The Symbiotic Podcast

Oct 13 2022 1
The Symbiotic Podcast artwork

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

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Changing the Game in Stem Cell Engineering: Xiaojun (Lance) Lian

Oct 13 2022 45 mins  
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 ma

Changing the Game in Epigenetics: Sally Mackenzie

Jul 07 2022 49 mins  
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 LinksMackenzie Laboratory WebsiteEpicrop Technologies

Changing the Game in Ancient DNA Research: Laura Weyrich

May 12 2022 44 mins  
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.Relevant LinksM

Changing the Game in Global Pediatrics: Dr. Steven Schiff

Apr 06 2022 46 mins  
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 possibili

Changing the Game in Epidemiology: Nita Bharti

Mar 07 2022 52 mins  
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 Li

Changing the Game in Food Security: David Hughes

Feb 04 2022 48 mins  
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 LinksPlantVillageDonate to PlantVillageFast Company: How one scientist is saving cro

How much do we know about the origins of SARS-CoV-2?

Nov 19 2020 68 mins  
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 Ins

Inside Penn State’s COVID-19 Response

Nov 02 2020 50 mins  
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.Releva

Collecting COVID-19 Data for Action

Oct 20 2020 39 mins  
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

Can Lasers Speed Up Coronavirus Detection?

Oct 05 2020 41 mins  
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