Academia Through Time

08/30/22 • 50 min

In this unique episode, Hend and Julie chat with scientists at different career stages and backgrounds about changes that have been happening in Academia over the years. We hear from Prof. Jim Kaufman and Dr Nisha Philip of the Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, and Prof. Loeske Kruuk, and Dr Helen Alexander of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution. How was Academia when these scientists began their careers and how have their lived experiences shaped who they are now as academics? What are their thoughts on the “two-body problem” in Academia? What advice can they give to academics who are also trying to carve their own scientific careers? We hear about their answers to these questions and more.
Although the qualities of being a scientist are still the same, the world of Academia has changed. Things like collaboration has become more prominent. Working with colleagues across the world has become easier with technology. Awareness for mental health and work environments has also been given considerable focus. On the negative side, the biggest challenges for current academics are job and financial security. Diversity in available careers should be highlighted: not everyone wishes to be a Principal Investigator so training for these alternate career paths should be highlighted.

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Spore Wars - Microbial Biotechnology in Space with Dr Rosa Santomartino

In this episode, Rose Doyle talks to Dr Rosa Santomartino of the UK Centre for Astrobiology about her research that’s “out of this world”. Rosa talks about her journey to become an astrobiologist and what she does as a researcher in Astromicrobiology: the study of microorganisms and their behaviour in an extra-terrestrial environment. We hear about her work on sending microbes to the International Space Station to mine precious metals from asteroids, the excitement and the difficulties of setting up experiments in space. She then discusses the potential—and current limitations—of sending microbes to space.
In the coda this week, Apple Chew tells us all about cell cultured meat: Why we should care about reducing our meat consumption and what exciting technological advancements are being made by companies trying to help us achieve that. Who knew that you can get already eat cell cultured sushi?

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