The Symbiotic Podcast
The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
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Evolution is about more than survival of the fittest. It's also about the survival of the most cooperative. Join us as we explore the collaborative side of life sciences research and work to consciously evolve science itself. This podcast is a production of Penn State University's Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. Watch the video versions, complete with cool animations at www.thesymbioticpodcast.com
Available episodes
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Oct 13, 2022
Changing the Game in Stem Cell Engineering: Xiaojun (Lance) Lian
*The field of stem cell research has progressed immensely since its high-profile politicization in the early 2000s, with researchers now able to harvest cells from uncontroversial sources and manipulate them with ever-increasing accuracy and efficiency. Associate Professor of Biology and Biomedical Engineering Lance Lian talks about his key role in advancing our understanding and mastery of stem cells and the incredible medical applications they promise.*
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Jul 7, 2022
Changing the Game in Epigenetics: Sally Mackenzie
Sally Mackenzie is one of the world’s foremost experts on epigenetics, the study of how environmental changes affect the way genes are expressed. In this conversation we cover an epigenetic techniques she’s patented, the biotech company she founded, and the potential role that epigenetics could play in human health.
*Relevant Links*
* Mackenzie Laboratory Website
* Epicrop Technologies Inc.
* Trailblazers: Sally Mackenzie’s Vision for the Future of Plants
*Featured Guest*
* Sally Mackenzie
Director of the Plant Institute; Huck Chair of Functional Genomics; Professor of Biology and of Plant Science
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May 12, 2022
Changing the Game in Ancient DNA Research: Laura Weyrich
Laura Weyrich leads efforts to better understand the impact of diet on the communities of microorganisms residing in our mouths, and their influence on human health. In this livestreamed conversation, she talks about her work with Neanderthal teeth, the ethics of dealing with human remains, and shifts in human activity that have changed the makeup of our microbiomes.
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Relevant Links*
* MicroARCH Lab Website
* "The woman who loves the gunk on Neanderthal teeth." Cosmos Magazine, December 14, 2017
* Laura S. Weyrich Google Scholar Profile
*Featured Guest*
* Laura Weyrich
Associate Professor of Anthropology
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Apr 6, 2022
Changing the Game in Global Pediatrics: Dr. Steven Schiff
Dr. Steven Schiff has spent much of his career fighting the scourge of infant infection, especially in low and middle-income countries with minimal healthcare infrastructure. In this livestreamed conversation, he explains the difficulties of working in places like Mbale, Uganda and Hanoi, Vietnam; shares hard-won victories in treatment and prevention; and forecasts future possibilities.
*Relevant Links:*
* Steven J. Schiff, MD, PhD — Engineering Science and Mechanics Wiki Page
*Featured Guest:*
* Dr. Steven Schiff
Director of the Center for Neural Engineering; Brush Chair Professor of Engineering; Professor of Neurosurgery; Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics
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Mar 7, 2022
Changing the Game in Epidemiology: Nita Bharti
Nita Bharti is an expert on the interplay of population movement and disease and a pioneer in the use of unorthodox data sources to better inform public health decisions. In this livestreamed conversation, she shares her open-minded, intellectually curious approach to epidemiology on multiple continents, working with people, animals, and spillover events between the two.
*Relevant Links*
* The Bharti Lab of Human Infectious Diseases
* Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
*Featured Guest*
* Nita Bharti
Huck Early Career Professor; Assistant Professor of Biology
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Feb 4, 2022
Changing the Game in Food Security: David Hughes
David Hughes has won a number of accolades, both from the academic world and in the mainstream media, for his work with PlantVillage. In this livestreamed opening episode of season three, Hughes talks about the factors in his life and career that have made him so effective and iconoclastic.
*Relevant Links*
* PlantVillage
* Donate to PlantVillage
* Fast Company: How one scientist is saving crops around the world via AI-enabled apps
* David Hughes makes Newsweek’s inaugural list of 'America’s Greatest Disruptors'
* Penn State awarded nearly $39M for global research on threats to crops
*Featured Guest*
* David Hughes
Huck Chair in Global Food Security; Professor of Entomology and Biology
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Nov 19, 2020
How much do we know about the origins of SARS-CoV-2?
On November 11, 2020, we hosted three members of Penn State’s Center for Disease Dynamics, all of whom all of them are deeply involved in ongoing international efforts to piece together a bigger picture of how and why new viruses like SARVS-CoV-2 emerge and spill over from other species to our own.
*Related Links:*
* “How We Know The Coronavirus Wasn’t Made In A Lab” (Science Insider video)
* Researchers identify evolutionary origins of SARS-CoV-2
* Boni Lab
* RISK Lab (Sagan Friant’s)
* Peter Hudson’s Google Scholar page
* Penn State’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
*Guests: *
* *Maciej Boni* is an Associate Professor of Biology at Penn State. He analyzes the epidemiology and evolution of both human and avian influenza, and evaluates strategies to treat and prevent diseases, particularly in southern Vietnam.
* *Sagan Friant* is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Penn State. Her works focuses on the evolutionary anthropology of human health, disease ecology, nutrition, socio-ecological systems, and bushmeat hunting, through field research in Nigeria.
* * Peter Hudson* is Willaman Professor of Biology at Penn State, and former director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. Much of Hudson’s work has implications for the control of wildlife diseases and emerging zoonotic disease across the globe.
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Nov 2, 2020
Inside Penn State’s COVID-19 Response
On October 26, 2020, we teamed up with the hosts of the Podward State podcast to interview two members of Penn State’s coronavirus task force. Both have spent countless hours since that start of the pandemic doing all they can to help protect students, faculty, staff, and local community members in an ever-changing, endlessly challenging, and highly contentious environment.
*Relevant Links:*
* Penn State COVID-19 Dashboard
* Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
* Hershey Medical Center
* Podward State
*Guests:*
* *Catharine Paules, MD* - Practicing physician in the infectious disease department, Penn State Hershey Medical Center
* *Andrew Read* - Director of Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and former Director of Huck’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
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Oct 20, 2020
Collecting COVID-19 Data for Action
On October 19, 2020, we teamed up with the hosts of Podward State – a Penn State student-produced podcast, to interview researchers working on a profoundly collaborative project designed to measure multiple impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on residents and students in Centre County, PA.
*Relevant Links:*
* *Data 4 Action sign-up page** *
* * Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences** *
* * Social Science Research Institute*
* *Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute** *
* *Podward State** *
*Guests:*
* *Meg Small *- Research Associate in the Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State and Director of the Health and Human Development Design for Innovation Lab
* * Connie Rogers* - Associate Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State and Associate Director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
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Oct 5, 2020
Can Lasers Speed Up Coronavirus Detection?
On August 20, 2020, we spoke to an interdisciplinary team of scientists collaborating at the intersection of physics, engineering, materials science, epidemiology, and information technology. Their work holds the promise of new rapid identification diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses through enhanced Raman spectroscopy.
*Relevant Links: *
* Understanding Virus Evolution Through Deep Raman Spectroscopy
* NSF Convergence Grant to Study Virus Evolution
* Lasers Could Speed Up Coronavirus Diagnostics
* Seed-Funded Coronavirus Research at Penn State
*Guests:*
* *Maricio Terrones* - Verne M. Willaman Professor of Physics and Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State
* *Elodie Ghedin* - Professor of Epidemiology at NYU’s School of Global Public Health
* *Tim Yeh* - Assistant research professor of Physics at Penn State
* *Shengxi Huang* - Assistant professor of electrical engineering and biomedical engineering at Penn State
* *Sharon Huang* - Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State
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Sep 8, 2020
Evolving Through Our Meta-Crisis (PART 2)
On June 8, 2020, we spoke to Riane Eisler and David Loye, two veteran systems scientists who have collaborated for more than 40 years as both researchers and marriage partners. In this wrap-up of a 2-part conversation, we explore the promise of partnership and perils of domination on the road to conscious social evolution.
*Relevant Links:*
* DavidLoye.com
* Rediscovering Darwin by David Loye
* Complete List of Books on Darwin by David Loye
* RianeEisler.com
* The Chalice & the Blade by Riane Eisler
* Nurturing Our Humanity by Riane Eisler and Douglas P. Fry
* What are Social Wealth Economic Indicators?
* The Social Wealth Index
*Guests:*
* *Riane Eisler
*Systems Scientist, Cultural Historian, Attorney, Social Activist, Author
* *David Loye*
Psychologist, Evolutionary Systems Scientist, Author
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Aug 12, 2020
Evolving Through Our Meta-Crisis (PART 1)
On June 8, 2020, we spoke to Riane Eisler and David Loye, two veteran systems scientists who have collaborated for more than 40 years as both researchers and marriage partners. In this first of a 2-part conversation, we unpack lost insights of Darwin and explore the basics of cultural transformation theory as a tool to evolve society.
*Relevant Links:*
* DavidLoye.com
* Rediscovering Darwin by David Loye
* Complete List of Books on Darwin by David Loye
* RianeEisler.com
* The Chalice & the Blade by Riane Eisler
* Nurturing Our Humanity by Riane Eisler and Douglas P. Fry
* What are Social Wealth Economic Indicators?
* The Social Wealth Index
*Guests:*
* *Riane Eisler
*Systems Scientist, Cultural Historian, Attorney, Social Activist, Author
* *David Loye*
Psychologist, Evolutionary Systems Scientist, Author
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Jul 23, 2020
Cryo-Electron Microscopy and the Resolution Revolution
In this episode, recorded in-person on February 4, 2020, we talked to a team of Penn State researchers and about the stunning advancements made in recent years in the field of electron microscopy.
Up for discussion was a short history of electron microscopy, including how the addition of cryogenics has enabled new materials and structures to be imaged, and how breakthroughs in certain scientific fields have enabled advances in some very different disciplines. We also talked about how Penn State has robustly supported the development of cryo-EM and leveraged its advantage to create a world-class instrumentation facility.
*Relevant Links:*
* Kelly Lab
* Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility at Penn State
*Guests:*
* *Deb Kelly* is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Center for Structural Oncology at Penn State. Her research involves the innovative use of cryoelectron microscopy and in situ transmission electron microscopy to deeply investigate the tiniest of bi…
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Jul 8, 2020
Global Effects of Health Messaging on Perceptions, Anxieties & Behaviors
Aiming to better understand the efficacy of public health messaging in a pandemic, a team of Penn State researchers designed and deployed an unusually open-ended survey that has been translated into 23 languages and reached more than 73 countries. This episode recorded via Zoom on May 20, 2020.
*Relevant Links:*
* Penn State College of Medicine COVID-19 Survey
* The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)
* CDC Coronavirus Resources
*Guests:*
* *Robert P. Lennon, MD, JD *– Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine; Associate Professor, Penn State Law
* *Lauren J. Van Scoy, MD* – Associate Professor, Department of Medicine Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine; Associate Professor, Department of Humanities; Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences
* *Cletis Earle, MS, CHCIO* – Chief Information Officer, Penn State Health
* *Russell Branzell, CHCIO, FCHIME, FACHE, FHIMSS* – Chief…
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Jun 24, 2020
Open-Source PPE Manufacturing and Sterilization
In this episode, recorded via Zoom on May 11, 2020, we talked to Penn State personnel about their involvement with the Manufacturing and Sterilization for COVID-19 Project, or MASC. We discussed how University staff and researchers used their resources and expertise to produce and extend the effective life of personal protection equipment needed by medical providers during the pandemic.
*Relevant Links*
* Manufacturing and Sterilization for COVID-19 (MASC) Initiative
* MedRxiv
* BioRxiv
* Prusa Face Shield
* Eva J. Pell ABSL3 Laboratory for Advanced Biological Research
* CDC: Recognizing the Biosafety Levels
* N95DECON.org
* Netflix Docuseries Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak
*Guests:*
* *Moriah Szpara *– Associate Professor of Biology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology
* *Timothy Simpson* – Paul Morrow Professor in Engineering Design and Manufacturing
* *Melissa James* – Facilities Coordinator, Eva J. Pell Laboratory for Advanced Biological Resear…
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May 22, 2020
Research, Policy, and Democracy in the Age of COVID-19
For this special collaborative episode recorded via Zoom on May 6, 2020, we partnered with the Democracy Works podcast to explore the dynamic and sometimes tense relationship between peer-reviewed scientific research and public policy decision-making. And we discuss how these tensions have been brought to the forefront by the coronavirus pandemic.
Our discussion focuses on the work of our guest Taylor Scott, Associate Director of the Research-to-Policy Collaboration at Penn State and Primary Investigator on a Huck-funded research project titled "Rapid Translation of Research into Coronavirus Policy Response." We are also joined by Michael Berkman, Director of The McCourtney Institute for Democracy, and Jenna Spinelle, host of the Democracy Works podcast.
*Relevant Links:*
* Rapid Translation of Research into Coronavirus Policy Response
* Research-to-Policy Collaboration
* Child Maltreatment Solutions Network
* Democracy Works Episode ft. Frances E. Lee: Does Congress Promote…
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May 15, 2020
Season 2 Intro: Inside Stories of Open-Source Science
In this brief “special announcement” episode, Symbiotic Podcast host Cole Hons lays out the new direction and format for Season 2, a series of COVID-19 Research Briefs that explore radically open and transparent efforts currently underway worldwide to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
*Relevant Links:*
* Season 01, Episode 06: Confronting Global Outbreaks
* Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences COVID-19 Research Response
* AskCIDD.psu.edu (Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics)
* medRxiv.org
* bioRxiv.org
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Feb 27, 2020
Confronting Global Outbreaks
On February 4, 2020 as the COVID-19 virus began to go global, Cole spoke with three scientists from the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics to hear their perspective on the outbreak. The resulting conversation uncovers aspects of humanity’s complex relationship with viruses that don’t often reach the mainstream media.
*Relevant Links:*
* Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
* McGraw Lab (Vector Biology Group)
* Matt Ferrari Lab
* The Bharti Lab
*Guests:*
* *Beth McGraw* is Professor and Huck Scholar in Entomology, and directs Penn State’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics. Her research focuses on dengue virus transmission by mosquitoes. McGraw is currently investigating evidence that mosquito and virus genotypes affect patterns of human disease. She is also interested in the use of a bacterium called Wolbachia for biocontrol.
* *Matt Ferarri* is Associate Professor of Biology at Penn State. He uses the mathematical and statistical tools of computational…
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Jan 30, 2020
Intraoperative Bioprinting
In this episode, Cole and his guests discuss a transdisciplinary effort at Penn State to advance the printing of living tissues, from skin to bone to organs. Combining the efforts of engineers, nanotechnologists, and surgeons, the team has coined a new term – “intraoperative bioprinting” – to describe their approach.
Relevant Links:
* Bioprinting Lab
* Machine sucks up tiny tissue spheroids and prints them precisely
*Guests:*
* *Ibrahim Ozbolat *is Hartz Family Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Penn State. His major research interest is bioprinting and tissue engineering.
* *Daniel Hayes *is an associate professor of Biomedical Engineering at Penn State, with an emphasis on nanomaterials, macromolecules, and composite structures, for applications ranging from regenerative medicine to lab-on-a-chip technologies.
* *Dino Ravnic *is an assistant professor in Penn State’s Department of Surgery. He directs the Plastic Surgery Research Labora…
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Dec 19, 2019
Rule Breakers of the Plant World
In this episode, Cole and his guests discuss Penn State’s launch of the world’s first Center for Parasitic and Carnivorous Plants. These fascinatingly strange organisms have much to teach us about the outrageous diversity of life - especially now that we have the capacity to study them at every scale, from the molecular to the ecological.
*Relevant Links:*
* The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
*Guests:*
* *Claude dePamphilis*, Professor of Biology at Penn State, studies the genomics, evolution, and functional biology of parasitic plants.
* *Tanya Renner*, Assistant Professor of Entomology at Penn State, investigates the evolution of chemical and structural defense, particularly as they relate to carnivorous plants.
* *Tomas Carlo-Joglar*, Associate Professor of Biology at Penn State, studies seed dispersal ecology, foraging behavior, and plant ecology, with a focus on parasitic mistletoes.
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Nov 21, 2019
Live from the 2019 National Science Writers Conference
This special live episode was recorded at SciWri 2019 - a national conference for science journalists hosted by Penn State in 2019. The panel featured a panel of ground-breaking Penn State researchers sharing their trials, tribulations, and hard-won best practices for trans-disciplinary life sciences research. The taping includes a live Q&A with the audience.
*Relevant Links:*
* National Association of Science Writers
* The Geomicrobiologist Searching for the Origins of Life
* Could squid protein be an eco-friendly answer to our plastic problem?
* Trailblazers: Sally Mackenzie’s Vision for the Future of Plants
* Researchers receive $10.2 million to study new malaria-prevention method
*Guests:*
* *Jennifer Macalady *– Combining geosciences and microbiology, Macalady explores life in deep caves, investigating the ecological rules that govern microbial behavior and evolution, and asking how can modern Earth microorganisms teach us about the biogeochemistry of the early…
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Oct 14, 2019
Bugs vs. Drugs: How many antibiotics should we take?
In this episode, we discuss a unique, collaborative research project that brought together experts in infectious disease and communications to explore appropriate interventions for reducing the threat of antibiotic resistance. Through a collaboration with Penn State's Student Health Services, a Big 10 campus became a living laboratory for the first stages of this innovative and important experiment.
*Relevant Links:*
* The bugs are getting smarter. Are we? (TEDMED Talk)
* Professors to share impacts of overusing antibiotics on WPSU’s 'Digging Deeper'
*Guests:*
* *Andrew Read *– Evan Pugh University Professor of Biology and Entomology, Eberly Professor of Biotechnology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State
* *Erina MacGeorge *– Professor of Communication Sciences at Penn State, specializing in interpersonal and health communication
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Sep 15, 2019
Life evolves through collaboration. Science should too.
In this pilot episode, we discuss the importance of collaboration as an evolutionary driver and explore ways that trans-disciplinary teams of scientists can mimic nature, evolving the way research is done. We also unpack the story of why and how Penn State has become a hotbed for this kind of work.
*Relevant Links:*
* Transdisciplinarity
* Penn State’s Diversity Inspires a Thriving Community
* Always Adapting: Disease Dynamics in Plant-Pollinator Systems
*Guests: *
* *Andrew Read *–* *Evan Pugh University Professor of Biology and Entomology, Eberly Professor of Biotechnology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State
* *Nina G. Jablonski *– Evan Pugh University Professor of Anthropology at Penn State
* *Cristina Rosa *– Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology at Penn State
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