People Behind the Science Podcast Stories from Scientists about Science, Life, Research, and Science Careers
Are you searching for great stories to ignite your curiosity, teach you to perform better in life and career, inspire your mind, and make you laugh along the way? In this science podcast, Dr. Marie McNeely introduces you to the brilliant researchers behind the latest scientific discoveries. Join us as they share their greatest failures, most staggering successes, candid career advice, and what drives them forward in life and science.
Our website with show notes]]
Greetings science fans!
We’re elated to welcome you to People Behind the Science where we explore the lives and experiences of the people behind the research and scientific discoveries of today.
People Behind the Science’s mission is to inspire current and future scientists, share the different paths to a successful career in science, educate the general population on what scientists do, and show the human side of science.
In each episode, a different scientist will guide us through their journey by sharing their successes, failures, and passions. We are excited to introduce you to these inspiring academic and industry experts from all fields of science to give you a variety of perspectives on the life and path of a scientist.
Our esteemed guests will tell you:
what motivates them and how they balance their competing responsibilities
how they worked through some of the most challenging times in their careers
advice to help you through your own journey through life and science
Our Podcast
People Behind the Science is a podcast focused on the people doing fascinating research through interviews with top scientists. We are proud to have interviewed so many inspiring scientists, including U.S. National Academy scientists like Josh Sanes, Nick Spitzer, Lou Muglia, Jacob Israelachvili, Gene Robinson, Larry Squire, John Dowling, James Berger, and David Spergel, as well as popular scientists in the media like Donna Nelson (science advisor for the TV show Breaking Bad) and Jack Horner (science advisor for the Jurassic park movies). We are honored to have shared their amazing stories with people in all 50 states in the USA and in over 120 countries across the world.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 42 minutes
- Episodes
- 829
- Years Active
- 2014 - 2025
389: Conducting Illuminating Research on the Evolution of Bioluminescence in Fishes - Dr. Leo Smith
Dr. William "Leo" Smith is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Associate Curator of the Biodiversity Institute at the University of Kansas. He received hi…
388: Synthesizing New Nanomaterials and Studying their Shape, Size, and Structure - Dr. Sara Skrabalak
Dr. Sara Skrabalak is the James H. Rudy Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Indiana University. She received her B.A. in Chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis. She went …
387: Modifying Microbes for a Multitude of Applications From Healthcare to Biofuels - Dr. Cullen Buie
Dr. Cullen Buie is an Associate Professor and the Esther and Harold E. Egerton Career Development Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. H…
386: Finding Fossils of Extinct Species to Explore the Early Evolution of Vertebrates - Dr. Sterling Nesbitt
Dr. Sterling Nesbitt is an Assistant Professor of Geosciences at Virginia Tech, as well as a research associate/affiliate of the American Museum of Natural History, the Vertebrate Paleontology Lab a…
385: Keeping a Close Eye On Channels and Vesicle Trafficking in Plant Cell Membranes - Dr. Mike Blatt
Dr. Mike Blatt is the Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Glasgow and Adjuct Professor at Pennsylvania State University. He conducted his undergraduate studies at Simon Fraser University …
384: Battling Antibiotic Resistance Through Development and Discovery of Novel Antibacterial Agents - Dr. Erin Carlson
Dr. Erin E. Carlson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota. Erin received her B.A. in chemistry from St. Olaf College and her PhD in organic chemistry…
383: Curiosity is Key for Creating Innovative Living Technology and Low-Cost Scientific Solutions - Dr. Andrew Pelling
Dr. Andrew Pelling is a Canada Research Chair and Associate Professor in the Departments of Physics and Biology, as well as the Institute for Science, Society, and Policy at the University of Ottawa.…
382: Building High-Throughput Technology to Characterize Biological Systems - Dr. Adam Abate
Dr. Adam Abate is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California San Francisco. He is also a co-founder of the startup company Mis…
381: Studying Drug Transport Proteins for Use in Novel Therapies and Supporting Diversity in STEM - Dr. Imogen Coe
Dr. Imogen R. Coe is the founding Dean of the Faculty of Science at Ryerson University. She is also a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology and an affiliate scientist in the Li Ka Shi…
380: Fostering Forest Health Through Education and Extension Endeavors - Dr. Dave Coyle
Dr. David Coyle is a Forest Health Specialist with the The Southern Regional Extension Forestry (SREF) Forest Heath Program. He received his undergraduate training in Biology from Luther College. Aft…
379: An Astrophysicist Studying the Elements of Galaxy Evolution - Dr. Molly Peeples
Dr. Molly Peeples is an Aura Assistant Astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her B.S. in Physics from MIT and went on to complete her MS and PhD in …
378: Investigating Venom Evolution and Potential for Targeted Therapeutics - Dr. Bryan Fry
Dr. Bryan G. Fry is an Associate Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Queensland in Australia. He completed his undergraduate training in Molecular Biology, Scientific …
377: Illuminating our Understanding of the Photoreceptor System Controlling Plant Growth Towards Light - Dr. Winslow Briggs
Dr. Winslow Briggs is Director Emeritus of the Carnegie Institution Of Science. He received his Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University. He has served on the faculty at Harvard University and is a P…
376: Engineering Technology-Enriched Education Environments - Dr. Shaundra Daily
Dr. Shaundra Daily is an Associate Professor of Computer and Information Science and Engineering, as well as the Director of the Digital Arts and Sciences Program at the University of Florida. Shani …
375: Developing Drugs to Defeat Rare Muscle Diseases - Dr. Barry Byrne
Dr. Barry Byrne is the Earl and Christy Powell University Chair in Genetics, Associate Chair of Pediatrics, Director of the Powell Gene Therapy Center, and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Genet…
374: Determining the Time Course of Damage to Neurons After Trauma - Dr. Christian Franck
Dr. Christian Franck is an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Brown University. He received his B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Virginia, and went on to be awarded his M.S. an…
373: Modeling the Mechanics of Fluid Flow for Melting Ice and Molten Magma - Dr. Leif Karlstrom
Dr. Leif Karlstrom is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oregon. He completed his undergraduate training at the University of Oregon, receiving a B.S. in …
372: Accumulating Evidence on the Contribution of Free Radicals in Protein Aggregation - Dr. Ohara Augusto
Dr. Ohara Augusto is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the Institute of Chemistry at the University of São Paulo. In addition, she is the Director of a network studying the redox proce…
371: Making Molecular Movies of Complex Chemical Reactions in Live Cells - Dr. Antoine van Oijen
Dr. Antoine van Oijen is a Distinguished Professor and Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow in the School of Chemistry at the University of Wollongong in Australia. Antoine received his MSc an…
370: Cued in to Environmental Factors Important for Children Learning Languages - Dr. Erin Conwell
Dr. Erin Conwell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Coordinator for the PhD program in Visual and Cognitive Neuroscience at North Dakota State University. She received her …