Shows
The Alba Diversity PodcastS1E12 Maryam Ziaei – Embracing science and religious faithDr. Maryam Ziaei received her PhD in Neuroscience from School of Psychology, the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. Following completion of her postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Advanced Imaging, UQ, she joined Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience in Norway to establish her own research group. She is currently an associate professor, and her primary focus is to understand neurocognitive mechanisms underlying social and emotional processing in aging.
She tells us about her journey in neuroscience as a practicing Muslim and about her unique experiences as an immigrant scientist in Australia.
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Personal...2021-10-2532 minThe Alba Diversity PodcastS1E11 Suraj Honnuraiah - Facing discrimination in Translational scienceDr. Suraj Honnuraiah is a postdoctoral scientist in the laboratory of Prof. Greg Stuart at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. He grew up in India and did his Masters in Neuroinformatics with Prof. Rodney Douglas at the ETH in Zurich, Switzerland.
A tragic accident in childhood led to his friend losing his vision at an early age. Suraj talks about how he used this incident as his motivation to study and work in vision neuroscience and neuroinformatics for his PhD. He also talks to us about some subtle and covert forms of discrimination t...2021-09-2623 minThe Alba Diversity PodcastS1E10 Dan Ohtan Wang - Being a Chinese woman neuroscientist in JapanDr. Dan Ohtan Wang is a neuroscientist trained in Japan and US. Her work connects genetic information to cognitive brain functions through the regulation of RNA. Her work centers on live-cell imaging techniques in visualizing RNA molecules and characterizing the diversity of RNA molecules at neuronal synapses. Currently, she is leading a team to study "Neuroepitranscriptomics" at RIKEN BDR, to decipher RNA information in the context of cognitive development and decline, and harness RNA biology for mental health.
She talks to us about her multiple identities as a woman neuroscientist - originally from China, trained in the...2021-08-3020 minThe Alba Diversity PodcastS1E9 Mehmet Kurt - Intersectionality and LGBT in STEMDr. Mehmet Kurt is the director of Kurtlab (www.kurtlab.com) and an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology since January 2017. He also hold an adjunct faculty position at the Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII) at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. My primary research area of interest is brain biomechanics and neuromechanics imaging.
He speaks eloquently about the importance of intersectionality and the need to provide help and accessible mentorship for STEM researchers who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. He is also part of S...2021-07-2629 minThe Alba Diversity PodcastS1E8 Merima Šabanović - The nomadic life of scientistsMerima Šabanović is a PhD student in the Wellcome Trust Doctoral Training Programme in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. She grew up in Bosnia and Herzegovina and moved to sunny Abu Dhabi to study Biology, with specialization in Brain & Cognitive science and a minor in Psychology, at New York University Abu Dhabi. Her interest in behavioural neuroscience has led her to study psychedelics and focus on how these can impact cognition and brain structure in the long term after a single dose.
She gives us some candid insights about the ever-changing and temporary nature of academic lif...2021-06-2828 minThe Alba Diversity PodcastS1E7 André Mecawi - The importance of representation in STEMAndré Mecawi is an Adjunct Professor of Biophysics at the Federal University of São Paulo. His laboratory is focused on understanding the role of the vasopressin and oxytocin producing hypothalamic neurons in physiological and pathological conditions.
He talks to us about the importance of good teaching and mentorship provided by exceptional teachers. He also tells us his experiences of growing up in Brazil as the son of an Egyptian father and a Brazilian mother and about the importance of representation and inclusivity in academia across career stages.
Born in Vitória Brazil, André got his u...2021-05-3119 minThe Alba Diversity PodcastS1E6 Noèlia Fernández Castillo - Pushing the limitsDr. Noèlia Fernández Castillo was awarded her PhD in Genetics from the University of Barcelona in 2011. She is currently a researcher at the Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Enfermedades Raras(CIBERER) and an Associate Professor of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics at the University of Barcelona.
The main focus of her research is on the genetic basis of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Addiction, Autism, ADHD and aggressive behavior, using different methodological approaches that include genomics, transcriptomics, methylomics, association studies, animal and cellular models and functional studies.
As a person with rheumatoid arth...2021-04-2621 minThe Alba Diversity PodcastS1E5 Nancy Padilla-Coreano - Cultural immigrant in STEMDr. Nancy Padilla-Coreano is a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Science with Prof. Kay Tye. She did her graduate thesis work at Columbia University in the laboratory of Prof. Joshua Gordon on functional connectivity in hippocampal-prefrontal pathway during anxiety behavior and collaborations on the role of interneurons in the prefrontal cortex during cognition. She talks to us about her experiences as an immigrant from Puerto Rico navigating American STEM academia.
Along with being a recipient of many awards and fellowships, she was recently nominated as a L’Oreal USA Women in Science Fell...2021-03-2927 minThe Alba Diversity PodcastS1E4 Huda Yahya Zoghbi – Winner of Brain Prize 2020Prof Huda Yahya Zoghbi is a Professor of Pediatrics, Neurology, Neuroscience, and Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital.
Her work has led to the discovery of the genetic cause of Rett syndrome and provided insight into the function of the gene in various neurons. Along with training over 90 scientists and physician-scientists who have gone on to successful careers, she is the recipient of many prizes including the Breakthrough Prize in Li...2021-02-2228 minThe Alba Diversity PodcastS1E3 Basma Radwan - Empowering women in scienceBasma Radwan is a postdoctoral research associate in the Biology department at New York University, Abu Dhabi. She talks to us about her experience as a woman scientist and single mother. She credits her time in NYU, New York as formative for her personal and scientific growth. As an Egyptian woman, she shines a light on the kind of cultural messaging that young Egyptian girls receive while growing up.
Basma Radwan received her B.S. degree in neural science from New York University, New York, the M.S. in biomedical engineering from Boston University, and Ph...2021-01-2517 minThe Alba Diversity PodcastS1E2 José Zepeda - Academia needs a culture changeJosé Zepeda is a poet-scientist hybrid and originates from San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora in México. He talks about his experiences as a first generation immigrant making his way in academia. As a DREAMer, he recounts incidents of his life when he first recognized racism and racist attitudes. During the conversation, he shares poignant insights on how academic institutions need to change their power structures to better reflect the diversity of today’s society.
During the day, he is interested in how neural circuits within the brain can rewire themselves within the context of experience, both...2020-12-2819 minThe Alba Diversity PodcastS1E1 Ibukun Akinrinade - Pursuing your dreams: a career in neuroscienceDr. Ibukun Akinrinade just concluded her PhD from Prof. Rui Oliviera at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia, trying to understand the role of oxytocin in social behaviour in Zebrafish. She talks to us about being an African woman neuroscientist and a mother. Ibukun credits her mother-in-law as her personal mentor, who constantly champions her work and efforts to become a scientist. She also tells us about TReND in Africa, a charity organization that gave her the exposure and skills she needed to become the neuroscientist she is today.
Originally from Nigeria, She has a background in Anatomy...2020-11-3023 min