Stay ConnectedPodcast interviews with genius-level (top .1%) practitioners, scientists, researchers, clinicians and professionals in Cancer, 3D Bio Printing, CRISPR-CAS9, Ketogenic Diets, the Microbiome, Extracellular Vesicles, and more.
Subscribe today for the latest medical, health and bioscience insights from geniuses in their field(s).
Copyright: © Richard Jacobs
Dr. Leibel and colleagues investigated what California's wildfire's meant in terms of health effects. He explains more by discussing
Board-certified pediatric allergist and immunologist at Rady's Children's Hospital in San Diego and Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine, Dr. Sydney Leibel is an allergy and immunology specialist. His work brings his interest in pediatrics and immunology together.
In this conversation, he recounts a group study on health effects and wildfires in southern California. Researchers gathered population-level information on hospital visits and combined it with the timing of the fires. In most cases with fire in a close area, no matter how small the fire, they noted an increase in hospital visits, particularly in patients 0 to 12 years old.
Dr. Leibel talks about the challenge of removing the small particulate matter from the lungs that comes from smoke. He notes that the best way to protect these kids is with prevention. This means keeping allergy suffers inside when conditions are bad, but also we need to do better work on mitigating effects of wildfires before they even start.
He also describes different reasons for why allergies seem to be a larger issue today and offers theories for how to change this. He comments that we now have better asthma medicines available, but need to reach more patients: he and other allergy and immunology specialists are working to reach under-served populations.
To learn more and find links to his research, see his web page profile at Rady's Children's Hospital, San Diego: https://www.rchsd.org/doctors/sydney-leibel-md-mph/
Find him on twitter as well: @saleibel.
Hein Min Tun, PhD, is a public health veterinarian and researcher who is currently leading research efforts at the University of Hong Kong School of Public Health. He discusses the details of his work, including the following:
After obtaining his PhD at the University of Hong Kong, Dr. Hein Min Tun conducted post-doctoral research on the microbiome and resistome in food animals, humans, and the environment at the Gut Microbiome Laboratory of the University of Manitoba. Following that, he joined the team at SyMBIOTA, where he studied gut microbiota during infancy.
His latest work has two main focuses: understanding how the gut microbiome is related to the colonization of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and what early microbiome development might reveal about the characterization of "healthy" microbiomes. He is the head of a team of researchers at the University of Hong Kong School of Public Health who aim to investigate these topics.
With the use of several statistical and machine learning approaches, Dr. Tun is analyzing population data on different cohorts of infants in order to tease out what factors are at play in the development of early microbiome trajectories and disease outcomes. For example, how does the health of the mother affect the health of the baby? How does the gut microbiome differ between a baby born vaginally and by cesarean section? Does exposure to chemicals or toxins in the environment influence the development of the microbiome? These are just a few of the questions Dr. Tun and his team are exploring. On today's podcast, he shares what they've discovered thus far, which areas need the most attention, and what's on the horizon for the field of microbiome research in general.
Learn more and view Dr. Tun's publications at https://sph.hku.hk/en/about-us/faculty-and-staff/academic-related-staff/tun,-hein-min.
Dr. Aiden works on analyzing the bending of our human genome, a 3-D complex arrangement that, in part, regulates our cells. This conversation explores
Dr. Erez Lieberman Aiden is an assistant professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. Over the course of the podcast, he describes how this architectural feat of our cells' genome is formed and the accompanying implications of the nature of this formation. As he explains the complexity of molecular genetics, he begins with a description of how this two-meter-long DNA strand fits inside each of our nuclei. Further, because the sequencing of the human genome is such a recent scientific accomplishment, our understanding of these bending twists and loops is growing almost daily.
He explains that this intricate packing of the human genome is not just a storage mechanism. Rather, as is the case with proteins, shape is essential to function—these physical loops form and bring enhancer elements in relation to a significant gene, for example. He adds that typically loops bring promoters of genes in contact with other elements in the genome to exchange information. All this gives rise to genetic regulation, which includes turning genes on and off.
Dr. Aiden also explains the practicalities of how these molecular genetics studies are accomplished, such as what microscopy enables them to see. Finally, he discusses some of the implications of this research: scientists ask why we have the same genome in the brain and the heart yet the cells do different jobs. It's clear the gene changes how it folds in different organ systems and that fold changes how each cell functions.
For more, see his lab page at https://www.aidenlab.org/ , which includes links to all the data from their research, and a recent article he published in Scientific American that explores aspects of these themes: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/human-genome-3-d/.
Dr. Lawrence Kirschner has over 20 years' worth of experience as a physician-scientist and clinical endocrinologist, which has allowed him to see directly how research impacts patients on an individual level. On today's podcast, he shares the details of his work. Tune in to learn the following:
Dr. Kirschner's sub-specialty is on diseases of the pituitary gland, with particular emphasis on the adrenal glands. Only about one in one million people will eventually develop malignant adrenal tumors, but it's an aggressive and difficult-to-treat type of cancer. In part, the absence of a good treatment approach for adrenal cancer is due to the fact that it's so rare, because this makes it difficult to conduct clinical trials. In recent years, however, a national collaborative effort to address this has been set in motion, which Dr. Kirschner sees as very promising for those who currently suffer from adrenal cancer or those who will in the future.
He discusses the details of his research, which aims to develop a better understanding of the genetics of endocrine tumors in order to determine how these genes function, and what particularly allows them to cause cell proliferation and/or the excess production of hormones. He talks about the many types of tumors and disease that can affect the adrenals, and the ways in which they can wreak havoc on the body. He dives into the science behind what his research has already discovered and where it's headed in the near future. Tune in for all the details. For general information about ongoing clinical trials, visit clinicaltrials.gov.
Assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UC Berkeley, Markita Landry, joins the podcast to discuss her latest research on nanoparticles and single molecule fluorescence methods. She explains the following:
In Dr. Landry's lab, she and her team are researching the uses and advantages of being able to control molecules that are on the scale of the building blocks of life—single nanoparticles the size of a single molecule of water.
She discusses the two primary focuses of her research, the first of which uses nanoparticles to deliver DNA, RNA, and protein into plants to improve their ability to resist pathogens and drought conditions. She explains that the technology they've created is different than conventional approaches which genetically modify plants, and as a result, the plants they alter will not be subject to lengthy and strict regulatory processes. In turn, this means that they will be easier to bring to market.
The second focus of her lab involves chemically altering nanoparticles in a way that will make them responsive to dopamine, an important signaling molecule in the brain that is a target for antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs. Dr. Landry and her team have created probes that fluorescently image dopamine in healthy and diseased brains, and this has led to surprising findings about the way in which individual neurons respond to certain substances.
Tune in for the full conversation and visit http://landrylab.com/ to learn more.
For close to 30 years, Dr. Frank Ryan has investigated theoretical evolutionary biology. In this conversation he discusses the genomic creativity of virus-host coevolution. Listeners will hear Dr. Ryan recount
Author Dr. Frank Ryan is Honorary Senior Lecturer of the Department of Medical Education at the University of Sheffield, UK, and an emeritus consulting physician with the affiliated Sheffield Teaching Hospitals. He's also a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of England and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and the Linnaean Society of London.
He recounts incidences of genomic creativity from his research into symbiont viruses and host coevolution. Early in his academic career, he studied bacteria phages in rabbits, and thus began a lifelong interest. He discusses relevant findings such as the mechanics of the coronavirus and its use of the host's ribosomes to replicate itself.
As he discusses the behavior of symbiont viruses, he explains how a virus like AIDS uses a selective pressure on its hosts through survival rates. He explains that if there were no medical involvement, Aids would have changed the human genome to benefit itself.
Finally, he talks about such controversial issues as the consideration of viruses as living vs. nonliving and explains what the ocean would like without viruses to keep the bacterial population in check.
For more information, see some of Dr. Ryan's books including Virolution and his most recent book, Virusphere.
Dr. Martin K. Nielsen works as an equine veterinarian researching parasites. He talks about his mission to control parasites in horses through helminths treatment. In this podcast, he explains
Dr. Martin K. Nielsen is an associate professor with the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The center takes on key issues regarding horse biology, but he specializes on helminths treatment, which means he also researches anthelmintic resistance in horses. Dr. Nielsen affirms the ubiquitous nature of parasites in animals and also emphasizes that there's no such thing as eradication.
Rather, he says, it's important to seek means of control and balance. When a healthy equilibrium is lost, the host animal suffers. Because today's veterinarian faces the challenge of anthelmintic resistance in horses, researchers are working on finding new means of controlling the parasite population.
This podcast also offers Dr. Nielsen an opportunity to discuss some of the mysteries of parasites, such as their ability to release compounds that deescalate their host's inflammatory immune response. Parasites also exhibit a dormant state over their lifecycle and researchers are trying to understand if this is triggered by the parasite or the host, and in either case, what benefit it may offer the organism. He also describes some new detection technology his lab has created to identify parasite counts through a special app.
Dr. Nielsen is active in social media and encourages listeners to find him on Twitter (@MartinKNielsen) and at his YouTube channel (Martin K. Nielsen Equine Parasitology), where he takes on parasite myths among other topics.
His lab page at the university also has more information: http://vetsci.ca.uky.edu/person/martin-nielsen-dvm-phd-dipl-acvm-dipl-evpc
Nicholas P. Money, professor and director, Western Program, Department of Biology, Miami University, Ohio, discusses mycology and microbes.
Podcast Points:
Money, an expert in mycology, is the prolific author of multiple books and articles that detail the microbial world. Money's latest book titled, The Selfish Ape: Human Nature and Our Path to Extinction, has created a buzz in the scientific community. In the book, he set out to counter many of the dominant narratives that exist in regard to homo sapiens. Money talks about the damaging effects humans have upon the environment as well as our negative impact on various species.
Money discusses carbon footprints, and he talks about his reasons for penning The Selfish Ape. Humans need to treat species more sensitively, and that's the bottom line. Money outlines many of the actions that have taken place in our time, and historically, that have impacted the environment overall. He discusses population growth, and comments on how little we hear about it when leaders talk of climate change.
Continuing, Money explains how fungi relate to our existence as humans. He discusses his career spanning more than 30 years, studying fungal reproduction. Money explains how fungi are different, and how they move, and he talks about the various qualities they have that typically do not exist in other places in the natural world. We can learn a lot about our own problems, as humans, by looking at, and studying, how fungi have solved theirs.
Dr. William J. Sullivan, featured on several media outlets including National Geographic and CNN, talks about his latest book Pleased to Meet Me: Genes, Germs, and the Curious Forces that Make Us Who We Are.
In this interview, he explains
Dr. Sullivan is the Showalter Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Indiana University School of Medicine where he studies infectious diseases and genetics. His new book stems from research in his university lab that studies Toxoplasma gondii, which can affect the brains and behavior of several organisms. He began investigating how microbes we don't know about might affect our own brains and personalities in undiscovered ways.
Over the course of the podcast, he describes the many ways that human personality and behavior is extraordinarily complicated. He explains some of the genetics and epigenetics that make our reactions to our environment more outside of our control than we'd like to believe.
Our DNA, the effects of epigenetics, microbes that live inside and on us, and our evolutionarily-derived brain reactions all have different influences on our behavior, from how we vote to our eating habits to our ability to control impulses.
In addition, his web site links to articles that take a deeper dive into some of the science he explores in his book. See more at https://authorbillsullivan.com/
Professor Laura Knoll is a parasitologist who joins the podcast today to discuss some of her research on a type of parasite called toxoplasma gondii.
She explains the following:
Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that can infect every warm-blooded animal on the planet, including humans. This parasite has the fascinating ability to enter muscle tissue and neurons in the brain to enact behavioral changes in the host. For example, a rodent infected with toxoplasma gondii will be attracted to the scent of predator urine rather than fearful of it, thereby exposing themselves to predation and allowing the parasite to continue thriving in other hosts—such as the cat.
Interestingly, the cat intestine is the only place where the sexual life cycle stage of toxoplasma gondii is found, which means the cat can shed infectious oocysts which can potentially put humans at risk of contracting toxoplasma gondii. However, Dr. Knoll explains that the vast majority of people who are chronically infected with this parasite have no idea, and suffer no negative consequences.
She explains how it can become a problem in people who have compromised immune systems, and the mechanism of host-parasite interaction that can occur in non-human animals and pregnant women who have never before been exposed to the parasite.
Until this past year, there was no way to research the sexual life cycle of toxoplasma gondii without using cats as research subjects, but thanks to Dr. Knoll and her team, the specific reason that the sexual stage only occurs in cats has been identified, which has enabled them to induce the sexual stage in mice.
With a mouse model, the opportunities for research have increased significantly and paved the way for the potential development of vaccines that could be administered to cats and livestock that carry and can pass on infectious oocytes.
For more, visit https://mmi.wisc.edu/staff/knoll-laura/.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
