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

Dr. Rebecca Richards-Kortum is the Malcolm Gillis University Professor of Bioengineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University. She is also Director of the award-winning Rice 360 Institute for Global Health and founder of Beyond Traditional Borders Program at Rice University. Rebecca and her colleagues are developing technologies to improve healthcare as well as improve access to healthcare. They are dedicated to making medical technology less expensive and finding ways to modify medical technology so it can be used in different environments and settings across the world. When she’s not working, Rebecca loves to spend time with her children. Rebecca also enjoys getting up early in the morning to go running, and she often participates in half marathon and marathon races. Rebecca received her B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and went on to receive her M.S. in Physics and PhD in Medical Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She served as a faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin, where she was the Cockrell Family Chair in Engineering, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and a Distinguished Teaching Professor. Rebecca has received many awards and honors during her career, including very recently being named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow. Some of her other recent awards include the Pierre Galletti Award (the highest honor from The American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering), the Lemelson-MIT Award for Global Innovation, and the Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award from the Optical Society of America. She is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Biomedical Engineering Society, the Optical Society of America, and the National Academy of Inventors. Rebecca is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology and Radiology at Stanford University. She is also an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Carolyn’s research combines chemistry and biology. Her lab develops tools from chemistry that can be used to study biology with the goal of ultimately creating new molecules that can cure diseases and help us live better, healthier lives. She has three young boys, and she keeps busy when she’s outside of the lab taking them to swimming lessons, gymnastics, and out to the movies. Carolyn received her undergraduate training in Chemistry at Harvard University and was awarded her PhD in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. She went on to complete postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco and then accepted a faculty position at UC, Berkeley. Carolyn just recently joined the faculty at Stanford in 2015. She is the recipient of the UCSF 150th Anniversary Alumni Excellence Award, the Hans Bloemendal Award from Radboud University, the Heinrich Wieland Prize, the Royal Society of Chemistry Organic Division Bioorganic Chemistry Award, the Lemelson-MIT Prize for Inventors, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and many other national and international awards and honors. In addition, Carolyn is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. In this interview, Carolyn shares her journey through life and science.

Dr. Audrey Dussutour is a National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Scientist at Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France. Audrey studies animal behavior and collective intelligence in ant colonies and slime molds. In ant colonies, she examines how the ants regulate traffic to avoid traffic jams, and she creates algorithms that may help alleviate our own traffic jams. In slime molds, Audrey investigates the different cognitive abilities they are able to display even though they don’t have brains. Outside work, Audrey loves going out to the movies and watching DVDs. Some of her favorite directors are John Cassavetes and David Lynch, and she gets into sci-fi films as well. Audrey received a Masters Degrees in Ecology from Paul Sabatier University, a Masters Degree in Neurosciences and Ethology from the Free University of Brussels in Belgium, and a PhD in Animal Behavior working in laboratories from both of these universities. She next conducted postdoctoral research at Concordia University in Canada and at the University of Sydney in Australia. Audrey has received numerous awards and honors for her exceptional work, including the Adolphe Wetrems Award of the Belgian Royal Academy, the Young Investigator Award of the French Society for the Study of Animal Behavior, the Outstanding Paper Prize from the Journal of Experimental Biology, Lauréate du Prix Le Monde de la Recherche, and the Young Researcher Prize from the French Society for the Study of Animal Behavior. Audrey joined us for an interview to talk about her experiences in life and science.

Dr. Erica Middleton is an Institute Scientist and Director of the Language and Learning Laboratory at Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute. Many people who have had a stroke experience a long-term impairment in their ability to produce or comprehend language. This impairment is called aphasia. Erica’s research focuses on applying fundamental learning principles to improve language rehabilitation in people with aphasia. Beyond her scientific interests, Erica is passionate about organic gardening and cooking. She and her family have been having fun creating a variety of dishes in the kitchen, including experimenting with different kinds of macaroni and cheese. She received her undergraduate training in psychology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and was awarded her PhD in cognitive psychology with a specialization in psycholinguistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Afterwards, she conducted postdoctoral research at Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI) and the University of Pennsylvania before accepting her current position at MRRI. Her work is supported by the National Institutes of Health, and has been recognized with the Stanley and Helene M. Cohen Prize for Research Excellence from the Einstein Healthcare Network. In our interview, Erica shares more about her life and research.

Dr. Eva Harris is a Professor of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology as well as Director of the Center for Global Public health at the University of California, Berkeley. She is also the founder and president of the Sustainable Sciences Institute. Eva’s research focuses on dengue and influenza viruses that are major public health problems around the world. She applies a broad, multidisciplinary approach that spans basic science, translational research, and clinical studies. Another line of research in Eva’s lab focuses on building scientific capacities in developing countries, particularly in Latin America. When she’s not doing science, Eva enjoys spending time with her son, dancing, and sitting down to read a great book. Eva received her PhD in molecular and cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship and served as an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the University of California, San Francisco before joining the faculty at UC Berkeley. Eva has received a number of awards and honors during her career, including the McArthur Genius Fellowship, being named a Pew Scholar, receiving a National Recognition Award from the Nicaragua Minister of Health, being named a Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and being awarded the Prytanean Faculty Award for outstanding women faculty. In our interview, Eva shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga is a Professor and Director of the Centre for Systems Neuroscience at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. He is also an author of the books Borges and Memory, Principles of Neural Coding, Imaging Brain Function with EEG, and The Forgetting Machine. Rodrigo is interested in understanding how memory works and how the brain works in general. He conducts experiments to determine how the neurons in our brain make us see, feel, make decisions, and remember the things we experience and learn in our lives. The memory research in Rodrigo’s lab investigates how memories are formed, stored, consolidated, and forgotten. Rodrigo also enjoys getting out of the lab to give his mind a break from thinking about experiments. In particular, he enjoys hanging out with his wife and kids, playing sports, and practicing Judo. Rodrigo received his undergraduate training in physics from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina and was awarded his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Luebeck in Germany. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Research Center Juelich in Germany and he received a Sloan Fellowship to conduct research at the California Institute of Technology. Rodrigo also worked briefly at RIKEN in Japan and at the University of Nijmegen in The Netherlands. Rodrigo has received numerous awards and honors including the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award, a Young Investigator Award from the American Epilepsy Society, and Rodrigo was also named one of 10 UK RISE Leaders in Science and Engineering in 2014. Rodrigo spoke with us about his experiences his career, research, and life.

Dr. Kenneth Heilman is the James E. Rooks, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Health Psychology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He is also Director of the Memory Disorders Clinics, the Center for Neuropsychological Studies, and the Behavioral Neurology-Neuropsychiatry Fellowship Program at the University of Florida. Ken's research focuses on learning how the brain works, what is going on when it doesn’t work, and how to fix it when it’s not working well, particularly issues related to cognition and memory. He enjoys spending his free time with his family and out on the golf course. Exercise is also a priority in Ken’s life, and quality time on the treadmill has become part of his morning routine. Ken received his M.D. from the University of Virginia and continued his training in Internal Medicine at the Cornell University Medical Center. Afterward, he served as Captain in the Air Force and was Chief of Medicine at NATO Hospital in Izmir, Turkey during the Vietnam War. When Ken returned, he completed his Neurology Residency and Fellowship at Harvard University an then joined the faculty at the University of Florida. Ken is the recipient of a University of Florida Research Foundation Professorship, the Clinical Research Award from the University of Florida College of Medicine, and the Behavioral Neurology Society Outstanding Achievement Award. He has also authored multiple books including The Believer’s Brain which published in 2014. He is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. David Holtzman is the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and Chairman of Neurology, Professor of Developmental Biology, Associate Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and a Head of the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at Washington University in St. Louis. Much of the research in David’s lab is dedicated to better understanding the mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration, particularly looking at mechanisms and biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease. In his free time, David loves playing tennis, road bicycling, hiking, going to vineyards, and traveling. He particularly enjoys exploring the culture of different places while traveling with his wife. David received his Medical Degree from Northwestern University and completed Residency in Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. David has received many awards and honors during his career, including a Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholar Award in Aging Research, the Potamkin Prize from the American Academy of Neurology for research on Alzheimer’s disease, a MERIT award from the National Institute on Aging, the MetLife Award for research on Alzheimer’s disease, and two of his research discoveries were listed in the top 50 scientific innovations in 2006 by Scientific American. He is also an elected member of the American Neurological Association, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. In our interview, David tells us more about his life and research.

Dr. Sudha Seshadri is a Professor of Neurology at Boston University School of Medicine and a Senior Investigator at the Framingham Heart Study. She also serves as Co-Director of Medical Education for the Neurology Residency and Clerkship programs. She divides her time at work between seeing patients with memory problems and studying why the brain and cognitive function decline with age, and what modifiable factors determine this decline, with the hope of better predicting and preventing it. When she’s not at work, she loves to read and occasionally writes her own poetry as well. In addition, she likes to spend her free time walking, trekking, going for short runs, and hanging out with her daughter.