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
- 828
- Years Active
- 2014 - 2025
668: Searching the Sediments to Uncover Sources of Food and Water for Early Humans - Dr. Gail Ashley
Dr. Gail Ashley is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Rutgers University. She is Undergraduate Program Director and Director of the Quaternary Studies Grad…
667: Roving Roots! Plants Behave More Like Animals than We May Realize - Dr. James Cahill
Dr. James (JC) Cahill is a Professor of Ecology in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta. JC is an ecologist who studies interactions between plants and their environment…
666: Developing Nanomaterials to Help Solve Global Energy, Fuel, and Fresh Water Issues - Dr. Mita Dasog
Dr. Mita Dasog is an Associate Professor and the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Research Chair in the Department of Chemistry at Dalhousie University in Canada. Mita’s lab conducts basic research to ex…
665: Researching Relationships and How They Impact Mental Health and Learning in Children - Dr. Jennifer Jenkins
Dr. Jennifer Jenkins is the Atkinson Chair of Early Child Development and Education and the Interim Academic Director of the Frazer Mustard Institute of Human Development at the University of Toronto…
664: Out of This World Research on Extrasolar Planets - Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman
Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman is a Research Space Scientist with NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Shawn spends his days looking for ways to detect signs of alien life. He uses a wide variety of t…
663: A Career Based on Pairing Research and Public Outreach to Identify Species via DNA - Dr. Karen James
Dr. Karen James is a staff scientist at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Maine. She is trained in genetics, and she applies her skills to environmental, conservation, and restoration …
662: Investigating Important Interactions Between Molecules and Membrane Proteins - Dr. Olaf Andersen
Dr. Olaf Andersen is a Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Director of the Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program in New York City. His research ai…
661: Decoding the Genomes of Plants and Plant Pathogens for Key Crops and Medicinal Plants - Dr. Robin Buell
Dr. C. Robin Buell is a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Chair in Crop Genomics in the Department of Crop & Soil Sciences and the Center for Applied Genetic Technologies at the University of…
660: Speaking Up About Important Topics in Speech Production and Computer-Assisted Communication - Dr. Rupal Patel
Dr. Rupal Patel is a Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders as well as the College of Computer and Information Science at Northeastern University. She is also Director of…
659: Using Genetics to Understand Plant Evolution and Trace back the Roots of Agriculture - Dr. Mike Clegg
Dr. Michael Clegg is a Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine. He is also the past Foreign Secretary of the US National A…
658: Conducting Research to Better Understand and Conserve Marine Mammals - Dr. Howard Rosenbaum
Dr. Howard Rosenbaum is a Senior Conservation Scientist and Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Ocean Giants Program, which aims to secure the future of whales, dolphins, and other marine…
657: Sizing Up Species’ Brains to Understand Nervous System Diversity and Development - Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel
Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is a Professor of Psychology and Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University. In the lab, she compares brains to find out what they are made of and what difference that m…
656: Expressing His Passion for Science and Bacterial Genetics - Dr. Stanley Maloy
Dr. Stanley Maloy is Dean of the College of Sciences, Associate Director of the Center for Microbial Sciences, and Professor in Biology at San Diego State University. Stanley’s lab is working on a ne…
655: Researching how the Brain Changes with Vision Rehabilitation - Dr. Tara Alvarez
Dr. Tara Alvarez is Professor of Bio-Medical Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology and Chief Scientific Officer at OculoMotor Technologies. Tara’s research focuses on how we move our eyes…
654: Cool Research on Plant Responses to Temperature Stress - Dr. Malia Gehan
Dr. Malia Gehan is an Assistant Member at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Her research examines how to improve crops in terms of their response to temperature stress and other abiotic stres…
653: Examining How Environmental Factors Can Impact Our Heart Health - Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar
Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar is the Smith and Lucille Gibson Professor of Medicine, Director of the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, Co-Director of the American Heart Association Tobacco Regulation and…
652: Exciting Developments in Our Knowledge of Cortical Circuit Formation in the Mammalian Brain - Dr. Franck Polleux
Dr. Franck Polleux is a Professor of Neuroscience and member of the Zuckerman Mind, Brain, Behavior Institute at Columbia University. Franck’s research focuses on understanding the cellular and molec…
651: Studying Sea Worms and Discovering New Species - Dr. Pat Hutchings
Dr. Pat Hutchings is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Museum Research Institute. She is a marine biologist who studies sea worms called polychaetes. Pat describes new species a…
650: Finding Compounds in Fungi to Develop New Drugs to Fight Cancer - Dr. Nicholas Oberlies
Dr. Nicholas Oberlies is the Patricia A. Sullivan Distinguished Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Nick’s…
649: Fascinated by the Forces and Features that Contribute to Flow in Rocks and Ice - Dr. Christine McCarthy
Dr. Christine McCarthy is the Lamont Assistant Research Professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. She studies the mechanical and geological features of ice and rocks. …