Welcome to season 2 of Probably Platelets, the first-ever podcast hosted by the UK Platelet Society. Your hosts, Beth, a post-doctoral researcher from the University of Leeds, and Alex, a post-doctoral researcher from the University of Birmingham, have a chat with platelet researchers to find out more about their career journey, laugh about some of their mistakes, and you never know,  we'll probably talk about platelets.

In this episode, we’re joined by Joe Italiano, associate professor of Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital and Medical school. Joe shares his Scientific journey, starting from when he was a young boy, all the way to being a world leading researcher in Platelets and megakaryocytes.

We chat about his outlook on mentorship, positive research culture, and the excitement of discovering new science. We also discuss how changes to how Universities are funded, and the grant system in general, can affect research. Make sure you watch until the end where Joe taps into his creative musical side and busts out a megakaryocyte rap.

This episode was recorded in March 2025, and we are so grateful to Joe for his time and generosity in sharing his story with us. It was a real privilege to hear about his career and thoughtful reflections and outlook on research, leadership, and life beyond the lab.

Don’t forget to rate, review, and share this episode if you enjoyed it. Your support helps us bring more inspiring stories to the forefront!

Stay tuned for the next episode, wherever you get your podcasts.

Got questions or comments? Email us at ECR@plateletsociety.co.uk