Impacting Ecosystems - Dr. Madhur Anand

Dr. Madhur Anand is a Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph. She is an ecologist who examines the impacts of global ecological changes on ecosystems. This includes studying how things like climate change, pollution, invasive species, and land use changes affect biodiversity, ecosystem services, ecosystem functioning, and ecosystem stability. When she's not working on science, Madhur likes to read, cook, drink wine, spend time with her family, watch movies, and write poetry. In fact, her first book of poems was published recently, and this collection combines elements from both her life and science. She received her BSc and PhD from Western University and went on to conduct postdoctoral research at the University of Trieste, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Utrecht University, and the University of New Mexico. Madhur served on the faculty at Laurentian University before accepting a position at the University of Guelph where she is today. Madhur is the recipient of many awards and honors, including Premier's Research Excellence Award, two Canada Research Chairs, Western University's Young Alumni Award of Merit, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Female Professional of the Year Award, and she was named a Young Scientist of the World Economic Forum. In addition to the accolades she has received for her science, Madhur is also an accomplished poet. Her first book of poems A New Index for Predicting Catastrophes was published in 2015 by was published by McClelland and Stewart/Penguin Random House Canada and nominated for a Trillium Book award for poetry in 2016. In this interview, Madhur shares excellent stories from her life and science.
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Sep 12, 2022 • 39min

673: Exploring Pain Science Education and Pain Management in Children - Dr. Joshua Pate

Dr. Joshua Pate is a Lecturer in Physiotherapy at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. He is also a pain researcher, Children's book author, and co-founder of One Thing, a video platform where pain experts share key insights that can help people with pain. Many people don't realize that chronic pain is relatively common in children. Josh studies how kids think about pain and how that impacts their lives and the lives of others in their household. He is interested in understanding how educating kids about pain and helping them manage their pain might impact chronic pain issues when people are young and also later in life. In addition to his work, Josh enjoys balancing his roles as a husband, dad, and uncle. When he has free time, he likes to spend it with his kids, nieces, and nephews. They've been having fun visiting the zoo, checking out local museums, and playing hide and seek in the park. Josh received his Bachelor of Health Science and Master of Physiotherapy degrees from the University of Western Sydney. Later, he earned a Master of Research and PhD in Pediatric Pain Science from Macquarie University. In our interview, Josh shares more about his life and science.
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Sep 5, 2022 • 39min

672: Scientific Simulations in Stream and Ecosystem Synergies - Dr. Naomi Tague

Dr. Christina (Naomi) Tague is an Associate Professor of ecoHydrology in the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Naomi is an ecohydrologist who studies how water, vegetation, and climate interact. She uses computer models and simulations to integrate different systems and understand landscapes as a whole. When she's not hard at work in the lab, Naomi really enjoys dancing has gotten into a particular form of dance that also includes elements of martial arts. She received her Bachelor degree from the University of Waterloo in Systems Design Engineering and her MS and PhD degrees in Geography from the University of Toronto and completed postdoctoral research with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Naomi then spent five years as a member of the faculty at San Diego State University before moving to UC Santa Barbara. Naomi joined us for an interview to share more about her journey through life and science.
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Aug 29, 2022 • 54min

671: Dedicating Her Energy to Engineering Solutions to Fuel Our Future - Dr. Susan Krumdieck

Dr. Susan Krumdieck is a Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Advanced Energy and Material Systems Lab at the University of Canterbury. She is also Research Leader with the Geothermal Energy Conversion Research Group, Founder of the Global Association for Transition Engineering, and Director of the From the Ground Up Research Consortium. She is an engineer, and her goal is to observe the world, learn about it, improve it, and ultimately make things work. A focus for Susan is re-thinking and re-engineering things we have created in order to address future energy and societal needs (Transition Engineering). She also does work in materials engineering, and her lab creates new materials to address particular problems in energy and other areas. Susan spends a great deal of her free time gardening, including growing vegetables. She is also an active cyclist and a member of a choir that sings music that is hundreds of years old. She received her B.S. and M.S. Degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Energy Systems Engineering from Arizona State University and her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Susan is the recipient of the Gold and Silver Sustainability Awards from the University of Canterbury, as well as a Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand and former Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand President's Energy Panel. In this interview, Susan discusses her life and science.
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Aug 22, 2022 • 46min

670: Chemistry is Key: Studying Self Assembly and the Origins of Life - Dr. Lee Cronin

Dr. Lee Cronin is the Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow. Lee is answering a variety of questions that involve chemistry. He is particularly interested in determining how life started and how we can make new life forms from scratch. Other areas of research include molecular devices and self assembly. He spends his time outside of work running, reading, and playing with technology like 3D printers and drones. Since his childhood, he has enjoyed tinkering and taking things apart, and now he is able to share these activities with his own kids. He received his Bsc in Pure Chemistry with First Class Honors as well as his PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from York University. Afterward, he served as a Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow, and a Lecturer at the University of Birmingham before joining the faculty at Glasgow University where he is today. Lee is an accomplished chemist who has been honored with many awards including recognition as one of the United Kingdom's top 10 Inspiring Scientists and Engineers by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in 2014 and one of the top 100 United Kingdom practicing Scientists by the UK Science Council. He received the Royal Society of Chemistry's Corday Morgan Medal and Prize in 2012 and Tilden Prize for pure research in 2015. In addition, Lee is a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and recipient of the Royal Society's 2013 BP Hutton Prize for Energy Innovation for applied research. In our interview, Lee shares stories about his life and science.
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Aug 15, 2022 • 48min

669: Conducting Research to Conserve Coral Reefs - Dr. Emily Darling

Dr. Emily Darling is Director of Coral Reef Conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. Emily's research focuses on how coral reefs around the world will survive climate change. She examines the different types of corals that are on a reef, as well as the patterns of disturbance, recovery, and influences of climate change. Emily works with large datasets, conducts underwater field research, and works with other researchers, local communities, fishers, governments, and policy experts to try to understand and conserve coral reef communities. When she's not working, Emily loves having fun outdoor adventures with friends. She was an avid rock climber in the past, and she has more recently joined a community sailing club. Lately, Emily has been exploring the Great Lakes on her new sailboat with her puppy Jayne. Emily received her B.Sc. Degree in Biology from Queen's University and her PhD in Marine Ecology and Conservation from Simon Fraser University. Afterwards, she was awarded the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Subsequently, Emily was awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship to work at the University of Toronto. Emily has been awarded the Early Career Scientist Award from the International Coral Reef Society and the Early Career Award from the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution. In this interview, Emily shares more about her life and science.
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Aug 8, 2022 • 45min

668: Searching the Sediments to Uncover Sources of Food and Water for Early Humans - Dr. Gail Ashley

Dr. Gail Ashley is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Rutgers University. She is Undergraduate Program Director and Director of the Quaternary Studies Graduate Certificate Program. Early humans are known to have originated in East Africa. Gail works alongside paleoanthropologists to uncover and better understand records of these early humans. As a geologist, Gail focuses on providing context about the environment these early hominins lived in, including the climate, potential foods, and water sources. Gail lives on a property in New Jersey with plentiful woods, and she heats her home with a wood-burning stove. One of the things that helps Gail relax is spending time outside splitting, stacking, and storing firewood. She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geology from the University of Massachusetts and completed her Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia. After receiving her Ph.D., Gail accepted a faculty position at Rutgers, and she has been a faculty member there for 39 years. Gail has received many awards and honors during her career including the Sedimentary Geology Division of the Geological Society of America's Laurence L. Sloss award for her lifetime achievements in sedimentary geology, as well as an Outstanding teaching award from the Association of Women Geoscientists. She has also served as President of the Society for Sedimentary Geologists, President of the Geological Society of America, President of the Society of Economic and Petroleum Mineralogists, and President of the American Geosciences Institute. In addition, Gail has served as Editor-in Chief of the Journal of Sedimentary Research. In our interview, Gail tells us more about her journey through life and science.
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Aug 1, 2022 • 41min

667: Roving Roots! Plants Behave More Like Animals than We May Realize - Dr. James Cahill

Dr. James (JC) Cahill is a Professor of Ecology in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta. JC is an ecologist who studies interactions between plants and their environment. His research seeks to understand how plants interact in their pursuit of food, as well as how communities respond to environmental change. Some of JC's hobbies outside of science include playing tennis, cooking, strumming the guitar, and spending time with his family. He received his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Pennsylvania. Afterward, he served briefly as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Ursinus College and then on the faculty at the University of Delaware before joining the faculty at the University of Alberta where he has been for about 15 years. In this interview, JC shares more about his life and his science.
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Jul 25, 2022 • 39min

666: Developing Nanomaterials to Help Solve Global Energy, Fuel, and Fresh Water Issues - Dr. Mita Dasog

Dr. Mita Dasog is an Associate Professor and the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Research Chair in the Department of Chemistry at Dalhousie University in Canada. Mita's lab conducts basic research to examine how different nanomaterials form, what dictates their size and shape, and how these features influence their properties. They also do applied research developing nanomaterials to address major global challenges such as energy production, fuel production, and desalination to help with the water crisis. When she's not doing science, you can often find Mita listening to CoComelon with her kid, reading a great mystery novel, painting, or cooking delicious Indian, Thai, Chinese, or Mexican cuisine. Mita received her BSc in chemistry from the University of Saskatchewan and her PhD in chemistry from the University of Alberta. Next, she worked at the Technical University of Munich in Germany for about half a year as a Green Talents Visiting Scholar. Afterwards, Mita was awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada postdoctoral fellowship to conduct research at California Institute of Technology. Mita has been recognized with numerous awards and honors including the Nova Scotia Discovery Centre Emerging Professional Award and the President's Emerging Investigator Research Excellence Award. She is also an elected Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada and a Member of the Global Young Academy. In our interview, Mita shares more about her life and science.
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Jul 18, 2022 • 43min

665: Researching Relationships and How They Impact Mental Health and Learning in Children - Dr. Jennifer Jenkins

Dr. Jennifer Jenkins is the Atkinson Chair of Early Child Development and Education and the Interim Academic Director of the Frazer Mustard Institute of Human Development at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on things that influence the development of mental health and early learning problems in children. For example, she examines biological, genetic, prenatal risks, and perinatal risks and focuses on how these influence the family relationships that children develop. These relationships in turn can influence mental health issues that children may develop. Jenny likes to spend her time with her family and a close group of friends she has known for over 30 years. She also enjoys going on daily walks with a friend and fellow faculty member at the University of Toronto. She received her Bachelor's degree in Developmental Psychology from the University of Sussex, her Master's degree in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Nottingham, and her PhD in Psychology from the University of London. Afterwards, she worked as a Senior Clinical Psychologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and then as a Lecturer at Stirling University before joining the faculty at the University of Toronto. In this interview, Jenny shares more about her life and science.

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