Beyond Lab Walls | Salk Institute

Salk Institute
  • 4.9 (9)
  • LIFE SCIENCES
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Beyond Lab Walls is Salk’s podcast that highlights cutting-edge science and the researchers making it all possible. On the podcast, hosts Isabella Davis and Nicole Mlynaryk interview Salk’s internationally renowned and award-winning scientists to explore the very foundations of life, and learn about new understandings in neuroscience, genetics, immunology, plant biology and more. Beyond Lab Walls is a production of the Salk Office of Communications.

  1. Aksinya Derevyanko talks creative ties between dance and neuroscience

    JUL 30

    Aksinya Derevyanko talks creative ties between dance and neuroscience

    Aksinya Derevyanko is a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Nicola Allen's lab at Salk. For Derevyanko, recounting her journey from Russia to Spain to San Diego isn't just a practice in storytelling—it's an exercise in what she studies: memory. She watches the connections between our brain cells, called synapses, form, mature, and fail throughout our lifetimes and in diseases like Alzheimer's. Outside the lab? She tests her own synaptic strength by memorizing steps as a semiprofessional dancer.

    26 min
  2. John Reynolds on how our brains can play tricks on us

    JUN 24

    John Reynolds on how our brains can play tricks on us

    What is my place in the universe? This question began Professor John Reynolds’ introspective and philosophical journey into the world of neuroscience, where he now studies nebulous human feats like perception and consciousness. Reynolds constructs models and tools that allow him to lean into these intangible abilities and, in turn, make scientific sense of how our brains process the world around us.   See the transcript for further reading as you listen.

    39 min
  3. Joseph Swift says we're more like plants than we think

    MAY 28

    Joseph Swift says we're more like plants than we think

    Joseph Swift is a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Joseph Ecker's lab at Salk, but has recently launched his own start-up called CropDiagnostix. Inspired by his parents, Swift has always embraced “crazy” choices—leading him to leave Australia to study plant genomics in New York City then San Diego. In this episode, you’ll hear about everything from the microscopic similarities between plants and humans, to what it’s like road-tripping with a car full of potatoes.

    27 min
  4. Jeff Jones shares what we can learn from jellyfish about human aging

    APR 28

    Jeff Jones shares what we can learn from jellyfish about human aging

    Jeff Jones is a staff scientist in the lab of Professor Rusty Gage. Jones' journey to science started on a dirt road in Florida and with a slew of questions about cancer. His tinkering hands and inquisitive mind led him to study life's basic building blocks to uncover how, why, and when our cells age—and whether we can prevent age-related dysfunction.

    23 min
  5. Irene Lopéz Gutiérrez advocates for interdisciplinary Alzheimer’s research

    MAR 25

    Irene Lopéz Gutiérrez advocates for interdisciplinary Alzheimer’s research

    Beginning as a spark stirred by rainy day boredom in Galicia, Spain and encouraged by wanting to understand her grandfather's brain tumor, Irene Lopéz Gutiérrez became a neuroscientist. Now, she's a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Susan Kaech's immunology lab—searching for answers about Alzheimer's disease in the exciting new field of neuroimmunology.

    26 min
  6. Getting to the root of Alzheimer's

    FEB 24

    Getting to the root of Alzheimer's

    Things are changing in Alzheimer's research. We've got new tools and new ideas, and we want you to know about them. To kick off Salk’s “Year of Alzheimer’s,” hear how our scientists are bringing us closer to a more modern and personalized landscape of Alzheimer's diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

    28 min
  7. Kay Watt is harnessing plants to save the planet

    12/11/2024

    Kay Watt is harnessing plants to save the planet

    Kay Watt was not a scientist when she arrived in the remote jungles of Panama, assigned to help coffee farmers protect their plants from environmental harm. When she returned from the Peace Corps, she’d learned that driving change was a science in and of itself. Hear how the experience motivated Kay to become a plant geneticist and program manager, supporting the fight against climate change through Salk’s Harnessing Plants Initiative.

    34 min
  8. Daniel Hollern on B cells and breast cancer

    10/10/2024

    Daniel Hollern on B cells and breast cancer

    "What are the things that cause cancer in people? Can we prevent cancer?" These are the questions Assistant Professor Daniel Hollern is asking in his research at Salk. From blending spices and vinegar on his kitchen floor growing up in Michigan to blending computational biology and immunology on the lab bench in San Diego, learn about Hollern's life and scientific journey in this episode of "Beyond Lab Walls."

    29 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Beyond Lab Walls is Salk’s podcast that highlights cutting-edge science and the researchers making it all possible. On the podcast, hosts Isabella Davis and Nicole Mlynaryk interview Salk’s internationally renowned and award-winning scientists to explore the very foundations of life, and learn about new understandings in neuroscience, genetics, immunology, plant biology and more. Beyond Lab Walls is a production of the Salk Office of Communications.

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