Beyond Lab Walls - Salk Institute

Welcome to Beyond Lab Walls, a podcast from the Salk Institute. Join hosts Isabella Davis and Nicole Mlynaryk on a journey behind the scenes of the renowned research institute in San Diego, California where they will take you inside the lab to hear the latest discoveries in cutting-edge neuroscience, plant biology, cancer, aging, and more. Explore the fascinating world of science while hearing the stories of the brilliant minds behind it.

John Reynolds on how our brains can play tricks on us 06/24/2025

John Reynolds on how our brains can play tricks on us What is my place in the universe? This question began Professor John Reynolds’ introspective and philosophical journey into the world of neuroscience, where he now studies nebulous human feats like perception and consciousness. Reynolds constructs models and tools that allow him to lean into these intangible abilities and, in turn, make scientific sense of how our brains process the world around us. See the transcript for further reading as you listen. /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/37129305

Joseph Swift says we're more like plants than we think 05/28/2025

Joseph Swift says we're more like plants than we think Joseph Swift is a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Joseph Ecker's lab at Salk, but has recently launched his own start-up called CropDiagnostix. Inspired by his parents, Swift has always embraced “crazy” choices—leading him to leave Australia to study plant genomics in New York City then San Diego. In this episode, you’ll hear about everything from the microscopic similarities between plants and humans, to what it’s like road-tripping with a car full of potatoes. /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/36756365

Jeff Jones shares what we can learn from jellyfish about human aging 04/28/2025

Jeff Jones shares what we can learn from jellyfish about human aging Jeff Jones is a staff scientist in the lab of Professor . Jones' journey to science started on a dirt road in Florida and with a slew of questions about cancer. His tinkering hands and inquisitive mind led him to study life's basic building blocks to uncover how, why, and when our cells age—and whether we can prevent age-related dysfunction. /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/36342395

Irene Lopéz Gutiérrez advocates for interdisciplinary Alzheimer’s research 03/25/2025

Irene Lopéz Gutiérrez advocates for interdisciplinary Alzheimer’s research Beginning as a spark stirred by rainy day boredom in Galicia, Spain and encouraged by wanting to understand her grandfather's brain tumor, Irene Lopéz Gutiérrez became a neuroscientist. Now, she's a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Susan Kaech's immunology lab—searching for answers about Alzheimer's disease in the exciting new field of neuroimmunology. /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/35809515

Getting to the root of Alzheimer's 02/24/2025

Getting to the root of Alzheimer's Things are changing in Alzheimer's research. We've got new tools and new ideas, and we want you to know about them. To kick off Salk’s “Year of Alzheimer’s,” hear how our scientists are bringing us closer to a more modern and personalized landscape of Alzheimer's diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/35412505

Kay Watt is harnessing plants to save the planet 12/11/2024

Kay Watt is harnessing plants to save the planet Kay Watt was not a scientist when she arrived in the remote jungles of Panama, assigned to help coffee farmers protect their plants from environmental harm. When she returned from the Peace Corps, she’d learned that driving change was a science in and of itself. Hear how the experience motivated Kay to become a plant geneticist and program manager, supporting the fight against climate change through Salk’s . /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/34404775

Daniel Hollern on B cells and breast cancer 10/10/2024

Daniel Hollern on B cells and breast cancer "What are the things that cause cancer in people? Can we prevent cancer?" These are the questions Assistant Professor is asking in his research at Salk. From blending spices and vinegar on his kitchen floor growing up in Michigan to blending computational biology and immunology on the lab bench in San Diego, learn about Hollern's life and scientific journey in this episode of "Beyond Lab Walls." /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/33401327

Lara Labarta-Bajo explains how infections affect your brain 09/10/2024

Lara Labarta-Bajo explains how infections affect your brain How can an infection in your lungs have such a lasting effect on your brain? Lara Labarta-Bajo, a postdoctoral researcher in Associate Professor 's lab, studies how the immune system and the brain communicate with each other. Her latest findings reveal a surprising relationship between infections, brain aging, and mobility. /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/32999217

Jesse Dixon talks DNA loops and six-toed cats 08/10/2024

Jesse Dixon talks DNA loops and six-toed cats Did you know each of your cells contains a six-foot-long strand of DNA? In a miraculous feat of molecular origami, your genome can fold itself into a tightly packed structure that fits into the tiny space of a cell’s nucleus. Hear how Assistant Professor combines his scientific and medical training to unravel the rules of DNA folding and explain how a single misplaced bend or loop can lead to diseases like cancer. /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/32527247

Jake Minich looks to the sea to solve food scarcity on land 05/30/2024

Jake Minich looks to the sea to solve food scarcity on land Jake Minich is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Research Professor . Minich had a long and winding journey to Salk, crossing continents and oceans to land in sunny San Diego studying microbial ecology. Combining his childhood joy of fishing and a passion for community, Minich is working to alleviate or prevent the burden of undernutrition in low- and middle-income countries. /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/31523672

Laura Mainz on stopping cancer before it starts 04/17/2024

Laura Mainz on stopping cancer before it starts Laura Mainz is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Professor . Always curious about the human body, her father's cancer diagnosis inspired a career in cancer biology. In this episode, we learn about Mainz's journey from Germany to California, the science of stopping cancer before it starts, and how researchers cope with such emotionally draining lab work. /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/30855793

Pamela Maher lets us in on plants’ medicinal secrets 03/15/2024

Pamela Maher lets us in on plants’ medicinal secrets In the first year of her new life attending university in Montréal, Research Professor made a fateful switch from political science to the biological sciences. On this episode of Beyond Lab Walls, Maher recounts how the science major girl-next-dorm inspired her flourishing career studying age-related neurodegeneration and diseases like Alzheimer’s—and how we could potentially treat them with plant derivatives. /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/30384413

Talmo Pereira is using AI to understand movement 02/26/2024

Talmo Pereira is using AI to understand movement Salk Fellow <a href="https://www.salk.edu/scientist/talmo-pereira">Talmo Pereira</a> first learned to code in his hometown in Brazil as a way to improve his video gaming. His lab now uses artificial intelligence (AI) to track complex motion in video data. Hear how he’s using these tools to study how the brain coordinates body movements to produce complex behaviors, how plant root systems sequester carbon, and how humans and animals behave during health and disease. /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/30068968

Natanella Illouz-Eliaz explores how plants survive droughts 01/30/2024

Natanella Illouz-Eliaz explores how plants survive droughts Natanella Illouz-Eliaz is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Professor . A plant biologist by training, she studies how plants recover from drought conditions. On this episode of Beyond Lab Walls, Illouz-Eliaz recounts how her life plan went from business to biology—all because of a tomato field. /episode/index/show/f6581ef4-4950-4497-9ce2-674af8984163/id/29715793

Beyond Lab Walls - Salk Institute

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