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Dr. Nirosha J. Murugan is a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Tissue Biophysics as well as Distinguished Research Chair and Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University. She was awarded her B.S. in behavioral neuroscience, her M.S. in biophysics, and her PhD in biomolecular sciences from Laurentian University. Afterwards, she conducted postdoctoral research at the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University. During that time, she also served as a teaching fellow at Harvard University in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. She served on the faculty at Algoma University before joining the faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2024.

Over the course of her early career, Nirosha has received numerous awards and honors including the Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Development and Innovation. She was also the recipient of Rising Awards of Excellence from the Government of Ontario, the Young Professional Visionary Award from the Sault Ste Marie Chamber of Commerce, and an Optica Foundation Award to develop new optical tools to solve global health challenges. In this interview, Nirosha shares more about her life and science.

[Read more…] about 845: Dr. Nirosha Murugan: Decoding the Role of Biophysical Signals in Health and Disease

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Dr. Sonia Contera is an Associate Professor of Biological Physics at the University of Oxford Physics Department, and a Research Fellow of Green Templeton College. She is also the author of the recently released book Nano comes to Life. Sonia received her bachelor’s degree in physics from the Autonomous University of Madrid. She attended graduate school at Beijing Languages and Culture University and subsequently worked as a researcher at the Czech Academy of Sciences. Sonia was then awarded a Japanese Government Monbushō scholarship to attend Osaka University where she received her PhD in Applied Physics. Next, Sonia was awarded an E.U. Fellowship to Japan at the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research SANKEN at Osaka University. Prior to coming to Oxford in 2003, she served as a Research Assistant Professor at the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. In 2008, Sonia founded the Oxford Martin Institute of Nanoscience for Medicine at the Oxford Martin School. In our interview, Sonia shares more about her life and science.

[Read more…] about 844: Dr. Sonia Contera: Applying Physics and Nanotechnology to Understand Mechanics and Shape in Biological Systems

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Dr. Donovan German is Associate Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. Donovan received his B.A. in Marine Science from the University of San Diego, his M.S. In Biology from California State University in Fullerton, and his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Florida. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research at UC, Irvine before joining the faculty there in 2011. Donovan’s awards and honors include receipt of the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship, the UCI School of Biological Sciences Dean’s Award for Postdoctoral Excellence, and the UCI School of Biological Sciences Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Fostering Undergraduate Research. In our interview Donovan shares more about his life and science.

[Read more…] about 843: Dr. Donovan German: Breaking Down the Mysteries of Digestion in Animals With Unusual Diets

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Dr. Trudy G. Oliver is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology as well as a Duke Science and Technology Scholar at Duke University. She received her Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Oklahoma Baptist University, and her PhD in cancer biology from Duke University. Afterwards, she conducted postdoctoral research at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and subsequently at MIT. Trudy served on the faculty at the University of Utah for more than a decade before joining the faculty at Duke University where she is today. She has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including the Heine H. Hansen Lectureship Award for Small Cell Lung Cancer from the IASLC World Lung Conference, the William C. Rippe Award for Distinguished Research in Lung Cancer from the Lung Cancer Research Foundation, the Lung Cancer Discovery Award from the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award, the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award, and the Jimmy V Scholar Award from the V Foundation for Cancer Research. In this interview, Trudy shares more about her life and science.

[Read more…] about 842: Dr. Trudy Oliver: Investigating the Biology and Origins of Small Cell Lung Cancer

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Dr. Ian Winship is an Associate Professor and a former Alberta Innovates Health Solutions Scholar in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta. He is also Director of the Neurochemical Research Unit there. Ian received his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in Psychology from the University of Alberta. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of British Columbia before returning to the University of Alberta to join the faculty. In this interview Ian shares more about his life and science.

[Read more…] about 841: Dr. Ian Winship: Investigating How Brain Damage Occurs in Stroke and Developing Therapies to Improve Stroke Recovery

Dr. Ana Spalding is Assistant Professor of Marine and Coastal Policy and Affiliate Faculty at the Pacific Marine Energy Center at Oregon State University. She is also a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama as well as at the Coiba Research Station in Panama. Ana received her B.A. in Economics and International Studies from the University of Richmond, her M.A. in Marine Affairs and Policy from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami, and her Ph.D. in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Afterwards, Ana conducted postdoctoral research at the STRI in Panama before joining the faculty at Oregon State University.

[Read more…] about 840: Dr. Ana Spalding: Investigating Issues at the Intersection of People, Policy, and Marine and Coastal Environments

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Dr. Chin-Cheng “Scotty” Yang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech. He received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees in entomology from National Taiwan University. Scotty served as a Visiting Scientist at the Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology (CMAVE) within the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. He then conducted postdoctoral research in the Biodiversity Research Center at Academia Sinica in Taiwan. Scotty served as a faculty member at National Taiwan University, Kyoto University in Japan, and National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan before joining the faculty at Virginia Tech where he is today. In our interview, Scotty shares more about his life and science.

[Read more…] about 839: Dr. Scotty Yang: Managing Ant Infestations and Invasions and Studying Ant-Pathogen Interactions

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Dr. Jonathan Payne is a Professor and Chair of Geological Sciences at Stanford University. He also holds a courtesy appointment in Biology, is a Member of Stanford’s interdisciplinary biosciences institute Bio-X, and is an Affiliate of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Jonathan received his B.A. in Geosciences from Williams College. Afterwards, he worked as a high school math and science teacher in Switzerland for two years before returning to graduate school. Jonathan was awarded his Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Harvard University, and he conducted postdoctoral research at Pennsylvania State University before joining the faculty at Stanford. Jonathan has received many awards and honors for his work, including the Stanford University Medal for excellence in advising undergraduate research, the Charles Schuchert Award from the Paleontological Society, and a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. He has also been named a Fellow of the Geological Society of America as well as a Fellow of the Paleontological Society. In this podcast interview, Jonathan spoke with us about his experiences in life and science.

[Read more…] about 838: Dr. Jonathan Payne: Examining Interactions Between Changes in Earth’s Environments, Extinction Events, and Evolution of Life

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Dr. Kathryn (Katie) Whitehead is an Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University where she also holds a courtesy appointment in Biomedical Engineering. Katie received her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware and her PhD in chemical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Afterwards, she conducted postdoctoral research in the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. Katie has received numerous awards and honors, including the DARPA Young Faculty Award, the DARPA Director’s Fellowship, the Controlled Release Society Capsugel/Pfizer Oral Drug Delivery Award, the Diabetes Technology Society Peterson Research Award, a UC Graduate Research and Education in Adaptive Biotechnology Fellowship, an NIH Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award Fellowship, the Kun Li Award for Excellence in Education, the Popular Science Brilliant 10 Award, and very recently the 2018 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s New Innovator Award. She has also been named an MIT Technology Review Innovator Under 35 and the 2016 Young Innovator Award from Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE). In our interview, Katie speaks more about her experiences in life and science.

[Read more…] about 837: Dr. Kathryn Whitehead: Developing Novel Nature-Inspired Drug Delivery Systems

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Dr. Heather Lench is Professor in Psychological and Brain Sciences and Senior Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs at Texas A&M University. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Florida State University, her Master’s degree in Experimental Psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy from California State University, Fresno, and her PhD in Social Psychology from the University of California, Irvine. After completing her PhD, Heather joined the faculty at Texas A&M University in 2007. She has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including the American Psychological Association New Investigator Award, the Texas A&M University Faculty Merit Award, and she is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, and the American Psychological Association. In this interview, Heather shares more about her life and science.

[Read more…] about 836: Dr. Heather Lench: Investigating the Impacts of Emotions on Behaviors, Thoughts, and Decisions