People Behind The Science Podcast - Stories From Scientists About Science, Life, Research, And Science Careers

Dr. Dave Messina is the Chief Operating Officer at Cofactor Genomics. He completed his undergraduate training in biology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and received his MA in Genetics from Washington University School of Medicine. Dave worked as a Senior Programmer Analyst at the Genome Sequencing Center at Washington University for a few years before going back to school to get his PhD in Computational Biology from Stockholm University. Dave joined the team at Cofactor in 2012. Dave is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Denise Herzing is Director and Founder of a non-profit scientific research organization called The Wild Dolphin Project, as well as an Affiliate Assistant Professor of Biological and Psychological Sciences at Florida Atlantic University. She received her B.S. in Marine Zoology from Oregon State University, her M.A. in Behavioral Biology from San Francisco State University, and her Ph.D. in Behavioral Biology and Environmental Studies from the Union Institute Graduate School. Denise is author of the book Dolphin Diaries which details her experiences studying dolphins, and she recently co-edited a book called Dolphin Communication and Cognition. Denise is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and is a fellow of the Explorers Club. She is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Franck Polleux is a Professor of Neuroscience and member of the Zuckerman Mind, Brain, Behavior Institute at Columbia University. He completed his undergraduate degree as well as his PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Claude Bernard in Lyon, France. Afterward, he travelled to Johns Hopkins University for his postdoctoral fellowship. Franck served on the faculty at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA before joining the faculty at Columbia University where he is today. Franck is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Russell Foster is Professor and Chair of Circadian Neuroscience, Supernumerary Fellow in Circadian Neuroscience, Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, a Nicholas Kurti Senior Fellow, Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Head of The Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at Brasenose college at the University of Oxford. Russell received his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Bristol. He worked at the National Science Foundation Center for Biological Timing at the University of Virginia, and afterward served on the faculty at Imperial College before accepting a position at the University of Oxford where he has been for 10 years. Russell is a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 2015, he received the honor of an appointment of Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Russell has received many other national and international awards for his accomplishments in science including Japan’s Honma Prize, the USA’s Cogan Award, Harvard University's Farrell Prize in Sleep Medicine, a

Dr. Brendan Frey is the President and CEO of Deep Genomics. He is also Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, and the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. In addition, Brendan is the Canada Research Chair in Information Processing and Machine Learning. Brendan received his PhD from the University of Toronto, both in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Afterwards, Brendan was was awarded a Beckman Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He served on the faculty at the University of Waterloo before joining the faculty at the University of Toronto where he is today. Brendan has received many awards and honors during his career, including being named a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and a recipient of the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada John C. Polanyi Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Ameri

Dr. Erin Hodgson is an Associate Professor and Extension Entomologist at Iowa State University. She received her undergraduate training in Biology and Botany and her M.S. in Entomology from North Dakota State University. Erin was awarded her Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Minnesota, followed by a postdoctoral research position also at the University of Minnesota. Erin served on the faculty at Utah State University before joining the faculty at Iowa State where she is today. Erin has received many awards and honors in her career, including the Editor’s Choice Award from the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, the Iowa State University Outreach and Extension New Professional Award, and multiple awards from the Entomological Society of America for her educational and outreach efforts. In addition, Erin is co-host of the "Soybean Pest Podcast" with her colleague Matt O’Neal. Erin is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Roger Smith is the Chief Technology Officer for the Nicholson Center for Surgical Advancement at Florida Hospital. He is also Graduate Faculty at the University of Central Florida, and President of Simulation First. Roger received his B.S. in Applied Mathematics, a M.S. in Statistics, a Master’s and Ph.D. in Business Administration, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science. In addition to his current appointments, Roger has held a number of exciting positions in academia, industry, and government sectors, including serving as an Instructor at Texas Tech University, Senior Engineer at General Dynamics, Technical Director of Mystech Associates, Technical Director of STAC, Professor at Florida Institute of Technology, Vice President of BTG Corporation, Vice President and Group Chief Technology Officer of Titan Corporation, Professor at Full Sail University, Chief Engineer at SPARTA Inc., Chief Technology Officer for U.S. Army Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation, Research Scientist for Texas A and M University,

Dr. Jill Pruetz is a Professor of Anthropology at Iowa State University and a National Geographic Society Emerging Explorer. In addition, Jill is the founder of the non-profit organization NeighborApe that she founded in 2008. She received her BA in Anthropology from Texas State University and her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jill then conducted postdoctoral research at Miami University before joining the faculty at Iowa State where she is today. Jill and her excellent research have been featured by NPR, BBC, CBC, National Geographic, New Scientist Magazine, The Today Show, and others. She is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Jim Tour is the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, and Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University. He is also the founder and principal of NanoJtech Consultants, LLC, which performs technology assessments for prospective investors. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from Syracuse University and his Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic and Organometallic Chemistry from Purdue University. Jim went on to conduct postdoctoral research at the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University. He served on the faculty of the University of South Carolina for 11 years before joining the faculty at Rice where he is today. Jim has received many awards and distinctions in his career. He was named among the 50 Most Influential Scientists in the World Today by TheBestSchools.org in 2014, among The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds by Thomson Reuters ScienceWatch.com in 2014, and Scientist of the Year by R and D Magazine in 2013. Jim is the recipient of the N

Dr. Maria Marco is an Associate Professor in The Department of Food Science & Technology at The University of California, Davis. She received her BS at The Pennsylvania State University and her PhD in Microbiology at the University of California, Berkeley. She went on to work as a postdoc and then as a project scientist at NIZO food research and TI Food & Nutrition in The Netherlands before accepting a faculty position at UC, Davis where she is today. Maria is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Eric Green is the Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health. He received his B.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and his M.D. and Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Washington University in St. Louis. Afterward, Eric completed his residency at Washington University in Laboratory Medicine and as part of his residency he did a postdoctoral research in genetics. Eric served on the faculty and as co-investigator in the Human Genome Center at Washington University School of Medicine before accepting a position at the National Institutes of Health where he has been now for over 20 years. Eric has been the recipient of many awards and honors during his career, including the NIH Director’s Award (multiple times), the Alumni Achievement and the Distinguished Alumni Awards from Washington University School of Medicine, as well as a Ladue Horton Watkins High School Distinguished Alumni Award. He is also a member of the American Society for Clinic

Dr. Mina Bissell is a Distinguished Scientist in the Life Sciences Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. 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.

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 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 A

Dr. Nathan Morehouse is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his B.S. in Biological Sciences from Cornell University and was awarded a PhD in Biology from Arizona State University. Nate conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Tours in France before joining the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh where he is today. Nate is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Chris Lortie is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at York University. He received his B.Sc. in Biology, Bachelor’s of Education, and master’s degrees from Queen’s University and was awarded a PhD in Botany from the University of British Columbia. Chris conducted postdoctoral research at Sonoma State University, as well as UC Berkeley and the University of Montana before joining the faculty at York University where he is today. Chris is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.    

Dr. Patrick Schloss is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Michigan. After completing his undergraduate studies at Cornell University, Pat stayed on to receive his PhD. Both degrees were in Biological & Environmental Engineering. He went on to do his postdoctoral training at the University of Wisconsin and served on the faculty at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst before joining the faculty at the University of Michigan where he is today. Pat is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Dr. Celeste Nelson is an Associate Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering, as well as Molecular Biology at Princeton University. She is also a Member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the Breast Cancer Research and Cancer Metabolism and Growth Programs. Celeste received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and conducted postdoctoral research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory before joining the faculty at Princeton. Celeste is the recipient of many awards and honors during her career. She has received the Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Science Distinguished Teacher Award, the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, the Allan P. Colburn Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Technology Review TR35 Young Innovator Award, and an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in Molecular Biology. She is with us today to tell us all about her journey through life and science.

Dr. Jeremy Brownlie is a Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of the School of Natural Sciences at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, as well as Secretary of Science and Technology Australia. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. in Genetics from The Australian National University. He went on to conduct postdoctoral research at The University of Queensland before joining the faculty at Griffith University where he is today. Jeremy is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.

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 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

Dr. Joel Fodrie is an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Marine Sciences and Department of Marine Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received his undergraduate training in Biology and History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and went on to receive his Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Afterward, Joel conducted postdoctoral research with the Marine Sciences Consortium at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Joel served on the faculty at the University of South Alabama before joining the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he is today. Joel is here with us today to tell us all about his journey through life and science.