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Happy New Year from Behind our Science! January marks Alzheimer’s Awareness month in Canada and we are ringing in the new year with our first episode of 2024!

In Episode 20 we cover dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, community resources available for the dementia community and caregivers, and the multi-group “Calling All Voices” project.

In this episode we meet with Jessica Luh Kim, Project Coordinator for the Asian community Calling All Voices paper and podcast series with Dementia Action Alliance (DAA), to learn about her incredible work with DAA and Global Council on Alzheimer’s Disease. Through this collaboration Jessica shares her role in the development of a white paper and podcast series highlighting the lived experience of people with dementia within the Asian community.

While greatly stigmatized, dementia is not something to be ashamed about. We are excited to shine the light on this impactful effort from Jessica and the team behind the “Calling All Voices” Project. During this interview we learned the importance of community and available resources that educate the community and caregivers on cultural sensitivity and competence around dementia care. Please check out resources highlighted in our episode
Dementia Action Alliance: https://daanow.org/?gclid=CjwKCAiA-vO...

White paper from DAA Black Community: https://daanow.org/wp-content/uploads...

White paper from LGBTQ+ Community: https://daanow.org/wp-content/uploads...

Ready for some more science? Our co-host Dr. Roberto Mota-Alvidrez sits down to interview with Dr. George Perry, Professor of biology and Chemistry at the University of Texas at San Antonio and the former dean of the College of Sciences. Dr. Perry also serves as Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, a peer-reviewed journal publishing studies on Alzheimer's disease research.

Stay tuned until the end of our episode for article highlights on important alzheimer's disease research:

Odor Identification Across Time in Mutation Carriers and Non-Carriers in Autosomal-Dominant Alzheimer's Disease. Almkvist O, Larsson M, Graff C. J Alzheimers Dis. 2024; 97(2):587-598. PMID: 38160354.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38160...

Patterns of Aging Changes in Bodyweight May Predic

In this episode behind our science brings you BTS of the first every Tissue, Matrix, and Pathobiology conference hosted by the American Society for Matrix Biology and our sponsoring societies the Histochemical Society and the American Society for Investigative Pathology. Join us as we explore poster sessions, network, and meet the brilliant trainees that made this conference a huge hit!

What happens at a scientific conference?
How do you pronounce ASIP?
How can you make conferences less intimidating and enjoyable?

We answer all this and more in this final episode for 2023!

.... AND DRUM ROLL! We introduce our newest segment for 2024- the behind our science SciPol Spotlight with Dr. Kelsey Dillehay McKillip! We will provide quarterly updates on the pulse of science policy and what that means for research as we know it!

Today’s episode focuses on the importance of reading, cardiovascular research, and Hispanic Heritage Month.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Dr. Vik Meadows interviews PhD Candidate in Toxicology, Catherine Rojas, about her experience as a Latina in STEM and Dr. Roberto Mota interviews Dr. Carmen de Miguel about her research and experience as a Hispanic woman in STEM.

Our co-hosts Dr. Roberto Mota, Dr. Daisy Shu, and Dr. Vik Meadows discuss the importance of reading and their current reading lists in celebration of National Read A Book Month (September). 

We also celebrate the importance of Cepasuchil, or Marigolds, with Dr. Vik Meadows as she shares insights into the cultural and scientific impact of these flowers in Latino culture and home gardens.

We hope you enjoy our episode!

Today’s episode is all about Immunology where we talk about the aftermath of immunization. 
Dr. Roberto Mota interviews Dr. Pavan Muttil about his new role as Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of New Mexico and discuss how his research has moved from the covid era into the new post covid-era. 
Dr. Roberto Mota talks about his exciting trips to San Diego where he participated in the Future Faculty of Cardiovascular Research program of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) as well as the American Diabetes Association meeting.

Dr. Daisy Shu interviewed Dr. Sabrina Ng showcasing the divergent changes in the metabolomic profile with different pathogenic stimuli on cells in the retina of the eye, these results can help to guide important discoveries in treatment for leading causes of blindness such as age-related macular degeneration. 

In line with our immunology theme for this episode, Dr. Vik Meadows shares some highlights on key papers that were recently published in the immunology field.

We are so excited to have you join us for Episode 16 where we cover mentoring and science sustainability, two very important factors in our lives as scientists.

In this episode we meet with Dr. Adam Gracz from Emory University and learn about his approach to mentoring and holistic lab management. He gave us great advice and tips on being a leader and his transition to start his own lab. We also interview Noah Pyles, co-founder of Polycarbin, a bio-sustainability company that is working to change how labs across the US approach plastic waste. He discusses the mission of Polycarbin, pipet tip recycling (yes! that's right- you can recycle unused, expired pipet tips!), and minimizing waste as a researcher. Our cohost, Dr. Vik Meadows, also recaps her experience as part of the IRACDA 2023 conference in San Antonio, TX.

We are grateful for your support of our podcast! Our goal is to continue serving our community by sharing the behind the scenes stories from scientists, disseminate advice and tips on thriving in research, and honest science communication.

Thank you for tuning in!

This episode is all about celebrations! We celebrate our co-host Daisy's wedding and conference honeymoon as well as Roberto's new position as Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Menglu Yang, Instructor in the Dept. of Ophthalmology of Harvard Medical School participates in our 7.3 Questions Segment. We also feature an interview with Dr. Heather Francis, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in January, 2019 as the Scientific Director of the Indiana Center for Liver Research (ICLR) and a Professor of Medicine.