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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Nov 11, 2019 • 52min

527: Creating Compounds to Treat Pain and Slow Tumor Growth - Dr. John Talley

Dr. John J. Talley is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Euclises Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In addition, John is Co-Founder, Partner, and Vice President of Chemistry at Emmyon, Inc. John is an organic chemist who works to identify targets that can be modulated by chemicals. Currently, the two areas that John is focusing on are developing non-opioid treatments for acute and chronic pain and developing a new medicine that can be used with immune checkpoint inhibitors to slow or reverse tumor growth in cancer. In his free time, John enjoys cultivating vegetables and flowers in his garden, as well as growing indoor plants. Some of his other favorite activities include travel, camping with his family, and playing with his three cats. He received his BA in chemistry and science from Northern Iowa University and his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining the team at Euclises, John worked in various roles at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacia, Searle, Monsanto, and General Electric. John has received numerous honors and awards over the course of his career. He is co-inventor of seven marketed drugs, a named inventor on more than 215 U.S. drug patents, and a recipient of the prestigious PhRMA Foundation Discoverers Award. In our interview, John shares more about his life and research.
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Nov 4, 2019 • 45min

526: Studying the Role of Sea Otters in Kelp Forest Ecosystems - Dr. Jim Estes

Dr. Jim Estes is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz. In addition, Jim is author of the book Serendipity: An Ecologist’s Quest to Understand Nature, and he is a contributing scientist in a new documentary film called The Serengeti Rules. Most of Jim’s career has been spent as a research scientist studying topics in ecology. He is interested in how nature works, and how species interact with one another and their physical environment. Specifically, Jim is working to better understand coastal marine ecosystems, kelp forests, and the kelp forest ecosystems in the North Pacific Ocean. One of Jim’s major passions outside of science is fly fishing. He also enjoys hiking, reading, writing, and spending time with friends. He received his bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Minnesota, his MS in biology from Washington State University, and his PhD in biology and statistics from the University of Arizona. For over 30 years, Jim worked as a research scientist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. He retired from his position there in 2007 to join the faculty at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Jim has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors over the course of his career, including the U.S. Geological Survey’s Schumaker Award for excellence in science communication, the Western Society of Naturalists’ Lifetime Achievement Award, and the American Society of Mammalogists’ C. Hart Merriam Award. Jim is also a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, and a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. In our interview, Jim shares more about his life and research.
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Oct 28, 2019 • 35min

525: Developing Gene Therapies for Rare Inherited Retinal Diseases - Dr. Daniel Chung

Dr. Daniel Chung is the global medical strategy lead for ophthalmology at Spark Therapeutics. Spark Therapeutics concentrates on discovering, developing, and delivering gene therapy for rare diseases. Dan works in the area of ophthalmology, and he and his colleagues brought the first FDA-approved gene therapy for a genetic disease to market. This therapy was created to treat an inherited retinal disease that results in blindness and is caused by variants or mutations in the RPE65 gene. When he isn’t working or traveling, Dan enjoys spending time with his family. He is also an avid photographer who loves capturing photos of nature, landscapes, and wildlife. In particular, he has really enjoyed photographing the panoramic landscapes of Monument Valley in Arizona, brown bears in Alaska, and polar bears in Northern Canada. Dan earned both his bachelor’s degree in biology and master’s degree in family counseling from Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts. He also holds a doctorate degree in Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. Afterward, Dan became a research training award fellow at the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health, studying retinal gene therapy, and he went on to complete his residency in ophthalmology within the Summa Health System in Ohio. Dan joined the Cleveland Clinic as a pediatric ophthalmology clinical/ocular genetics research fellow and subsequently worked as a senior investigator at the Scheie Eye Institute in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania for eleven years before joining the team at Spark Therapeutics in 2014. In this interview, Dan shares more about his personal and professional passions, as well as his research.
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Oct 21, 2019 • 41min

524: Researching How Plant Cells Sense and Respond to Internal Forces - Dr. Elizabeth Haswell

Dr. Elizabeth Haswell is a Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)-Simons Faculty Scholar. Liz’s research examines how the molecules, cells, and tissues within plants can sense and respond to forces. In particular, she studies a type of proteins that is really sensitive to mechanical signals called mechanosensitive ion channels. Liz is working to understand how these mechanosensitive ion channels sense and respond to internal forces within plant cells, such as turgor pressure (i.e. the water pressure within cells). In her free time, Liz enjoys traveling, hiking, hanging out with her family, and reading. She also co-hosts a plant biology podcast called The Taproot. She received her B.S. degree in biochemistry from the University of Washington and her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, San Francisco. Afterwards, Liz conducted postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology before joining the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis where she remains today. In addition to being named an HHMI-Simons Faculty Scholar, Liz received a National Science Foundation Early Faculty Career Development (CAREER) Award. In our interview she shares more about her life and science.
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Oct 14, 2019 • 41min

523: Physicist Figuring Out How Materials Deform and Fail - Dr. Karen Daniels

Dr. Karen Daniels is a Professor in the Department of Physics at North Carolina State University. Karen’s lab investigates the physics of how materials change state (e.g. from solid to fluid), how they deform, and how they may ultimately fail. She studies these questions across a variety of length and time scales, from microscopic phenomena that occur in less than a second to shifts in land that occur on geologic timescales and may lead to landslides. Travel is a passion for Karen. While traveling, she loves hiking on mountain trails, eating delicious food, discovering new foods that she can try to make at home, reading books, knitting, and interacting with new people and places. She received her BA in physics from Dartmouth College. Karen then worked for about three years as a science teacher at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn before enrolling in graduate school at Cornell University where she earned her PhD in physics. She then conducted postdoctoral research at Duke University before joining the faculty at NCSU in 2005. Karen has been awarded a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to support a yearlong sabbatical at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen, Germany. In addition, Karen was the recipient of a National Science Foundation Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, the Equity for Women Award from NCSU, and the LeRoy and Elva Martin Award for Teaching Excellence. She has also been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
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Oct 7, 2019 • 31min

522: Generating Genomic Therapies to Treat Huntington's Disease and Other Conditions - Dr. Edward Rebar

Dr. Edward Rebar is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Sangamo Therapeutics. Ed and the team at Sangamo are developing genomic medicines. They use different techniques including gene therapy, ex vivo genome editing (using cells sourced from outside the body), in vivo genome editing (using a patient’s own cells within their body), and in vivo targeted gene regulation to downregulate their genes of interest. When Ed isn’t at work, he loves being outside with his wife, going to local parks, and visiting National Parks. When walking around observing nature, he tries to understand the story behind what he sees. He particularly enjoys exploring and pondering the amazing rock formations in Southern Utah. Ed earned his B.S. degree in biochemistry from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in biophysics and structural biology from MIT. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley before joining the team at Sangamo in 1998. In our interview, Ed shares more about his life and research.
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Sep 30, 2019 • 43min

521: Examining the Role of Epigenomics in Development and Disease - Dr. Joyce Ohm

Dr. Joyce Ohm is an Associate Professor of Oncology in the Department of Cancer Genetics and Genomics at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Joyce’s research examines the epigenomics involved in development and disease, particularly in cancer. In her free time, Joyce enjoys cycling as well as hiking and kayaking with her two adorable dogs. She recently cycled 500 miles from New York City to Niagara Falls in the Empire State Ride, and it was an amazing experience. She was awarded her PhD in Cancer Biology from Vanderbilt University. Afterwards, Joyce conducted postdoctoral research in oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Prior to joining the faculty at Roswell Park, she served on the faculty at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. In our interview Joyce tells us more about her life and science.
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Sep 23, 2019 • 33min

520: Deciphering Genome Differences Associated with Diseases Like ALS - Dr. Molly Gale Hammell

Dr. Molly Gale Hammell is an Associate Professor in Quantitative Biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. She sequences genomes and analyzes genome sequences to understand which differences in our genomes are due to random variation between individuals, and which are associated with diseases. In particular, she focuses on studying elements of the genome associated with neurodegenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In her free time, Molly loves gathering a group of friends together to attend some of the many fantastic live music concerts in the New York City area. Molly received her PhD in Physics and Astronomy from Dartmouth College. She then conducted postdoctoral research with Dr. Victor Ambros at the University of Massachusetts Medical School before joining the faculty at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Molly was named a Rita Allen Foundation Scholar in 2014, and she was awarded the Ben Barres Early Career Award in 2018. In our interview Molly shares more about her life and science.
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Sep 16, 2019 • 40min

519: Exploring Causes, Degenerative Mechanisms, and Potential Therapies for Parkinson's Disease -  Dr. Kim Tieu

Dr. Kim Tieu is Professor and Interim Chair in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences in the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work at Florida International University. Kim’s research focuses on three related areas. The first is understanding why people develop Parkinson’s disease (PD). The genetic or environmental causes of PD are unknown in about 90% of cases. Kim is studying the effects of environmental toxins on the development and progression of PD. The second major area of research in Kim’s lab examines why and how the dopamine-producing neurons die in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia in people with PD. A third research line in Kim’s lab aims to develop an effective drug therapy for PD. Kim loves going to the beach to swim, snorkel, and fish with his family. He also enjoys travel, photography, yard work, and tending to his approximately 30 fruit trees. He received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Saskatchewan and subsequently worked as a pharmacist for several years. Kim then returned to the University of Saskatchewan to complete his Ph.D. in neuroscience. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research at Columbia University. Kim accepted his first faculty position at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and he served on the faculty at Plymouth University in England prior to joining the faculty at Florida International University. In our interview, Kim shares more about his life and science.
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Sep 9, 2019 • 42min

518: Examining Emotions and How They Affect Our Actions - Dr. Jessica Tracy

Dr. Jessica Tracy is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Director of the Emotion and Self Laboratory at the University of British Columbia. In addition, she is a University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business Distinguished Scholar and author of the book Take Pride: Why the Deadliest Sin Holds the Secret to Human Success. Jess conducts research in the field of social and personality psychology. Her lab focuses on better understanding the self-conscious emotions we feel when we are evaluating ourselves. Some examples of self-conscious emotions are pride and shame. In her free time, Jess enjoys being outdoors in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. Some of her favorite outdoor activities are hiking, running, visiting the beach, and skiing. Jess received her B.A. in psychology From Amherst College, and she was awarded her M.A. and PhD in social-personality psychology from the University of California, Davis. After a brief postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Davis, Jess joined the faculty at the University of British Columbia in 2006. Jess is a Fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. She has also been the recipient of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Salary Award, the University of British Columbia Killam Research Prize, the Outstanding Early Career Award from the International Society for Self and Identity, and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Career Salary Award. In our interview, Jess shares more about her life and science.

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