In this episode, we hear from Dr. David Lydon-Staley, a communication scientist who studies our day-to-day behavior as it impacts substance use, emotion regulation, and curiosity. 

Dr. Lydon-Staley shares his journey from exploring multiple interests as a student to a difficult dissertation process to realizing what he wants from a life in academia (0:50-18:35 ). He also shares advice for figuring out what you want to do (18:40 ), his experience as part of the LGBTQ+ community (21:25 ), how art has impacted his approach to research (23:50 ), and how he balances life with career goals (26:35 ). 

 PhDemystified invites faculty from the University of Pennsylvania to open up about the unspoken struggles of becoming a scientist with interviewers who themselves are early-career researchers. Hosted by MindCORE (the mind and brain center for outreach, research, and education at the University of Pennsylvania), PhDemystified aims to create open dialogue around becoming and being a scientist, as inspired by the worldwide conversation series “Growing Up in Science” from NYU. 

(Hosted by Laura Zaneski; music by scottholmesmusic.com)