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Dr. Ashok K. Shetty is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics and Associate Director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Texas A&M University, Naresh Vashisht College of Medicine. Ash earned his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, and he completed postdoctoral research at Montana State University and Duke University. Afterward, he joined the faculty at Duke University in the Division of Neurosurgery. He joined the faculty at Texas A&M University College of Medicine in 2011. In 2024, he was honored with the University Distinguished Professor Award from Texas A&M University, and he has also received the College of Medicine’s Senior Research Excellence Award. In addition, Ash is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society for Neural Transplantation and Repair. He has received the Research Career Scientist Award from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, has been recognized among the “World’s Top 1% of Scientists” across all scientific fields, and he was the 2025 honoree of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas. In this interview, Ash shares details about his life and his work in science.

[Read more…] about 869: Dr. Ashok Shetty: Developing Extracellular Vesicle Treatments to Address Brain Aging and Inflammation

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Dr. Ayse Turak is Associate Professor and Associate Undergraduate Chair of the Department of Engineering Physics at McMaster University. Ayse received her B.Sc. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from Queens’s University and her PhD from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto, where she was a Canada Graduate Scholar. Afterwards, Ayse conducted research as a Marie Curie Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research and subsequently worked as a visiting professor at Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey before joining the faculty at McMaster University. Ayse has received numerous awards and honors throughout her career, including the Early Researcher Award, the Petro-Canada Young Innovators Award, and a Leadership in Teaching and Learning Fellowship from McMaster University. In addition, she was recently nominated as a Full member at Sigma Xi, and she is the co-chair of the Canadian Chapter of the Society of Information Display. In our interview, Ayse shares more about her life and research.

[Read more…] about 868: Dr. Ayse Turak: Engineering Affordable Organic Electronics to Power and Light the World

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Dr. Sydney Glassman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology at the University of California, Riverside. She completed her B.A. in Biology with a Concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Pennsylvania. Next Sydney received a Master’s of Environmental Studies degree in Environmental Biology from the University of Pennsylvania working with Professor Brenda Casper. She was awarded her PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, & Management from the University of California, Berkeley working with Professor Tom Bruns. Afterwards, she conducted postdoctoral research at UC Irvine working with Professor Jennifer Martiny in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology before joining the faculty at UC Riverside in 2018. In this interview, Sydney shares more about her life and science.

[Read more…] about 867: Dr. Sydney Glassman: Examining How Fungi and Soil Microbes Drive Ecosystem Recovery After Wildfires

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Dr. Edwin “Ted” Bergin is Professor and Chair of Astronomy at the University of Michigan. He completed his undergraduate training in Astronomy at Villanova University, and he was awarded his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Massachusetts. Before joining the faculty at the University of Michigan, Ted worked as an astronomer/astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Ted has been awarded the University of Michigan Henry Russel Award for his exceptional scholarship and teaching. This is the highest award given to Assistant Professors. Ted joins us to talk about his experiences in life and science.

[Read more…] about 866: Dr. Ted Bergin: Astrochemist Studying the Elements of Planet and Star Formation

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Dr. Cori Richards-Zawacki is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Director of the Pymatuning Lab of Ecology at the University of Pittsburgh. Cori received her Bachelor’s degree in engineering and biology as well as her PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology both from the University of Michigan. She conducted postdoctoral research at the Smithsonian Institute and the University of California, Berkeley. Cori next served on the faculty at Tulane University prior to joining the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 2015. In our interview, Cori shares more about her life and science.

[Read more…] about 865: Dr. Cori Richards-Zawacki: Investigating How Frogs are Impacted by Climate Change, Fungal Disease, and Selection Pressures

Dr. Laura Bradfield is Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at The University of Sydney. She received her bachelor’s degree with honors in psychology and her PhD in neuroscience from the University of New South Wales, Sydney. She conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Sydney and subsequently the University of New South Wales. Prior to joining the faculty at The University of Sydney, Laura served as a Lecturer at University of New South Wales and a Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney. In this interview, she shares more about her life and science.

[Read more…] about 864: Dr. Laura Bradfield: Investigating How Brain Inflammation May Contribute to Compulsivity

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Dr. Tim Long is Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Macromolecules Innovation Institute at Virginia Tech. He was awarded his B.S. in Chemistry from St. Bonaventure University and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Virginia Tech. Prior to joining the faculty at Virginia Tech, Tim worked as an Advanced Research Scientist and subsequently a Senior Research Scientist at Eastman Kodak Company, an Advanced Technical Program Research supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and a Principal Research Chemist with Eastman Chemical Company. Tim has received numerous awards and honors over the course of his career, including the Virginia Outstanding Scientist of the Year Award, the Robert L. Patrick Fellowship Award, the ACS POLY Mark Scholar Award, the Carl Dahlquist Award from the Pressure Sensitive Tape Council, the American Chemical Society Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) Cooperative Research Award, the Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Research Excellence, the Collano Innovation Award, the Interdisciplinary Research Team Fellowship Award, the Faculty Research Award from the Virginia Tech Department of Chemistry, the IBM Faculty Award, and the 3M Company Faculty Award. Tim has also been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, and a Fellow of the American Chemical Society Polymer Division. In our interview, Tim shares more about his life and science.

[Read more…] about 863: Dr. Tim Long: Developing Novel Materials with Wide Applications from Medicine to Manufacturing

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Dr. Tajie Harris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience in the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia. She received her B.S. degree in biology from Bemidji State University in Minnesota and her Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Afterwards, Tajie conducted Postdoctoral Research in immunoparasitology at the University of Pennsylvania before joining the faculty at the University of Virginia where she is today. In this interview, Tajie shares more about her life and science.

[Read more…] about 862: Dr. Tajie Harris: Understanding How the Brain Battles Infection

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Dr. Eric Pop is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering as well as Materials Science & Engineering at Stanford University. Eric received his B.S. in electrical engineering, B.S. in physics, and a M.Eng. in electrical engineering from MIT. He was awarded his PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Afterwards, Eric conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University before accepting a position as a Senior Engineer at Intel. Prior to joining the faculty at Stanford University, he served on the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Eric has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including the 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, Young Investigator Awards from the Navy, Air Force, and DARPA, as well as an NSF CAREER Award. In our interview Eric shares more about his life and research.

[Read more…] about 861: Dr. Eric Pop: Engineering Novel Solutions for Data Storage and Energy Management in Electronics

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Dr. Ana Luisa Trejos is an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering as well as Biomedical Engineering at Western University in Canada. She is also an Associate Scientist at the Lawson Health Research Institute. Ana Luisa was awarded her B.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Costa Rica and her M.A.Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of British Columbia. She worked as an Applications Engineer for Progressive Moulded Products in Ontario from 2000-2003. She then joined the team at Canadian Surgical Technologies & Advanced Robotics at Western University as a research engineer. Ana Luisa later attended graduate school at Western University where she was awarded her Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering in 2012. Ana Luisa has been awarded the IEEE London Section Outstanding Women in Engineering Award and the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Canada District Volunteer Appreciation Award. In our interview, Ana Luisa shares more about her life and research.

[Read more…] about 860: Dr. Ana Luisa Trejos: Making a Mechatronic Tremor Suppression Glove for People with Parkinson’s Disease