The Lab Coats & Life™ Podcast

In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Jason Goldsmith chat with Dr. Alex Shalek, the J. W. Kieckhefer Professor in the Institute for Medical Engineering & Science and the Department of Chemistry at MIT. He and members of his lab strive to engineer and create technologies and methods achievable by any lab, anywhere in the world through open source experimental protocols and computational packages. He talks about ownership, reproducibility, and privacy considerations when sharing data.

In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Brenda Raud chat with Dr. Sara Yeo, an Associate Professor of Communications at the University of Utah. Specializing in science and risk communication, Dr. Yeo’s research explores the intersection of science, media, and politics. She talks about building trust and engagement in science communication and how humor can help. She also discusses unconventional career paths and how social media can help scientists be more open.

In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Arun Sharma chat with Dr. Caroline Hookway, a Scientist at the Allen Institute for Cell Science, who specializes in live-cell imaging. She talks about how to choose the right technology to answer scientific questions, strategies to ensure quality and reproducibility, and overcoming barriers to adopting new technologies.

In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Daylon James chat with Dr. Richard Sever, Assistant Director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York and Co-founder of the preprint servers bioRxiv and medRxiv. He discusses how preprints can help advance science, the role of funding, and the future of peer review.

In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Arun Sharma chat with Dr. Raeka Aiyar, Vice President of Scientific Outreach & Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF). Raeka is an experienced geneticist turned science communicator, whose research has focused on applying genomics to the study of disease, with the goal of enabling precision medicine. She and the hosts talk about the importance of inclusive science and how NYSCF and other organizations are working to promote equity.

In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Daylon James chat with Dr. Nika Shakiba, Allen Distinguished Investigator and Assistant Professor at the School for Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia. Nika has a passion for outreach and mentorship and is co-founder of the Advice to a Scientist initiative. Nika and the hosts talk about how the landscape of mentorship is changing, the importance of teaching scientific storytelling, and ways to build resilience.

In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Jason Goldsmith chat with Dr. Nima Najand, Director of the Life Sciences Innovation Hub at the University of Calgary. They discuss the ways in which scientists can transition their research into the clinic with a focus on transferring early-stage technologies from academic labs to industry, starting spin-off companies, and strategies for commercialization.

In this episode, Drs. Nicole Quinn and Brenda Raud chat with Dr. Jennifer Polk, a career coach, educator, and recognized expert in careers for graduate students and PhDs. They discuss the big question facing many academics, “to postdoc or not to postdoc?”, and key questions to consider when making the decision. Dr. Polk, who runs the website From PhD to Life, talks about how to find your niche, the nature of postdoctoral positions, and alternatives to traditional academic career paths.

In February of 2024, the Lab Coats & Life™ Podcast will launch, providing listeners with reflective conversations with guests from all corners of science who are passionate about passing on their knowledge and experience to others. Although this podcast is for scientists, it is not your typical science podcast. Instead, each episode aims to keep you informed about useful soft skills, relevant trends, and important efforts from within the scientific community to help you thrive as a scientist. Stay tuned for episodes with influential guests, including career coach Jen Polk, bioRxiv co-founder Richard Sever, SciComm specialist Sara Yeo, and more.  The Lab Coats & Life™ Podcast is brought to you by STEMCELL Technologies, a global biotechnology company supporting life science research and fostering communication and collaboration in science. The podcast forms part of our Lab Coats & Life™ Mentorship Resources, where you can find helpful articles, free downloadable toolkits, and more. STEMCELL supports life sciences research with more than 2,500 specialized cell culture media, cell separation tools, instruments, accessory products, and educational services that are used by scientists performing immunology, stem cell, cancer, regenerative medicine, and cellular therapy research globally. STEMCELL provides the podcast under their Science Communication Program, alongside several other services to keep scientists current and connected with their fields.