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

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.

Dr. Marcia Bjornerud is Professor of Geology and the Walter Schober Professor of Environmental Studies at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. In addition, she is a writer for "Elements", the New Yorker's science and technology blog, and she is the author of the textbook The Blue Planet: An Introduction to Earth System Science, the popular science book Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth, and the recently released book Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World. Marcia is a structural geologist who studies the deeply eroded roots of mountain belts and ancient plate boundaries to better understand the long-term effects of tectonic processes and rock deformation in Earth's deep crust. Outside of science, cross country skiing is a passion for Marcia, and she loves getting out in the winter to ski, including participating in ski marathons. Marcia is also an urban forager who enjoys making jams and preserves from wild berries and grapes that she picks. Marcia received her B.S. degree in geophysics from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis and was awarded her M.S. and Ph.D. in structural geology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Marcia then conducted postdoctoral research at the Byrd Polar Research Center at The Ohio State University. Afterwards, Marcia worked as a contract geologist for the Geological Survey of Canada and the Norwegian Polar Institute. Before joining the faculty at Lawrence University, Marcia served on the faculty at Miami University in Ohio. She has received many awards and honors during her career, including being named a fellow of the Geological Society of America, receipt of two Fulbright Senior Scholarships, as well as being awarded the Outstanding Educator Award from the Association of Women Geoscientists. In our interview, Marcia speaks more about her experiences in life and science.

Dr. Renato Polimanti is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry, and he also has appointments in Biomedical Informatics & Data Science, as well as Chronic Disease Epidemiology at the Yale University School of Medicine, the School of Public Health, and the Wu Tsai Institute. Research in Renato's lab examines human genetics from different perspectives. His current projects aim to understand the molecular mechanisms that predispose certain individuals to develop psychiatric disorders and symptoms, and the links between co-morbid conditions like cardiovascular disease. He is particularly interested in internalizing psychiatric disorders, which include depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Some of Renato's favorite pastimes include reading, traveling to different countries, and trying various kinds of foods. He is a big fan of authentic Italian food as well as sushi, and Renato has explored many of the local restaurants in New Haven, Connecticut. Renato completed his bachelor's degree (BSc), Master's degree (MSc), and PhD at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Yale University School of Medicine before joining the faculty at Yale. He has received a variety of awards and honors for his work, including the One Mind Rising Star Computational Psychiatry Research Award, an Explorers Award from the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, the Early Career Investigator Award from the Million Veteran Program, and Young Investigator Awards from the journal Genes, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, and the International Society of Applied Biological Sciences. In our interview, Renato shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Bruce Beehler is an ornithologist and Research Associate in the Bird Division of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Bruce's research is focused on the birds of the boreal conifer forests of the U.S. and Canada. He is interested in understanding how the permanent resident birds survive in these forests year round. Bruce spends much of his free time outside and immersed in nature. He enjoys playing tennis, going for hikes, and kayaking, as well as watching wildlife at the feeders outside his home. He completed his undergraduate studies in American Civilization at Williams College and received his Masters and PhD degrees in Biology from Princeton University where he studied behavioral ecology of the birds of paradise. Afterwards, Bruce worked for ten years at the Smithsonian's Natural Museum of Natural history. Before returning to the Museum in 2014, Bruce worked for Conservation International, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the U.S. Department of State, Counterpart International, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Bruce is a Fellow of the American Ornithologists Union, and he is the author of eleven books including a field guide and a taxonomic checklist of Birds of New Guinea and the recently released book North on the Wing. In our interview, Bruce shared some of his fantastic stories about life and science.

Dr. Dawei "David" Han is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland, College Park. David studies how snakes hear. Snakes are able to detect sound without external ear structures, particularly low frequency vibrations, and David is interested in how this process works, as well as the structures and pathways involved. When he's not working, David enjoys taking care of his pet snakes at home and observing reptiles and amphibians in the wild in his backyard and local parks. There are a variety of snakes native to Maryland, and it's fun to get outside and see what he can find. David received his bachelor's degree in Biology from China Agricultural University and his master's degree in Biology from Truman State University. He recently completed his PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Maryland, College Park where he is now conducting postdoctoral research. In this interview, he shares more about his life and science.

Dr. Barbara Katzenback is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Waterloo. Barb studies how frogs defend themselves from diseases to stay alive, and she also investigates how the environments that frogs live in impact their ability to defend against diseases. Frogs and other amphibians are critical components of the food web, they are important for pest control, they are indicators for the health of their environment, and they produce interesting molecules on the surface of their skin that may have relevance for human health. Barb's hobbies outside of science include engaging in a variety of physical activities like running, yoga, and hiking with her husband and two dogs. She's also experimented with soccer, spin classes, cross country skiing, rock climbing, and inner tube water polo. Some of her other interests include pottery, art, crafting, baking, gardening, sewing, and leisure reading. Barb earned her BSc with Honors in Immunology and Infection from the University of Alberta. She received her PhD in Physiology, Cell, and Developmental Biology from the University of Alberta as well. Barb was next awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research at Carleton University, followed by an NSERC Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research at the University of Waterloo before joining the faculty there. In our interview, Barb speaks more about her experiences in life and science.

Dr. Michael Middlebrooks is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Tampa. Michael's research focuses on various species of sea slugs, particularly a group called the Sacaglossan sea slugs. Some of them have developed the ability to use chloroplasts from the algae they eat to become photosynthetic themselves. Michael studies how being a photosynthetic animal can change their ecology and their interactions with other organisms. He also does some work on seagrass restoration and how this affects plant-animal interactions. Scuba diving is Michael's favorite thing in the world to do, and he's able to explore the underwater world and look for cool animals both for work and in his free time. In addition, he enjoys listening to live music and reading. He received his B.S. in biology from Florida State University and his Ph.D. in Integrative biology from the University of South Florida. He remained at the University of South Florida to conduct postdoctoral research before joining the faculty at the University of Tampa. Michael was awarded the Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award from the University of Tampa as well as the University's Outstanding Student Research Supervisor Award from the College of Natural and Health Sciences there. In this interview, he shares more about his life and science.