Master Minds

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 causes liver disease and cirrhosis if untreated. Dr. Rice was the first to achieve a successful cell culture of Hepatitis C, create a functional clone of the virus, and prove that the virus causes the disease. This work led to the first effective treatments for Hepatitis C, saving millions of lives worldwide and earning Dr. Rice and his collaborators the 2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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 medical schools nationwide. He is also a pediatric gastroenterologist who is internationally known for his research on autophagy and on alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency or ATD, the latter of which is a genetic disorder resulting in liver damage. We hope you enjoy this episode with Dean David Perlmutter. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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 tachycardias, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. He is best known for developing the Cox-Maze procedure, the first cure for atrial fibrillation, which he performed for the first time at Barnes Jewish Hospital in 1987. Dr. Cox’s contributions and developments forever changed the field of cardiac surgery and have saved countless lives. We hope you enjoy our fascinating discussion with Dr. Cox as much as we did! Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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 in the activity of adrenalin, dopamine, and serotonin. In fact, currently approximately half of all pharmaceuticals on the market target GPCRs. In the mid 1980s Dr. Kobilka and his colleagues from the Robert Lefkowitz lab were the first to clone the gene for an important GPCR called the beta2-adrenergic receptor, and later he and his collaborators were the first to determine its molecular structure, which served as the basis for understanding all subsequent GPCRs and creating drugs to target them. This work proved to be revolutionary in many areas of science and medicine, such that in 2012, Kobilka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions to understanding GPCRs. In this interview, we talk about these amazing findings and the recent advances in understanding this important class of receptors. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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 important work on characterizing Quantum Chromodynamics, or QCD, which describes the strong interactions between quarks that make up larger particles like protons and neutrons. In this episode, we talk about some of the basics of quantum mechanics and how they are applied in studying astrophysical phenomena. We also touch on some important philosophical questions regarding how to use physics in understanding the nature of reality. We think the episode boils down many complex topics in physics so that anyone with a basic level of understanding will learn a lot. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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, previously thought to not exist, and how immune cells and cytokines impact cognitive functions like social behavior. These findings have mass implications for the role of the immune system in psychiatric and psychological disease. We hope you enjoy this episode. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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 conducted conservation and research projects in over 30 countries around the world, many of which are in Africa and South America.  In this episode, we’re going to cover her focus on how disease and environmental changes affect wildlife populations, and her work with endangered species, such as lemurs and turtles.

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 Botanical Garden, and the St. Louis Zoo to advance the study of biodiversity. His field work has taken him to various islands in the Caribbean and Central America. Currently, his lab at WashU studies the behavioral and evolutionary ecology of lizards, and how wild species adapt to changing urban environments. Their main focus is the Caribbean Anolis lizard, and the behavioral, ecological, functional morphological, and phylogenetic data to study their adaptive radiation.

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 cognitive deficits in patients with mental illness such as schizophrenia. She is one of the principal investigators for the Human Connectome Project, a multi-institutional effort to map connectivity in the healthy human brain to improve our understanding of how it is altered by disease and development. In this interview, we talk about schizophrenia and its treatment and risk factors, how brain connectivity develops, and tools to improve mental health, among other fascinating topics. Dr. Barch is an expert on the brain and was generous to share much of the results of her very productive career, so we hope you enjoy this episode. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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, to characterize meteorites and even lunar samples from the Apollo missions. For his expertise in meteorites, Br. Bob was recruited to NASA’s OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid and return to Earth. The target was a near-Earth asteroid named Bennu, which is believed to contain evidence of the early history of our solar system, and possibly precursors to life on Earth. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft recently returned home, and Br. Bob is gearing up to study the collected specimens. In this interview we talk about his work at the Vatican Observatory as well as the currently unfolding projects at NASA to study the Bennu samples. We learned a lot about meteorites and why they are important artifacts in studying the history of our planet, so we hope you enjoy this episode. To learn more about Br. Bob's work at the Vatican Observatory, you can check out his Youtube Channel @MackeMakerSpace. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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 spectroscopy of a single molecule, something that was previously thought to be impossible. Single molecule spectroscopy laid the groundwork for using fluorescence in individual molecules to study processes inside living cells. This technique, called super-resolved fluorescence microscopy, was revolutionary because it enabled scientists to attain high resolution images of the nanoworld that was previously invisible to us. For this work, Professor Moerner was jointly awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the highest honor for any scientist in the world. The Moerner Lab continues to develop single molecule microscopy by developing methods for 2D and 3D super resolution imaging of cells. Some of their current projects include measuring amyloid aggregation in neurons, studying protein localization patterns in bacteria, and quantifying dynamics of photosynthetic proteins. Professor Moerner’s work has contributed to many areas of physics, chemistry, and biology, so it is important to understand exactly how the study of single molecules is possible. Not only is he a brilliant scientist, but he is a fantastic communicator of his work, and we learned a lot from this interview so we hope you enjoy this episode. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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 the Pituitary Center. Dr. Kim is an expert in glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. His laboratory studies the ways that glioblastoma arises as well as ways to treat it through targeting genetics, metabolism, and the immune system in addition to the use of high powered lasers to thermally ablate tumors. As one of the researchers in his lab, I can attest to Dr. Kim’s true brilliance as a physician and scientist, so I hope you enjoy this episode. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode Background music: En Plein Air by L'Esprit d'Sfign https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode.en

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 development efforts, and his lab was instrumental in detailing responses to Moderna and Pfizer vaccine trials. In the height of the pandemic, his team published 41 manuscripts, and his work has been acknowledged by leading scientists around the world. This one was an honor...and a blast! Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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 of the Bursky Center for Human Immunology has led to the development of many antiviral therapies for these viruses. Recently, his lab has studied the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and led the development of the first nasal vaccine against COVID-19. For his work, Dr. Diamond has received immense recognition including the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award and elections to the National Academy of Inventors, National Academy of Medicine, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Microbiology. Dr. Diamond has been hugely influential in the field of virology and I learned a lot from this interview, so I hope you enjoy this episode. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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, pathophysiology, and treatments. We also did a deep dive on her work developing novel treatments for ovarian cancer and how they work on a molecular level. I hope you enjoy this episode. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode Background music: Bouyant by Zylo-Ziko https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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 international recognition, resulting in him being honored with the 2012 Children’s Tumor Foundation Frederich von Recklinghausen award and Election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was also awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Award and an Einstein Fellowship from the Berlin Institute of Health to allow for the creation of an international research team. He is also recognized for pioneering preclinical models of brain tumors in mice. Dr. Gutmann is truly a world-class scientist and clinician and I was very happy to talk to him, so I hope you enjoy this episode. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode Background music: Little Idea by Scott Holmes Music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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 circadian rhythms, which are physiological processes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle. Circadian rhythms are relevant to nearly all other aspects of biology, including fluctuations in body temperature, hormone levels, and sleep as well as in the context of disease. Throughout the interview, Dr. Herzog explains the molecular mechanisms behind circadian rhythms and how a structure in the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) serves as the master clock for all cells in the body. He also talks about the ways in which circadian rhythms can be used to optimize sleep and performance. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode Background music: Sunday Morning by Maarten Schellekens https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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 Fermi for his immensely productive career in theoretical and experimental physics. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Cowsik about the origin of the universe, dark matter, neutrinos, Grand Unified Theory, and more. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode Background music: Thesame by Tea K Pea (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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 Schaal has served as president of the Botanical Society of America, the Society for the Study of Evolution, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has also served as vice president of the US National Academy of Sciences and as a member of President Obama’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology, as well as received the National Science Board Public Service Award in 2019 for her work in national science policy and education. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode Background music: Sunday Morning by Maarten Schellekens https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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 studying memory accessibility and retrieval, particularly false memories. Our conversation spanned topics from improving the Navy SEAL’s training to testing the reliability of eyewitness accounts in court. Title music: World Is Holding Hands by WinnieTheMoog https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode