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In this episode, we’re hearing from Dr. Gonzalo Giribet, who is a Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and the Curator of Invertebrates and Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Gonzalo received his bachelor’s degree and his PhD from the University of Barcelona, then did his postdoc at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. While there, his postdoc advisor convinced him to apply for a faculty position at Harvard, which he got, and he has been at Harvard ever since. Gonzalo was an early adopter of the idea of molecular phylogenetics, which he has used to help clarify our understanding of the invertebrate tree of life.
In this episode, we chat about:
What a postdoc at a museum is like and the types of research you can do at a museumWhat a science museum curator does (and doesn’t do)Underrated invertebrates, including velvet wormsHow studying rare animals has enabled Gonzalo to travel the worldGonzalo’s vision for the future of Harvard’s Museum of Comparative ZoologySome of the pros and cons of studying non-model organismsThe value of being disciplined with how you use your timeFinding a project you’re really passionate aboutWindsurfing!Get in touch with Steph:
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In today’s episode we’re talking to Dr. Paula Welander, an Associate Professor in the Earth Systems Science Department at Stanford University. Although she is now a tenured professor at Stanford, this certainly wasn’t the plan from the start. Paula’s parents immigrated from Mexico in the hopes of giving their family a better life, and they really encouraged her to go to college and to pursue one of two careers, medicine or law. So Paula went to Occidental College with medicine in mind, however that path shifted when she worked in a microbiology lab and realized that research like that could actually be a career. Paula has been working with microbes more or less ever since (although with a short hiatus that we talk about in the episode). After getting her undergrad at Occidental College, Paula worked for a few years (this is where the non-microbial work comes in) and then got her PhD in microbiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with Bill Metcalf. She then did a postdoc at MIT, where she was co-advised by Dianne Newman (who later moved to CalTech) and Roger Summons. After going through three cycles of faculty applications during her postdoc, Paula got her current position at Stanford Earth, where she studies geologically relevant microbes.
Some of the things we cover in this episode:
How can you use molecular biology and microbiology to understand geology and the earth’s history?What are archaea?The two body problem (aka having a partner who is also an academic)Having kids in grad schoolSome pros and cons of taking time off after undergradHow to come up with good questionsPracticing for faculty interviews The best and worst parts of Paula’s PhDThe excitement of adding new knowledge to the worldGet in touch with Paula:
TwitterWelander Lab Websiteemail: [email protected]Get in touch with Steph:
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In this week’s episode, we’re hearing from Dr. Rebecca Shaw, the Chief Scientist at the World Wildlife Fund. Rebecca received her MA in environmental policy and her PhD in energy and resources from UC Berkeley. After finishing her PhD, Rebecca did a postdoc at the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford, and then worked at the Nature Conservancy and the Environmental Defense Fund before moving to her current role at WWF.
Some of the things we talk about in this episode include:
Rebecca’s decision to turn down a faculty position and instead pursue a career that enabled her to combine her interests in climate change science and non-profit work How PhD training equips you to be successful at all sorts of other careersWhat gives Rebecca hope when it comes to climate change (including the wonderful poem Earthrise by Amanda Gorman)Rebecca’s advice for women in scienceWhy staying positive has been a key part of what has made Rebecca successful, and how she takes care of herself to be able to stay positiveThe importance of constantly improving both your hard skills and your soft skillsGet in touch with Rebecca:
LinkedInTwitterGet in touch with Steph:
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In this bonus episode, Steph shares some tips for grad school interviews. This episode is broken down into advice for before, during, and after the interviews.
Here are some additional resources that were mentioned in the show:
Template for thank you note to faculty:
Hi Dr. (NAME),
It was so great to meet you on Friday. Thanks for taking the time to talk with me and discuss your research and what life in (LOCATION) is like. I think being able to work with yourself and Dr. (NAME) would be a really great way to explore all of my research interests and I'm excited about the prospect of exploring (RESEARCH INTERESTS). I had a great time at my visit and I could definitely see myself at (SCHOOL).
Please let me know if you need anything else from me moving forward, otherwise, thanks again!
Template for email to faculty when you’re turning down admission:
Hi Dr. (NAME),
Thank you so much for your consideration and for this extremely generous offer of admission. However, I'm writing to let you know that I have decided to pursue my graduate education at (SCHOOL) and therefore, unfortunately I will not be attending (SCHOOL)
This was certainly a very difficult decision for me, but I wanted to let you know as soon as possible so that you can make decisions regarding other applicants.
Other resources:
Advice from Letters to Young Scientists
LTYS Grad School Interview Questions Extended List
Interviewing Tips & Advice for STEM Graduate Programs from Cientifico Latino
Get in touch with Steph:
TwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
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In this episode, we’re talking with Nixon Arauz, who is a PhD Student in Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Nixon’s personal experiences have shown him how important things like housing, education, and local politics are for health and wellbeing and has prompted him to become a passionate advocate for improving social determinants of health through his research. Nixon got his bachelor’s degree from Cornell, and a Master’s degree from Columbia. After this he worked at the Office of Health Equity within the Division of STD Prevention at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. While working there, Nixon realized he wanted to hone his technical skills, and so returned to school to get his PhD, where he is now researching HPV-related cancers and beliefs about the HPV vaccines in Hispanic/Latino populations in the US.
Some of the topics we discuss in this episode include:
The nitty-gritty of what a PhD in health policy looks likeNixon's approach to community-engaged researchHow relationships can help foster community resilience ORISE FellowshipThe National Academies of Science Mirzayan FellowshipThe value of being able to unlearn thingsHow to find the silver linings of being told noGet in touch with Nixon:
TwitterGet in touch with Steph:
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Dr. Jorge Ramos is the Associate Director for Environmental Education at the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve of Stanford University. Jorge earned a Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Texas at El Paso and a Master of Science degree at the University of Washington. He then completed his PhD at Arizona State University where he studied biogeochemical cycling in wetland ecosystems. After his PhD, Jorge worked for the non-profit Conservation International, where he developed and managed coastal ecosystem conservation projects around the world. Jorge now combines his scientific expertise with his teaching and communication skills in his current job at Jasper Ridge.
Some of the things we talk about in this episode include:
The Ecological Society of America’s SEEDS program (Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability)The difference between mentors and advisorsHow being in academia can bias our idea of what types of jobs are availableWorking as a scientist in a non-profit, including:How to engage communities in conservation workAttending the UN Climate Change Conference The benefits of teaching and learning in outdoor spacesHow frequently checking in with a community that reflects your values can help you figure out what you want to do in lifeThe importance of writing a lotGet in touch with Jorge:
Email: [email protected]Get in touch with Steph:
TwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
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Dr. Shane Campbell-Staton is an Assistant Professor in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at Princeton University. Shane’s research looks at how human actions contribute to contemporary evolution of animals, including elephants, wolves, alligators, and anoles. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester, his PhD from Harvard University, and did his post-doctoral training at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne and the University of Montana. Shane got his first faculty position at UCLA, and recently moved to a new faculty position at Princeton.
Some of the things we talk about in this episode:
how science and nature documentaries and TV shows fostered Shane’s interest in science as a kid (which has come full circle, as Shane is now involved in making science and nature TV shows and documentaries himself)why it’s important to fund basic science to help find solutions to problems in unexpected placesthe responsibility of scientists to communicate science to the publicthe value of storytelling in sciencewhy feeling like we don’t know what we’re doing can actually be a good signhow tardigrades could make good superheroesGet in touch with Shane and check out the research in his lab:
Shane’s TwitterCampbell-Staton Lab WebsiteBiology of Superheroes PodcastBiology of Superheroes TwitterCheck out Shane’s latest paper on the evolution of tusklessness in elephants (get in touch if you want a PDF):
Ivory poaching and the rapid evolution of tusklessness in African elephants (Science 2021)Get in touch with Steph:
TwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
TwitterFacebookEmail: [email protected]: rootstostempodcast.com -
This week on the podcast we are hearing from our first post-doc, Bryan Juarez. Bryan is a fellow amphibian-loving scientist who received his bachelors degree from UC Santa Barbara, his masters degree from the University of Michigan, and most recently his PhD from Iowa State University. After finishing his PhD, Bryan started a postdoc at Stanford University where he is co-mentored by Lauren O’Connell and Liz Hadley.
I knew I really wanted to have Bryan on the podcast when I heard about his thesis defense, which he held in both English and Spanish so that his parents – who he calls the heroes of his story – would feel included and could better understand his talk. I think this story is very emblematic of how Bryan thinks about inclusion and diversity in science more broadly. Bryan and I talk quite a bit in this interview about how important it is to understand the huge range of backgrounds that people are coming from when they’re entering into science, and how that may impact the way they think about themselves as scientists and how they may be perceived by the scientific community.
Get in touch with Bryan:
TwitterWebsiteEmail: [email protected]PLOS One Paper Bryan referenced: Postdocs’ advice on pursuing a research career in academia: A qualitative analysis of free-text survey responses
Get in touch with Steph:
TwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
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Dr. Lauren O’Connell is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Stanford University. She received an associates degree from Tarrant County Community College before transferring to Cornell University where she received her bachelors degree. Lauren then completed her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin and after that she went to Harvard where she was a Bauer Fellow. This program is a post-doctoral fellowship that funds independent research for five years and prepares post-docs to run their future labs. Lauren is now an assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Stanford University and the principal investigator of the Laboratory for Organismal Biology at Stanford University.
In this episode, we discuss Lauren’s path to becoming a professor, some of the difficulties that community college students face when trying to get involved in research and STEM fields, what good mentorship looks like, the importance of having a life outside of work, and so much more.
Get in touch with Lauren and check out the research in LOBSU (Laboratory of Organismal Biology at Stanford University):
Lauren’s TwitterLOBSU TwitterLab Website: https://oconnell.stanford.edu/LOBSU YouTube ChannelGet in touch with Steph:
TwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
Email: [email protected]: rootstostempodcast.com -
We’re back for season 2! For our first episode of the season, we’re hearing from Dr. Michael Snyder. He is the Stanford Ascherman Professor and Chair of Genetics and the Director of the Center of Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford University. Mike received his Ph.D. training at the California Institute of Technology and carried out postdoctoral training at Stanford University. He is a leader in the field of functional genomics and multiomics. His lab was the first to perform a large-scale functional genomics project in any organism, and has developed many technologies in genomics and proteomics. He launched the field of personalized medicine by combining different state-of–the-art “omics” technologies to perform the first longitudinal detailed integrative personal omics profile (iPOP) of a person, and his laboratory pioneered the use of wearables technologies (smart watches and continuous glucose monitoring) for precision health. He is a cofounder of many biotechnology companies, including Personalis, SensOmics, Qbio, January, Protos, Oralome, Mirvie and Filtricine.
In this episode, we talk about how Mike got started doing research, why he transitioned to doing more translational research, what some of the differences are between working in academia, start-ups, and pharma, and how the skills you learn as a scientist can be helpful no matter what career you choose.
Get in touch with Mike and the Snyder Lab research:
TwitterLab Website: https://med.stanford.edu/snyderlab.htmlEnroll in the COVID wearables studyEnroll in other Snyder Lab studiesGet in touch with Steph:
InstagramTwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
Email: [email protected]: rootstostempodcast.com -
“Try a bunch of stuff, and see which avenue you like the best.“
Priscilla San Juan is a PhD candidate in Tad Fukami’s lab in the Biology Department at Stanford University. Priscilla is interested in the gut microbiome of wildlife and the impact that human activity is having on those microbial communities and the health of the animal host. She has had an appreciation of nature since she was young, but was unsure what career she should pursue since her interests were so varied. She explored the different topics and opportunities available at her community college and soon realized how fascinated she was with environmental science, the specialty she eventually pursued at UC Irvine. She has continued to explore the different facets of biology, from antibiotic resistance in environmental microbes to her current work in New Zealand where she is exploring the effects of captivity on the native kiwi’s microbiome and health.
Some of things we talk about in this episode include the value of testing out different types of research so that you can find something that you really like, and the huge impact that having a support network of peers and mentors can have on battling feelings of imposter syndrome that underrepresented minorities in STEM may feel.
Mentioned in the episode:
https://pathwaystoscience.org/NSF Research Experiences for UndergraduatesSACNASABRCMSGet in touch with Priscilla:
TwitterEmail: [email protected]: https://psanjuan.github.io/Get in touch with Steph:
InstagramTwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
Email: [email protected]: rootstostempodcast.com -
“I can’t count on validation to come from someone else, it has to come from myself.”
Nia Walker is a fourth year PhD candidate in Steve Palumbi’s lab at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station. Nia has been interested in marine science since doing a fourth grade squid dissection. Nia’s love of marine science continued on through college and a gap year working at the Maritime Aquarium in Connecticut, and now she studies stress tolerance in corals in Palau.
Some of things we talk about in this episode include how to identify a good mentorship network, the importance of prioritizing your own well-being, how being the first Black graduate student at Hopkins has influenced Nia’s experiences in grad school, and how creating one’s own definition of success can help us not compare ourselves to others as much, and thereby lead to greater satisfaction and more happiness.
Get in touch with Nia:
TwitterEmail: [email protected]Get in touch with Steph:
InstagramTwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
Email: [email protected]: rootstostempodcast.com -
“You are your own most important advocate – you’ve got to be on your own team.”
Rebecca Hwang is an electrical engineer working at Anello Photonics. Rebecca started at Stanford as an electrical engineering PhD student, but isn’t totally sure that a PhD is for her, which is something we talk about quite a bit in this episode. She got her masters and is currently taking a break from Stanford to get some experience working in industry and spend some time thinking about whether she wants to come back to finish her PhD.
In this episode we talk about how grad school isn’t all just about the research – you learn lots of soft skills along the way too. We also talk about how to reframe your perspective when facing tough situations and the fact that you can do anything you want as long as you’re willing to fail and get back up again.
For anyone out there wondering whether a PhD is for you, this episode will be especially useful as Rebecca is thinking through a lot of those things herself.
Get in touch with Rebecca:
InstagramGet in touch with Steph:
InstagramTwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
Email: [email protected]: rootstostempodcast.com -
“Start early, pick your friends wisely, [and] identify mentors.”
Chris Perez is a fourth year graduate student in the NanoHeat Lab (PI Kenneth Goodson) in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Stanford University. Chris started his engineering journey many years ago, helping his dad fix things around the house, and when he realized he might want to pursue something like this as a career, he went to community college to take some classes to become an auto technician. While there, his professors saw all sorts of promise in him and encouraged him to go to UCLA for his bachelor’s degree. Chris excelled at UCLA as well, and was encouraged by his undergraduate research PI to pursue graduate school. Chris eventually made his way to Stanford, where he now studies nanoscale heat transfer. In this episode, we talk about the importance of community, the value of good mentorship, and how it’s super necessary to have some good self care practices in place as a PhD student.
Get in touch with Chris:
Email: [email protected]Get in touch with Steph:
InstagramTwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
Email: [email protected]: rootstostempodcast.comListen and Subscribe:
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“Science is awesome, but life comes first.”
Aurora Alvarez-Buylla is a fourth year graduate student in the Laboratory of Organismal Biology at Stanford University, studying how poison frogs take up toxins from their diet to become toxic themselves. In this episode, we talk with Aurora about how she transitioned from wanting to be an astronomer as a kid, to doing computer science in college at MIT, to eventually finding her way to pursuing a biology PhD at Stanford. We talk about how to figure out the difference between not liking something because you aren’t good at it and not liking something because you truly don’t enjoy it. Aurora is really passionate about using community building in order to make all students in her department feel welcomed and included, and in this episode she shares some of her unique insights into identity, inclusion, and diversity.
Mentioned in the episode:
Aurora is an HHMI Gilliam Fellow! Find out more about that here.Get in touch with Aurora:
TwitterGet in touch with Steph:
InstagramTwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
Email: [email protected]: rootstostempodcast.comListen and subscribe:
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“This gives you a unique perspective as a scientist that’s actually really important…it’s not you overcoming these challenges, but more like you make science better.”
Billie Goolsby is a second year graduate student in the Laboratory of Organismal Biology at Stanford University, studying how poison frogs co-parent their offspring. Before going to college, Billie knew she enjoyed the open-ended question asking that science allowed, but wasn’t sure exactly what being a scientist looked like. In college, Billie participated in the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program at Boston University and through that, found a lab studying neuroethology in ants. Billie’s love of understanding animal sociality and the neuroscience behind it has led her to where she is now, studying neuroethology in poison frogs. Billie is hard of hearing, and in this episode we talk about how this has impacted her experiences as a scientist, as well as how we can make science more inclusive and welcoming for people of all abilities. We also talk more broadly about how to talk about disability, and how to be a good advocate and ally for others.
Mentioned in the episode:
American Sign Language for STEMVisual Language and Visual Learning Center at GallaudetResearch labs at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at RITDeaf x LabGet in touch with Billie:
TwitterGet in touch with Steph:
InstagramTwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
Email: [email protected]: rootstostempodcast.comListen and Subscribe:
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“This was actually the second time I was going abroad for more than a week – the first time was that three month internship, the second time was interviews, which was a week long, and then the third time is living abroad for my PhD for 4, 5, 6 years.”
Eduardo Tassoni is a third year graduate student in the biology department at Stanford University, studying cellular stress mechanisms in Onn Brandman’s lab in the biochemistry department. Eduardo is from São Paulo, Brazil, and in this episode we talk about how this has influenced his trajectory as a scientist, and how being an international student impacts his experiences as a grad student in the US. Eduardo tells us about how difficult it can be to live so far away from family and friends, especially during this time of COVID-19, when there is lots of uncertainty about when he’ll be able to travel home again. Even with challenges like these, Eduardo encourages all international students who want to come to the US for grad school to apply, and to not feel like it is outside the realm of possibility. We also talk about how Eduardo got started doing research in his undergrad, and how simply being bold and asking for what he wanted has opened up lots of opportunities for him, including the internship that would ultimately start his journey to Stanford.
Get in touch with Eduardo:
TwitterEmail: [email protected]Get in touch with Steph:
InstagramTwitterGet in touch with the podcast:
Email: [email protected]: rootstostempodcast.comListen and subscribe:
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“Therapy is a tool that I use that actually helps me both feel better and excel at my work.”
Nora Moskowitz is a third year PhD candidate in the Laboratory of Organismal Biology at Stanford University, where she studies dietary preference in poison frogs. Nora is a huge proponent of mental wellbeing both in her department and in her lab, so in addition to hearing Nora’s story into science, we also spend a lot of this episode talking about mental health. Nora tells us about her experiences with mental health in grad school, including having to leave a field season early in order to prioritize her mental health. In this episode, Nora gives us a lot of really practical advice for how to maintain mental wellbeing in grad school, along with some recommendations that Principal Investigators (PIs) could implement in order to help their students.
Get in touch with Nora:
InstagramTwitterEmail: [email protected]Get in touch with Steph:
InstagramTwitterGet in touch with us:
Email: [email protected]: rootstostempodcast.comListen and subscribe:
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“I think the other lesson I learned was that science needs good storytelling as part of it.”
Daniel Shaykevich is a third year graduate student in the biology department at Stanford University and a talented filmmaker who incorporates science into his art and art into his science. Daniel tells us about how he has gotten from his early stages of experimenting with plants in his bathtub to where he is now, studying the neurobiology of spatial navigation in cane toads as a PhD candidate at Stanford. He has had lots of fun along the way, including an internship at a Hollywood production company and lots of close encounters with all sorts of wildlife in the tropical rainforests of Ecuador and French Guiana. This conversation with Daniel reminds us all to take advantage of the tools and resources right around us to accomplish our goals, whether those goals are conducting experiments, making films, or anything else.
Mentioned in the episode:
Science SketchesFollow Daniel:
Twitter @dshakey18Instagram @dshakey96LOBSU YouTube ChannelContact us:
[email protected]Follow Steph:
Twitter @stephaniecatyInstagram @sciencestephanieListen and Subscribe:
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“It doesn’t matter what your background is or who your parents are or what the color of your skin is, you can do whatever it is you want to do.”
Magdalena (Maggie) Warren is a third year PhD student in the biology department at Stanford University, and also the co-host of this podcast! Maggie tells us the story of how she went from being a straight-A student in high school to failing classes in college, taking a few years off and working, then going back to school and getting her degree from Cal State Dominguez Hills. Now Maggie is at Stanford, studying the microbiota of honey bees as a graduate student in Tad Fukami’s lab. In this episode, Maggie talks about situations where she has been discouraged from pursuing her goals and the mentality that she has that helps her carry on despite those obstacles. We also discuss the importance of having mentors and advocates to help us advance in our educations and careers. Maggie is so full of amazing advice, so prepare for an episode full of inspiration and motivation.
Mentioned in the episode:
SACNASResearch Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)Contact us:
[email protected]Contact Maggie:
[email protected]Follow Steph:
Twitter @stephaniecatyInstagram @sciencestephanieListen and Subscribe
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