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

Dr. John Morris is the Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Professor of Pathology and Immunology, Professor of Physical Therapy, and Professor of Occupational Therapy at Washington University in St. Louis. He also is the Director and Principal Investigator of the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, as well as the Memory and Aging Project. Much of Dr. Morris’s research has been focused on understanding the process of the development of Alzheimer’s disease compared to the process of normal brain aging. One of his major goals is to understand the causes of Alzheimer’s disease so that we can develop therapies to treat and prevent this disease. When he isn’t working, Dr. Morris enjoys spending time with family, reading a wide variety of books, and cycling on some of the fantastic bike paths in the St. Louis area. Dr. Morris received his MD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and completed his Residency in Internal Medicine at Akron General Medical Center and his Chief Residency in Neurology and Residency in Neuropathology at the Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital. He then spent some time in private practice and later as an emergency room physician. Dr. Morris first came to Washington University for a postdoctoral fellowship and joined the faculty soon after. Dr. Morris has received many awards and honors during his career, including the Distinguished Achievement Citation from Ohio Wesleyan University where he completed his undergraduate education, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alzheimer’s Association, the Potamkin Prize for Research in Pick’s Alzheimer’s, and Related Disease from the American Academy of Neurology, the Carl and Gerti Cori Faculty Achievement Award from Washington University, the Peter Raven Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Science St. Louis, and the Washington University School of Medicine Second Century award. In this interview, he shares stories about his life and science.

Dr. Mina Bissell is a Distinguished Scientist in the Life Sciences Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Mina is working to understand why the cells in a particular part of your body form the structures they do and not something else. Tissue and organ specificity are fundamentally related to cancer. When cells forget their tissue-specific functions, they can begin to pile up, form tumors, and travel elsewhere in the body. In her free time, Mina loves to exercise, spend time with her family, watch theatre performances, read, go hiking, and work in her garden. She received her B.A. in Chemistry from Radcliffe College and a M.Sc. in Bacteriology and Biochemistry as well as a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Harvard University. Afterward, Mina was awarded a Milton Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University followed by an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley. She started off at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory to study cell biology and cancer viruses and has dedicated over 40 years of her career to exceptional research there, rising through the ranks to her current position. Mina has received many awards and honors during her career. Just to name a few, she was awarded the highest award of the Department of Energy called the Lawrence Award, the Lifetime Achievement Prize from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the American Cancer Society’s Medal of Honor, the Susan G. Komen Foundation Brinker Award, an Honorary Doctorate from Pierre and Marie Curie University, and many more. In addition, Mina has been elected as a Member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. She is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. A few years ago an award in Portugal was created in Mina’s name, and the Mina J. Bissell Award is given every 2 years to a person who has changed our perception of a field. In this interview, Mina shares her journey through life and science.

Dr. Kerri Morgan is an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy and Neurology at Washington University in St. Louis and a certified Assistive Technology Professional (ATP). In addition, Kerri is an accomplished Paralympic and World Champion athlete. Through her research, Kerri is working to better understand how to better support people with disabilities in the community. Studies in her lab investigate the needs of people with disabilities, their goals, available community interventions and programs, what is working, and how communities can ensure that people are able to do the things that they would like to do. When she’s not doing science, Kerri loves spending time with family, including her twin boys. In addition, Kerri enjoys playing wheelchair rugby and racing, and she finds that having other activities gives balance to her life and in turn makes her a better researcher. Kerri received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas Christian University and her MS degree in occupational therapy from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She has served as an intern at the White House in the Presidential Personnel Office, and prior to joining the Program in Occupational Therapy at Washington University in St. Louis, Kerri worked in the Occupational Therapy Department at the Devonshire Hospital in London, England. She later enrolled in the Program in Movement Science at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis where she was awarded her PhD. Kerri completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Alabama-Birmingham before accepting her current position. In our interview, Kerri shares more about her life and research.

Dr. Julia Bailey-Serres is Director of the Center for Plant Cell Biology and Distinguished Professor of Genetics at the University of California, Riverside. She also holds the University of California John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Chair and is Professor of Rice Physiology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. A major focus of Julia’s lab is to investigate how plants survive water extremes with the goal of improving the ability of crops to survive a temporary flood. When she’s not working, Julia enjoys gardening, hiking, traveling, and spending time with her friends and family. She also has fun baking and cooking with fresh vegetables from her garden. She was awarded her B.S. in biology from the University of Utah and her Ph.D. in botany from the University of Edinburgh. Afterwards, Julia conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley before joining the faculty at UCR. She has received many awards and honors over the course of her career, including being named an elected Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists. In addition, she has been recognized with the Stephen Hales Prize from the American Society of Plant Biologists. In our interview, Julia shares more about her life and research.

Dr. Saad Bhamla is Assistant Professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Research in Saad’s lab spans two different focus areas. Some of his projects are dedicated to developing very low-cost scientific tools and medical devices to make these items more accessible and affordable worldwide. Another area of research examines questions in biology and organismal physics. In this area, he is investigating how animals are able to move very rapidly, as well as how organisms can form aggregates that can sense their environment and share information. In his free time, Saad loves to go running. Whether he is training for his next marathon or just taking his dogs out for some exercise, running has been a great way for him to think through problems and brainstorm new ideas. Saad received his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University and was awarded a Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellowship in Bioengineering. In addition, Saad has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a Beazley Design Award, Medgadget's Best Medical Technology Award, an award from The Index Project (formerly INDEX: Design to Improve Life), an Innovation in MedTech Award from the American India Foundation and Stanford University, the Centennial Teaching Award from Stanford University, and The Milton van Dyke Award from the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics. Saad has also been named an Accel Innovation Scholar and a National Geographic Explorer. In our interview, Saad shares more about his life and research.

Dr. Kathryn Medler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at The State University of New York at Buffalo. Her lab is dedicated to understanding how the taste cells in our tongues are able to detect the chemicals in our food and send this information to the brain so that we can decide whether to eat something or spit it out. The sense of taste is critical for survival, and there are many complex signaling mechanisms involved. In addition to spending time with her family, one of Kathryn’s passions outside of work is travel. While she hasn’t been able to travel as much lately, she has managed to escape the city and spend some long weekends hiking and enjoying nature in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. Kathryn was awarded her B.S. in biology from Texas A&M University, her M.S. in physiology from San Diego State University, and her PhD in neuroscience from Louisiana State University. Afterwards, Kathryn conducted postdoctoral research at Louisiana State University and subsequently at Colorado State University before joining the faculty there at the University at Buffalo in 2004. In our interview, Kathryn shares more about her life and research.

Dr. Katie Mack is Assistant Professor of Physics at North Carolina State University and member of the Leadership in Public Science Cluster there. In addition, Katie is an avid science communicator and author of the recently released book The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking). Her writing has also been published in popular publications including Scientific American, Slate, Sky & Telescope, Time.com, and Cosmos Magazine. As a cosmologist, Katie studies the universe as a whole over the full scale of time, including how the universe evolved, what it is made out of, and how it works. When Katie isn’t doing research or science communication, she enjoys traveling and exploring new places, playing basketball, rock climbing, trail running, reading science fiction books, and watching science fiction shows and films. Katie received her undergraduate degree in physics from the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) and her PhD in astrophysics from Princeton University. Afterwards, she accepted a Science and Technology Facilities Council postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Cambridge and Kavli Institute for Cosmology. Next, Katie was awarded a Discovery Early Career Research Award Fellowship to conduct research at the University of Melbourne. Katie accepted her current position at North Carolina State University in 2018. In our interview, Katie shares more about her life and work.

Dr. Amanda Rabinowitz is an Institute Scientist and Director of the Brain Injury Neuropsychology Laboratory at Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute (MRRI), as well as a Research Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. Amanda is a clinical psychologist who studies rehabilitation after brain injury. There are often cognitive and emotional changes after brain injury, and Amanda is interested in characterizing these changes and developing treatments to help people cope with them. She is also interested in understanding the impacts that having a brain injury earlier in life may have on people later in their lives. Much of Amanda’s free time is spent with her family, including her two young kids. In addition, she loves cooking everyday meals and experimenting with more ambitious recipes. Over the past year, Amanda has really enjoyed exploring the art of sourdough baking. Amanda received her B.A. in Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating, she worked there as a Research Coordinator for a few years before enrolling in graduate school. Amanda was awarded her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Penn State University. During graduate school, she completed her Residency in Neuropsychology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Amanda conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania before accepting her position at MRRI. In our interview, she shares more about her life and science.

Dr. Franklin West is an Associate Professor in the Regenerative Biosciences Center at the University of Georgia. In the lab, Franklin and his team are developing and testing stem cell therapies to treat stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI). They use induced pluripotent stem cells, which are cells that can be reprogrammed to develop into any kind of cell in the body. Traveling is a passion for Franklin. Though he had to cancel his trip to Seoul, South Korea planned for this summer, he is looking forward to his next big travel adventure. In the meantime, Franklin has been having fun taking care of his garden at home. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Morehouse College and was awarded his Ph.D. in stem cell biology from the University of Georgia. Franklin then worked as an Assistant Research Scientist at the University of Georgia for a few years before joining the faculty there in 2010. He received the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Science’s Young Alumni Award in 2019 and recently received the University of Georgia Alumni Award “40 Under 40” distinction. Franklin was also named an “Emerging Scholar” in 2012 by Diverse Magazine and among the “Top 40 Under 40: Georgia’s Best and Brightest” by Georgia Trend Magazine. In our interview, Franklin will share more about his life and science.

Dr. Sharlene Santana is Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington and Curator of Mammals at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. As an integrative and evolutionary biologist, Sharlene explores questions about evolution from a variety of perspectives. She is working to understand why some groups of organisms are more diverse in terms of their number of species, appearance, or behavior. There are over 1,400 species of bats that fulfill a variety of ecological roles, and much of Sharlene’s research focuses on diversity in bats. Sharlene loves trying new restaurants in Seattle, as well as traveling to other countries and learning about other cultures. In her free time, you can find Sharlene hiking or swimming with her dog, attending ballet performances, and listening to music and podcasts. She is also a fan of good storytelling in books, movies, TV series, and documentaries. She completed her undergraduate training in biology at the University of the Andes in Venezuela, and she was awarded her Ph.D. in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Afterwards, Sharlene conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute for Society and Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles. She joined the faculty at the University of Washington in 2012. In our interview, Sharlene shares more about her life and research.