On this episode, Will sat down with Dr. Eric Green, the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (or NHGRI) since 2009, which is one of the research arms of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Prior to his appointment, Dr. Green trained at Washington University School of Medicine in the laboratory of Maynard Olson, and later as…

In this episode, Will sat down with Dr. Aaron Ciechanover, biologist and Distinguished Research Professor in the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. Dr. Ciechanover is renowned for his work in studying the method that cells use to degrade and recycle proteins. While in the laboratory of Avram Hershko, they…

Today, we sat down with Professor Tansu Daylan, astrophysicist, Assistant Professor of Physics, and faculty fellow at the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences here at WashU. Dr. Daylan works with data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite on the discovery and characterization of exoplanets. He is also interested in researching the pa…

Today we sat down with Dr. Charles Rice, the Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Professor in Virology at Rockefeller University. Dr. Rice is an expert in RNA viruses, viruses that use RNA as opposed to DNA in their genome, and studies the body’s innate immune response to infection. However, he is most known for his work on Hepatitis C Virus, which…

Today, we sat down with Dr. David H. Perlmutter, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of Washington University School of Medicine, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor. Dean Perlmutter leads one of the largest medical schools in the country, currently ranked #2 in NIH funding among US …

In this episode, we’re talking to the “father of cardiac arrhythmia surgery”, Dr. James Cox. The former Division Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery here at WashU Med, Dr. Cox developed surgical procedures for multiple cardiac arrhythmias, including the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia, automatic atrial tachyca…

Today, I sat down with Dr. Brian Kobilka, Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Kobilka is an expert on a class of receptors called G protein-coupled receports, or GPCRs, that are essential in a majority of biological processes including light, flavor, and odor perception and…

Today, we sat down with Professor Mark Alford, theoretical physicist and former chair of the Department of Physics at Washington University. Prof. Alford researches the physics of ultra-high density matter, such as in the core of a neutron star to get insights on how particles behave in situations that we do not encounter on Earth. He has also done…

Dr. Jonathan Kipnis is the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Immunology and Director of the Brain Immunology and Glia Center (BIG) at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Kipnis is well known for his discoveries on the interactions between the brain and the immune system, including meningeal lymphatics, pr…

Today were talking to Dr. Sharon Deem, Director of the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine. Prior to this, Dr. Deem worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society and Smithsonian National Zoo. A veterinarian and epidemiologist by trade, she is also the current president of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians. Dr. Deem has co…

Today we're talking to Prof. Jonathan Losos, William H. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Biology here at Washington University. Professor Losos is an internationally renowned scholar in the field of evolutionary biology. He also serves as the Director of the Living Earth Collaborative, an academic partnership between WashU, the Missouri Botanica…

Dr. Deanna Barch is a psychologist and Vice Dean of Research for the College of Arts and Sciences at Washington University. She is the George B. Couch Professor of Psychiatry and former Chair of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences as well as Professor of Radiology. Dr. Barch is known for her work using neuroimaging to characterize co…

Br. Robert Macke is a Jesuit Astronomer at the Vatican Observatory and Curator of the Vatican Meteorite Collection. Br. Bob is the world expert on measuring physical properties of meteorites, including density, porosity, magnetic susceptibility, and thermal properties. He has been at the forefront of developing new methods, and improving old ones, …

Prof. W.E. Moerner is the Harry S. Mosher Professor of Chemistry, Professor, by courtesy, of Applied Physics at Stanford University, and WashU alum! Professor Moerner is a physical chemist, a scientist that studies chemical processes using physics. In 1989, he and his postdoc developed a method that accomplished the first ever optical detection and…

Dr. Albert H. Kim is the August A. Busch Jr. Professor of Neurological Surgery, Senior Vice-Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, and Professor of Genetics, Neurology, and Developmental Biology at Washington University School of Medicine. He is also the inaugural Director of the Washington University Brain Tumor Center and Surgical Director of t…

Dr. Ali Ellebedy is the Associate Professor of Pathology and Immunology, of Medicine, and of Molecular Biology at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Ellebedy’s research surrounds B cell immune responses and he has made outstanding contributions to studying the COVID-19 virus. His work on the influenza virus informed initial vaccine devel…

Dr. Michael Diamond is an infectious diseases specialist and the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Diamond is widely recognized for his research on RNA viruses, particularly West Nile virus and Zika virus, contributing much to their molecular basis and immunity. His work as Associate Director o…

Dr. Dineo Khabele is the Mitchell & Elaine Yanow Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine. She is a renowned physician-scientist specializing in gynecological oncology with a focus on ovarian cancer. In this episode, we discuss various aspects of ovarian cancer, such as causes, pat…

Dr. David Gutmann is the Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor of Neurology and Director of the Neurofibromatosis Center at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Gutmann’s expertise lies in the study of neurofibromatosis, or NF, a genetic disorder which causes tumor growth in the nervous system throughout the body. His work has received intern…

This week on Master Minds, we talked to Dr. Erik Herzog, Viktor Hamburger Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences and Professor of Biology at Washington University. Dr. Herzog is a chronobiologist - a scientist that studies how organisms create biological rhythms to help adapt to their environment. He is an expert on how the brain regulates circ…

Professor Cowsik is considered by many to be the 'Father of Astroparticle Physics' for his invention of the leaky box model for the observation of cosmic rays and his discoveries characterizing neutrinos and dark matter as having a role in the Big Bang. The James S. McDonnell Professor of Space Sciences here at WashU, he has been compared to Enrico…

Today, we will be learning about genetics and evolution with Professor Barbara Schaal, evolutionary biologist and the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor in Arts and Sciences at WashU. A pioneer in the field of plant evolution, she was one of the first to apply molecular genetic techniques to understanding evolutionary processes. Professor Sc…

Today, we are taking a deep dive into the brain to learn about psychology of memories. We sat down with Dr. Henry Roediger, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences here at WashU and co author of the book, “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning”. Dr. Roediger has been a pioneer in studyin…

In this episode of Master Minds, we sit down with Dr. Graham Colditz, epidemiologist and public health expert. Dr. Colditz is the Associate Director for Prevention and Control at Siteman Cancer Center and Chief of the Division of Public Health Sciences in the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine. He is also an adjunct p…

In this episode of Master Minds, we sit down with someone who is somewhat of a celebrity among the pre-med students at WashU. Dr. Greg Polites is the founder of MedPrep, a series of classes that students can take to learn more about the field of medicine. He is, by training, an emergency medicine physician and currently serves as the chair of the c…

In this episode of the podcast, we’re taking a slight detour from our usual guest, and I couldn’t be more excited. Professor Rebecca Messbarger wears many hats, among them, Professor of Art History and Global Studies, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Italian, and Co-founder and Director of Medical Humanities here at WashU. This episode is a fas…

Dr. Ray Arvidson is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University. He directs the Earth and Planetary Remote Sensing Laboratory, where he studies terrestrial and extraterrestrial planetary surfaces, including Mars, Venus, and the Moon. Professor Arvidson has led and …

We were so excited to have the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Michael Kinch: author, scientist, and Associate Vice Chancellor at WashU. Dr. Kinch has a scientific background in cancer and immunological and infectious diseases. He founded and currently directs the Centers for Research Innovation in Biotechnology and Drug Development here at WashU.…

We are so excited to have had the opportunity to sit down with Chancellor Emeritus of Washington University in St. Louis, Mark Wrighton. Over the course of twenty four years, he oversaw the establishment of the East End and several important endowed professorships, which brought renowned faculty members to Washington University. But what many don't…

Dr. Len Green is Professor of Psychology and Economics and the director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at WashU. His research laid the groundwork for the field of behavioral economics: the study of the psychological factors that impact economic theories. Dr. Green did this in a rather unusual way; he …

Dr. Karen Joynt Maddox is the co-director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy at the Institute of Public Health here at WashU. By trade, she is both a Duke/Harvard-trained physician and health policy researcher. She now focuses on how to best improve healthcare administration—Where should hospitals funnel the most money into? What is the …

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Dr. Nupur Ghoshal is a physician-scientist and associate professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the WashU School of Medicine. She primarily treats patients with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Her research focuses on the tau protein, a molecule that forms neurofibrillary tangles in the brain and has shown to be a …

Dr. Green is a physician and scientist in the Department of Pediatrics at the WashU School of Medicine. Her practice and research focus on the etiology of genome instability in pediatric cancers and the resulting genome-protective responses, also called DNA damage responses, that are central to them. She spent her residency and fellowship at the Ch…

Today, I’m talking to Dr. Julia Lopez—public health researcher, licensed social worker, and instructor at the Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Lopez focuses her work on addressing gaps in research and clinical care in the areas of sexual and gender minority health, racial disparities, HIV care, and women’s health. Her goal is to provid…

Technology is heavily ingrained in the process of voting. From presidential polling to biased news sources and the media, the advent of digital communication has co-opted the process of informing ourselves and choosing the candidates we want to support. It seems that we are in need of a trusty third-party to hand us the facts. So today I’m talking …

Today I’m talking to Dr. Pankaj Vij, wellness physician, speaker, and author of the book Turbo Metabolism. Dr. Vij is passionate about preventing and reversing metabolic diseases by treating their root causes. He is a Director of the Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance and the Chief Architect of Crack the Wellness Code - a global community platform …