Fail-Safe Science

failsafescience

Hello! Welcome to the Fail-Safe Science podcast. Fail-Safe Science is a video repository of successful scientists sharing stories about challenges they experienced during graduate school, how they overcame them, and advice they have for current grads. Ultimately, we created this repository to help science graduate students realize that they are not alone in the challenges they face.  To accompany the repository, each week we will be dropping an audio-only podcast version of one of the videos. Check back each week to listen to the latest featured scientist!

  1. 5d ago

    Episode 45: Dr. Rianne Stowell

    In this episode, we hear from Dr. Rianne Stowell, a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience (SMD) at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York. Her dissertation research focused on microglial roles in the adolescent visual spectrum, specifically how Noradrenergic signaling altered both microglial dynamics as well as critical period plasticity. Her work now still focuses on microglia, but instead in the adolescent frontal cortex, looking at how microglia affect the rewiring and plasticity of dopamine circuits. Here, Rianne explains what it was like to navigate grant rejection when applying for the same one three times. Though it wasn’t always easy to sit with the feelings and the feedback, Rianne moved forward through the processes of revisions and resubmitting by allowing herself permission to feel sad and frustrated, but then still pick herself back up and take action in her personal and professional life to care for herself and move forward. Let’s listen! Transcript: Here Scientist Info: Rianne Stowell Faculty Profile: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/people/112364684-rianne-d-stowell  Fail-Safe Science Repository: https://risecenter.asu.edu/fail-safe  Nominate a scientist for the repository: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevRFJqi8zYb1HTa_ppo2s6H962Ks_NgYSe1sQwbvE8KRU9ng/viewform?pli=1  International Postgraduate Mental Health Alliance (MHA): https://www.ispmha.com/  Mental Health Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14G5m91FLPY5gZSHUzWXAQ4Jnm4uX9AS0yhypus3gsuQ/edit?usp=sharing  Land Acknowledgement Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10lLcxY7OSsuTnXyq_CSC5Wvst8MSMRurisBfX5hK7AI/edit?tab=t.0

  2. Jul 20

    Episode 44: Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud

    In this episode, we hear from Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud, a postdoc in the Nai-Kong Cheung Lab at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, New York. His dissertation research focused on cancer plasticity in colorectal cancer, and his work now focuses on target radio therapy in prostate cancer. Here, Ahmed discusses what it was like for him to spend all of graduate school working towards the job he thought he wanted, only to realize when he got there that it was not the best fit for him. While he couldn’t change the tunnel vision that impacted his graduate school experience, Ahmed could still reflect on his past to decide how he wanted to move forward, which included reaching out to his support system of friends, peers and mentors. Let’s listen! Transcript: Here Scientist Info: Ahmed Mahmoud Postdoctoral Profile: https://www.mskcc.org/research/ski/labs/members/ahmed-mahmoud  Fail-Safe Science Repository: https://risecenter.asu.edu/fail-safe  Nominate a scientist for the repository: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevRFJqi8zYb1HTa_ppo2s6H962Ks_NgYSe1sQwbvE8KRU9ng/viewform?pli=1  International Postgraduate Mental Health Alliance (MHA): https://www.ispmha.com/  Mental Health Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14G5m91FLPY5gZSHUzWXAQ4Jnm4uX9AS0yhypus3gsuQ/edit?usp=sharing  Land Acknowledgement Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10lLcxY7OSsuTnXyq_CSC5Wvst8MSMRurisBfX5hK7AI/edit?tab=t.0

  3. Jul 13

    Episode 43: Dr. Lara Ferry

    In this episode, we hear from Dr. Lara Ferry, a President’s Professor and the Vice President of Research at Arizona State University, sitting within Knowledge Enterprise. Her dissertation research focused on the functional morphology of shark jaws, and her work most recently has focused on the material properties of cartilage and bone, and how those elements in an organism behave and shape the way we see structures. Here, Lara revisits her experience of failing her candidacy exams, and the struggles of having to think on her feet and answer questions from her committee in real time. Utilizing the stages of grief, Lara learned how to process these hard emotions, rather than suppress them, and was able to move forward a tougher and stronger person. Let’s listen! Transcript: Here Scientist Info: Lara Ferry Faculty Profile: https://search.asu.edu/profile/1621931  Fail-Safe Science Repository: https://risecenter.asu.edu/fail-safe  Nominate a scientist for the repository: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevRFJqi8zYb1HTa_ppo2s6H962Ks_NgYSe1sQwbvE8KRU9ng/viewform?pli=1  International Postgraduate Mental Health Alliance (MHA): https://www.ispmha.com/  Mental Health Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14G5m91FLPY5gZSHUzWXAQ4Jnm4uX9AS0yhypus3gsuQ/edit?usp=sharing  Land Acknowledgement Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10lLcxY7OSsuTnXyq_CSC5Wvst8MSMRurisBfX5hK7AI/edit?tab=t.0

  4. Jul 6

    Episode 42: Dr. Ajay Jagadeesh

    In this episode, we hear from Dr. Ajay Jagadeesh, a Senior Lecturer in Engineering Structures within the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. His dissertation research focused on “Pervious concrete pavement non-Darcy permeability and skid resistance analysis using XRCT-based numerical modeling”, and his work now focuses on Engineering Education and Structural Engineering. Here, Ajay talks about his struggle to finish a numerical model for his dissertation project, which included barriers that ranged from people refusing to share data with him, as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite these ups and downs, Ajay allowed himself time to process his anger and frustration into problem solving, journaling, and self reflection. Let’s listen! Transcript: Here Scientist Info: Ajay Jagadeesh Faculty Profile: https://www.tudelft.nl/staff/a.jagadeesh/  Fail-Safe Science Repository: https://risecenter.asu.edu/fail-safe  Nominate a scientist for the repository: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevRFJqi8zYb1HTa_ppo2s6H962Ks_NgYSe1sQwbvE8KRU9ng/viewform?pli=1  International Postgraduate Mental Health Alliance (MHA): https://www.ispmha.com/  Mental Health Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14G5m91FLPY5gZSHUzWXAQ4Jnm4uX9AS0yhypus3gsuQ/edit?usp=sharing  Land Acknowledgement Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10lLcxY7OSsuTnXyq_CSC5Wvst8MSMRurisBfX5hK7AI/edit?tab=t.0

    Episode 42: Dr. Ajay Jagadeesh

  5. Jun 29

    Episode 41: Dr. Robin Costello

    In this episode, we hear from Dr. Robin Costello, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York. Her dissertation research focused on the ecological causes and adaptive consequences of social behaviors in forked fungus beetles. Now, she conducts biology education research focused on how we can improve undergraduate biology courses. Here, Robin talks about a field season that went wrong for her after she finished her qualifying exam. Despite obstacles, Robin was able to persevere with the help of therapy and community, and learned that failure is often an important part of the process in research. Let’s listen! Transcript: Here Scientist Info: Robin Costello Faculty Profile: https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/biological-sciences/faculty/faculty-directory/costello.html  Lab Website: https://www.costello-lab.com/home  Fail-Safe Science Repository: https://risecenter.asu.edu/fail-safe  Nominate a scientist for the repository: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevRFJqi8zYb1HTa_ppo2s6H962Ks_NgYSe1sQwbvE8KRU9ng/viewform?pli=1 International Postgraduate Mental Health Alliance (MHA): https://www.ispmha.com/  Mental Health Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14G5m91FLPY5gZSHUzWXAQ4Jnm4uX9AS0yhypus3gsuQ/edit?usp=sharing  Land Acknowledgement Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10lLcxY7OSsuTnXyq_CSC5Wvst8MSMRurisBfX5hK7AI/edit?tab=t.0

  6. Jun 22

    Episode 40: Dr. Kendra Chritz

    In this episode, we hear from Dr. Kendra Chritz, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Kendra’s dissertation research was on using geochemistry, particularly light stable isotopes, to explore the diets of ancient peoples of eastern Africa during the period of transitioning from hunting and gathering to maintaining livestock, or food production. She also used stable isotopes to understand environmental changes occurring that could help contextualize that human diet switch. Today, she is still a stable isotope geochemist, and runs the Stable Isotope facility at the Pacific Center for Isotopic and Geochemical Research. Here, her research group uses different geochemical tools to explore things like environment, diet, and food webs in the past, mostly focusing on the long term period of mammal evolution, but is also still doing some work on ancient peoples, archaeological peoples, and hominids. Here, Kendra shares what it was like navigating her lab experiments after the breakdown of their mass spectrometer, and how she learned that sometimes, the most important lessons and problem solving you can learn are in times of failure, rather than times of success. Let’s listen! Transcript: Here Scientist Info: Kendra Chritz Faculty Profile: https://www.eoas.ubc.ca/people/kendrachritz  Fail-Safe Science Repository: https://risecenter.asu.edu/fail-safe  Nominate a scientist for the repository: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevRFJqi8zYb1HTa_ppo2s6H962Ks_NgYSe1sQwbvE8KRU9ng/viewform?pli=1  International Postgraduate Mental Health Alliance (MHA): https://www.ispmha.com/  Mental Health Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14G5m91FLPY5gZSHUzWXAQ4Jnm4uX9AS0yhypus3gsuQ/edit?usp=sharing  Land Acknowledgement Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10lLcxY7OSsuTnXyq_CSC5Wvst8MSMRurisBfX5hK7AI/edit?tab=t.0

  7. Jun 15

    Episode 39: Dr. Ella Wang

    In this episode, we hear from Dr. Ella Wang, an Instructional Assistant Professor at Chapman University in Orange, California. Ella’s dissertation research focused on investigating the role of Local and Crystallography Symmetries in Solid-State Coordination Complexes to Target Magnetic and Optical Properties. Currently, her work focuses on improving the student experience in general chemistry and inorganic chemistry courses. Here, Ella opens up about what it was like to transfer labs in graduate school after her primary advisor left the university. Through this experience, Ella learned how to utilize university resources, as well as the importance of reaching out to people and seeking help. Let’s listen! Transcript: Here Scientist Info: Ella Wang Faculty Profile: https://www.chapman.edu/our-faculty/yiran-wang.aspx  Fail-Safe Science Repository: https://risecenter.asu.edu/fail-safe  Nominate a scientist for the repository: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevRFJqi8zYb1HTa_ppo2s6H962Ks_NgYSe1sQwbvE8KRU9ng/viewform?pli=1  International Postgraduate Mental Health Alliance (MHA): https://www.ispmha.com/  Mental Health Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14G5m91FLPY5gZSHUzWXAQ4Jnm4uX9AS0yhypus3gsuQ/edit?usp=sharing  Land Acknowledgement Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10lLcxY7OSsuTnXyq_CSC5Wvst8MSMRurisBfX5hK7AI/edit?tab=t.0

    Episode 39: Dr. Ella Wang

  8. Jun 8

    Episode 38: Dr. Ángel Garcia

    In this episode, we hear from Dr. Ángel Garcia, an assistant professor at James Madison University. Ángel’s dissertation research focused on exploring how reliable is culturally-framed geological knowledge about karst, and his work now focuses on multiple aspects of cave and karst science. Here, Ángel talks about how he felt when he failed his comprehensive exams on his first try. However, despite obstacles Ángel was able to move forward in his degree with the support of community and better communication with his committee. Let’s listen! Transcript: Here Scientist Info: Ángel Garcia Faculty Profile: https://www.jmu.edu/geology/people/all-people/garcia-angel.shtml  Fail-Safe Science Repository: https://risecenter.asu.edu/fail-safe  Nominate a scientist for the repository: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevRFJqi8zYb1HTa_ppo2s6H962Ks_NgYSe1sQwbvE8KRU9ng/viewform?pli=1  International Postgraduate Mental Health Alliance (MHA): https://www.ispmha.com/  Mental Health Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14G5m91FLPY5gZSHUzWXAQ4Jnm4uX9AS0yhypus3gsuQ/edit?usp=sharing Land Acknowledgement Resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10lLcxY7OSsuTnXyq_CSC5Wvst8MSMRurisBfX5hK7AI/edit?tab=t.0

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About

Hello! Welcome to the Fail-Safe Science podcast. Fail-Safe Science is a video repository of successful scientists sharing stories about challenges they experienced during graduate school, how they overcame them, and advice they have for current grads. Ultimately, we created this repository to help science graduate students realize that they are not alone in the challenges they face.  To accompany the repository, each week we will be dropping an audio-only podcast version of one of the videos. Check back each week to listen to the latest featured scientist!

Information

  • Creator
    failsafescience
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    46
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Fail-Safe Science