In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Alondra Nelson, the Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Per her website: Dr. Nelson was formerly deputy assistant to President Joe Biden and acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). In this role, she was the first African American and first woman of color to lead US science and technology policy.
In this episode, I chatted with Dr. Robert Fernandez, the Executive Director of Cientifico Latino, and a United States Obama Leaders for the Obama Foundation Leaders USA Program. He is a former PD Soros Fellow and a former undocumented immigrant who once had a dream of becoming a scientist. His dreams have become a reality, and he is now helping historically marginalized students access higher education in the sciences! Transcription Transcribed by Julissa Larios (she/her)
When Doris (formerly UNC PREP Postbac Scholar, Currently University of Michigan PhD student) was applying to graduate school, JP connected her with Dr. Christina Termini, the creator of the List of 100 Inspiring Hispanic/Latinx Scientists. In this conversation, we mentioned expanding that list, and thus the #LatinxAtlas was born! Check out the original list of 100 Inspiring Hispanic/Latinx Scientists here, and check out the #LatinxAtlas, housed by the Fred Hutch Cancer Center here!
In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Beronda Montgomery, an amazing mentor, leader, and author of “Lessons from Plants”. Per her website, she is a writer, researcher, and scholar who pursues a common theme of understanding how individuals perceive, respond to, and are impacted by the environments in which they exist. Her primary laboratory-based research is focused on the responses of photosynthetic organisms (i.e., plants and cyanobacteria) to external light cues. Additionally, she pursues this theme in the context of effective mentoring and leadership of individuals, and the role of innovative leaders in supporting success.
In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Pallav Kosuri. Per Pallav’s website, he studied physics in college at KTH in Stockholm, Sweden (where he’s from). As a PhD student in the lab of Julio Fernandez at Columbia University, he studied the mechanics of protein folding and discovered that we can modulate this process to alter the elasticity of muscles. He then moved to Harvard University as a postdoc in the lab of Xiaowei Zhuang, where he used DNA to invent and build nanosensors that make it possible to see molecular movements.
Dr. Michael Summers is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Robert E. Meyerhoff Chair for Excellence in Research and Mentoring and Distinguished University Professor at UMBC. He is also an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Research in his laboratory is aimed at understanding how HIV-1 and other retroviruses assemble in infected cells and package their RNA genomes. He was an instrumental figure in the success of the amazing Meyerhoff Scholars Program!
In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Antentor Hinton Jr. Per his biosketch on his lab website, he is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics in the Vanderbilt School of Medicine Basic Sciences at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center and the Ernest E. Just Early Career Investigator. Dr. Hinton’s laboratory has a strong commitment to diversity. Dr. Hinton has published 8 STEM education papers and 32 diversity, equity, inclusion, mentoring, and career development commentaries.
In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Crystal Schiller, a clinical psychologist specializing in women’s mental health. She studies how hormones trigger changes in mood over the course of the reproductive life span—during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum, and the transition to menopause. She is also passionate about teaching others about the impact of hormones on mood and tools that have been scientifically shown to help. Transcription Transcribed by Sarah L. Miller (she/her), Curriculum in Toxicology and Environmental Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Ubadah Sabbagh & Dr. Daniel Gonzales. Ubadah is a Syrian neuroscientist and NIH K00 Fellow at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, and Daniel just started a faculty position at Vanderbilt University in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. They met over social media, are freakin’ HILARIOUS, and I am so glad I got to put them together in a Zoom room! Transcription Transcribed by Liza Chartampila (she/her)
In this episode, I co-hosted Dr. Karolin Luger with Chinmay and Parth, the co-hosts of a partner podcast with From where does it STEM? called Biocast. Biocast is a biology podcast made to serve as a resource for anyone interested in biology: whether it be about recent breakthroughs in research, common topics, or even just a general interest, they hope to encourage people to explore the world of biology and help them delve deeper into the wonderful science of life itself.
In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Murry Burgess. When I interviewed Murry in 2023, she was a PhD candidate at North Carolina State University, and now she is a tenure-track Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University. She is an ornithology and urban ecology researcher, but she is also a huge advocate for field safety in the natural sciences as an aspect of accessibility and inclusion. In 2022, she co-founded a non-profit organization called Field Inclusive, which amplifies and supports marginalized and historically excluded field biologists.
In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Dimie Ogoina. Dr. Ogoina is a Nigerian Infectious Disease Physician-Scientist and Professor of Medicine at the Niger Delta University. He is also the chief medical director at its teaching hospital and the President of the Nigerian Infectious Diseases Society. He was named one of the 100 most influential people of 2023 by TIME magazine and was named Nature’s Top 10 in 2022. He sounded the alarm on a new presentation of Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) and his research became critically important to developing better strategies to prevent and control outbreaks.
In this episode, I had a conversation with Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin. Dr. Mohiuddin and his team transplanted the first gene-edited pig heart into a human. Currently, he is the Director of the Cardiac Xenotransplantation Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. He received his MD from Dow Medical College in Pakistan and moved to the United States after completing his surgical training. Transcription Transcribed by Sherin Aboobucker Sidiq (she/her)
Dr. Mike Levine is the Director of the Lewis Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University. Originally from Southern California, Mike sat down with me and Marielle Bond to talk about his scientific journey and how he ended up in New Jersey (“of all places!”). He was an absolute joy to talk to, and I was excited to get him on the show because of his passion for training the next generation of scientists and for inspiring fellow Dodger fans (like myself).
Dr. Diana Greene Foster is a Professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) program. She was just named a 2023 MacArthur Fellow and in 2022, was named by Nature as one of the top 10 scientists shaping science today. She was a leader in the Turnaway Study, a longitudinal prospective study of almost 1,000 women who received or were denied wanted abortions from 30 facilities across the US.
Dr. Chrystal Starbird is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who is passionate about DEI in STEM and mentoring the next generation of diverse scientists. We had an insightful conversation ranging from actionable things institutions can do to better support historically underrepresented students to how she bumps “Everyday I’m Hustlin’” by Rick Ross when she’s in celebration mode! Enjoy! To learn more about her research, check out her site!
Christopher Emdin, Ph.D., is the Robert A. Naslund Endowed Chair in Curriculum Theory and Professor of Education at the University of Southern California; where he also serves as Director of youth engagement and community partnerships at the USC Race and Equity Center. He previously served as Director of the Science Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University and alumni fellow at the Hip-hop archive and Hutchins Center at Harvard University. The creator of the #HipHopEd social media movement and Science Genius B.
Angeline Dukes is a PhD candidate and neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine. She is a proud alumnus of Fisk University and the Founder and President of Black in Neuro! We had great conversations about being a mentor and overcoming imposter syndrome. This fall, she will also be starting at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor! Transcription Transcribed by Marisa Zimmerman (she/her) JP: What’s up, y’all?
It was an honor and privilege to interview Dr. Francis Collins M.D., Ph.D. He was appointed the 16th Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by President Barack Obama and continued to serve under Presidents Trump and Biden. Dr. Collins is the only Presidentially appointed NIH Director to serve more than one administration. Dr. Collins is a physician-geneticist noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes (cystic fibrosis) and his leadership of the international Human Genome Project which was completed in 2003.
Dr. Karolin Luger is a biochemist and structural biologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Famously known for solving the structure of the nucleosome via X-ray crystallography, she also believes that one of the most important aspects of her job is training and inspiring the next generation of scientists! Enjoy! Transcription Transcribed by Jess Byun (she/her) JP Flores: Introduce yourself and really all you need to say is your name, where you did your undergrad PhD where you are now and then, and there was a fun fact, something that people may or may not know about you.
Season 2 is LIVE! On this week’s episode, I had a life-changing conversation with Prof. Christopher Jackson who is now a Professor at the University of Manchester in England! He is quite the celebrity in the geology world and is the FIRST Black scientist to give a Royal Institution Christmas Lecture which is a tradition started by Michael Faraday in 1825! Enjoy! Transcription Transcribed by Sarah L. Miller, Curriculum in Toxicology and Environmental Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Dr. Alias Smith is an Associate Program Director at the National Science Foundation (NSF). In this episode, we chatted about his journey as both a student AND a mentor. Alias did his undergrad at the University of Missouri and pursued his PhD at UCLA. He made it clear that science isn’t just about producing great results, it’s about inspiring people to be creative. To be a scientist is to be human.
In this episode, I got to sit down and interview Dr. Christopher Barnes and Dr. Naima Sharaf who are currently postdoctoral researchers at CalTech. They are both structural biologists that just accepted positions at Stanford University. They also have two kids! Community, support, and yes, luck, were a huge part of their success. They believe in the power of mentorship, and I ’d probably give my left arm if I was ever given the chance to work with them.
In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Yim Register (they/them). A recently minted DOCTOR. Per their website, they are an NSF GRFP Fellow and got their PhD from the University of Washington (UW) Information School. At UW, they studied the ways that AI algorithms can cause harm, and the best practices for identifying and remedying such algorithmic harms. Transcription Transcribed by Micah Hysong (he/him) JP Flores (he/him): What’s up y’all? It’s your host, JP Flores, and welcome to From Where does it stem?