STEMpod

Women in STEM share the interesting work they do, but more so the path—however bumpy—that brought them to where they are today. STEMpod is hosted and produced by Sam Jones, PhD, alongside producer Rubén Rodríguez Pérez. Artwork is by Rachel Sibley.

Scicomm: Making science for everyone | STEMpod210 03/09/2021

Scicomm: Making science for everyone | STEMpod210 Niba Nirmal is a multimedia science communicator based in San Francisco, who explores the science in cosmetics, fashion, and skincare through YouTube and Instagram as @NotesByNiba. Prior to this, she researched the genetics of plant stem cells. As a visible and invisible minority, Niba strives to be inclusive of all minority statuses. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/18249443

Never underestimate the power of a pretty fluorescent image | STEMpod209 03/02/2021

Never underestimate the power of a pretty fluorescent image | STEMpod209 Dr. Marina Venero Galanternik is a developmental biologist studying the membranes that encase your brain and spinal cord and protect your nervous system. Marina got her science start "taking care of" earthworms as a young kid in Russia, but really credits a few incredible mentors and 8 months of living in a nunnery for getting her to where she is today. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/18130667

Science can be funny | STEMpod208 02/23/2021

Science can be funny | STEMpod208 Dr. Shannon Odell is a neuroscientist, comedian, and science communicator based in Brooklyn, NY. Shannon shares with us her research studying memory, how she got into stand-up and improv as a graduate student, and how, as a science communicator, she's combining her love of the brain and comedy. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/18050255

Making fashion more sustainable | STEMpod207 02/16/2021

Making fashion more sustainable | STEMpod207 Cindy Cordoba Arroyo is a PhD student at Cornell studying apparel design and sustainability. Her research focuses on what textiles make clothes easier to reuse and recycle, and how we can improve them. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/17960924

Could we stop antibiotic resistance by creating a vaccine? | STEMpod206 02/09/2021

Could we stop antibiotic resistance by creating a vaccine? | STEMpod206 Nina Gao is a PhD candidate in the Biomedical Sciences program at UC San Diego, where she studies infectious disease and how a type of bacteria interacts with its host. Spoiler alert: we’re the host, and it can get kinda gross. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/17873348

Artificial Intelligence is more human than you think | STEMpod205 02/02/2021

Artificial Intelligence is more human than you think | STEMpod205 Jordan Harrod is a PhD Student in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program. Her research focuses on neuroengineering, brain-machine interfaces, and machine learning. Outside of the lab, Jordan talks about artificial intelligence, and the ethics surrounding it, on her YouTube channel. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/17780129

Who said gut microbes aren't cute? | STEMpod204 01/26/2021

Who said gut microbes aren't cute? | STEMpod204 Dr. Ana Maria Porras is a biomedical engineer studying the human gut microbiome and developing biomaterials-based models of disease, to see how good and bad microorganisms regulate our health. She's also an incredible artist, crocheting the microbes she studies and using them to engage with the public in both the US and Latin America. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/17688998

Forensics: the gateway science | STEMpod203 01/19/2021

Forensics: the gateway science | STEMpod203 Dr. Jenifer Smith is the Director of the Department of Forensic Sciences in Washington, DC. Before beginning her position at the DFS Dr. Smith, a PhD chemist, was an FBI Special Agent for over 20 years, and former Chief of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Intelligence Analysis Section. She also led the CIA’s Biological Technology Center and has served on advisory groups focused on microbial forensics. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/17602319

Your brain on "global pandemic" | STEMpod202 01/12/2021

Your brain on "global pandemic" | STEMpod202 Dr. Nicole Allen is a New York City-based psychiatrist who specializes in psychosomatic medicine—an interdisciplinary field of psychiatry focused on the interaction between mental and physical illness. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/17509400

A whole new woooorld (through the eyes of an astrophysicist-folklorist) | STEMpod201 01/05/2021

A whole new woooorld (through the eyes of an astrophysicist-folklorist) | STEMpod201 Moiya McTier is an astrophysicist and folklorist, completing her PhD in astronomy at Columbia University. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/17424509

The apple doesn't fall far... | STEMpod110 10/16/2019

The apple doesn't fall far... | STEMpod110 We wanted to do something different to wrap up this first season, so in this final (bonus) episode I'm chatting with a very special guest who got me hooked on science at a really young age. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/11660483

Braaaaaaains | STEMpod109 10/02/2019

Braaaaaaains | STEMpod109 Meet neuroscientist, and stellar #scicommer, Catie Profaci, a PhD candidate in the Neurosciences program at the University of California, San Diego. Catie studies the blood-brain barrier, a border between your brain and things in your blood that could be toxic to it. Catie's trying to understand its importance in diseases like multiple sclerosis. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/11471483

Tech: not just flip flops and hoodies | STEMpod108 09/25/2019

Tech: not just flip flops and hoodies | STEMpod108 Rakhi Voria is the Director of Global Digital Sales at IBM. We chat about her favorite tech creations, the less conventional way she got to where she is today, and the work she does to help women and less represented groups feel that they also belong in tech. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/11345225

Understanding female agency through...monkey poop? | STEMpod107 09/18/2019

Understanding female agency through...monkey poop? | STEMpod107 Meet Laura Abondano, an anthropology PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin. Laura’s asking some very cool questions about female agency by studying mating behaviors in woolly monkeys. Although much of her thesis work entails picking up and analyzing monkey poop, it also means days spent in the rainforest observing these monkeys, leading to unexpected encounters with some pretty large forest creatures. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/11294927

Tunnels are cool, and other revelations | STEMpod106 09/11/2019

Tunnels are cool, and other revelations | STEMpod106 Ellesse Lunde is an engineer based in Boston. She has a BS in structural engineering from Purdue and a Master’s in civil engineering and construction management from USC. We chat about Ellesse's career aspirations and the current work she does at a large multinational construction company, how her mom and growing up as a competitive swimmer inspired her to push herself academically, and what it was like transitioning from an all-girls high school into a male-dominated field. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/11203694

Once upon a time, you were a single cell | STEMpod105 09/04/2019

Once upon a time, you were a single cell | STEMpod105 Dr. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz is an embryologist based in the UK whose work in early mammal development is truly remarkable. She and her lab are asking questions about how we all started out as a single cell, and their findings have important implications for fertility research. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/11111369

Math is for everyone (seriously, hear me out) | STEMpod104 08/28/2019

Math is for everyone (seriously, hear me out) | STEMpod104 Dr. Rebecca Goldin is a professor of mathematical sciences at George Mason University and the director of the Statistical Assessment Service, a nonprofit organization that aims to improve the use of stats in journalism. I had a chance to chat with Rebecca not only about my childhood fear of math, but her personal journey, why math is more beautiful than most of us think, and why the stereotypes surrounding it are so, so wrong. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/11003489

Baby shark doo doo doo doo doo doo (in real life) | STEMpod103 08/21/2019

Baby shark doo doo doo doo doo doo (in real life) | STEMpod103 Melissa Cristina Márquez is a shark researcher based in Australia. Last year you may have spotted her on an episode of Shark Week, where she and her team searched for a massive hammerhead off the coast of Cuba and she had a scary brush with a crocodile, which of course I asked her about. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/10938386

How the heck did we get here? | STEMpod102 08/14/2019

How the heck did we get here? | STEMpod102 Meet Dr. Jennifer Raff. Jenny is a professor of anthropology at the University of Kansas, studying the DNA of current and ancient peoples to ask questions about how humans have traversed and populated continents over the course of history. Outside of academia, Jenny is a pseudoscience-busting science communicator in the midst of writing a book slated to come out in 2020. On top of all that, Jenny has trained and competed in mixed martial arts, so you know she’s not to be messed with. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/10878999

Welcome to STEMpod | STEMpod101 08/07/2019

Welcome to STEMpod | STEMpod101 How many women in STEM can you name? Let me introduce you to an incredible 8. Every week, enter the life of one of these women as they share what they do, but more so the path--however bumpy--that brought them to where they are today. /episode/index/show/stempod/id/10808177

STEMpod

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