Further Together the ORAU Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 93: Jonathan Levine: from research program participant to startup leader Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

For Jonathan Levine, reading the 2002 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report made it clear that global warming and its effects on those of lower-income households were clearly and swiftly becoming a reality. After the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Levine became a participant of the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Postgraduate Research Program, studying deep sea gas and oil rising through the ocean. Levine left academia and started his own company called Folia Materials to address environmental issues. Jonathan talks to host Michael Holtz about his NETL experience, how ORISE helped build his career, and the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork. You can also read more about Jonathan's experience at NETL here: https://orise.orau.gov/netl/experiences/levine.html ORISE is managed by ORAU for the U.S. Department of Energy

Episode 92: Endless possibilities: Jeff Kelly discusses using weather data for biological research Aug 10, 2022

Show notes

Scientists and weather watchers have been tracking weather and animal migration data for decades, mostly because they thought the data was interesting. Today, Jeff Kelly, University of Oklahoma biology professor and ORAU consultant, and other scientists use the convergence of archived weather and animal migration data with current technology to track changes caused by climate change over time. "Now we can look at decades of bird migration data, bat emergency data, and start to look at patterns related to climate change and weather changes and how they've impacted animals in ways that nobody really thought about when they started archiving those data." Join host Michael Holtz for a conversation about Kelly's research. You can also read more about Kelly's work here: https://orau.org/impact/people/jeff-kelly-uses-weather-data-for-biological-research.html

Episode 91: Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge helps 14,000 of our neighbors access free primary care services Jul 29, 2022

Show notes

The Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge provides no-cost primary care services to 14,000 people in its three-county service area. These are our neighbors, people who don't qualify for TennCare because they make a little too much money but can't afford health insurance. Think the coffee shop baristas, grocery store clerks, food delivery drivers, etc. Ashley Golden, director of health studies, is a member of FMCOR Board of Directors. She and Billy Edmonds, FMCOR executive director, talk about the work of the organization. Ashley has a fundraising goal of $5,000 to support FMCOR. Help her meet her goal by donating here: https://acommunitythrives.mightycause.com/story/H5kehf Learn more about FMCOR here: https://www.fmcor.org/

Episode 90: Health, healthcare and policy: ORAU as once, current and future pioneer Jul 20, 2022

Show notes

Our health is one of our most important personal assets, and Brenda Blunt, ORAU director of health policy, knows that from her experience as a nurse and her extensive experience working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She and host Michael Holtz discuss the importance of healthcare and health policy, during a wide-ranging conversation. One revelation: While ORAU is known for its health and healthcare history, including being a pioneer in the field of nuclear medicine and radiation therapy, we have also been actively involved in the formation of health policy for years, for customers like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We hope you enjoy this episode.

Episode 89: CIA Mission Possible winner Kourtney Purham reflects on the past school year Jul 05, 2022

Show notes

Kourtney Purham, a STEM teacher at Kramer Elementary School in Washington, D.C., was one of three winners of the CIA Mission Possible Classroom Transformation competition in 2021. After 15 years at another school, Purham's win of $25,000 in new technology for her classroom definitely made an impression. During this conversation, she and host Michael Holtz discuss what the last year has been like, how her students and her school have benefited from the new technology, and the learning challenges that still exist for her students. The conversation took place in a coffee shops just blocks away from the school, in the neighborhood where Purham lives and works. ORISE manages the Mission Possible program for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Episode 88: REAC/TS: Dr. Carol Iddins discusses the importance of this world-renowned DOE asset May 18, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, host Michael Holtz talks with Dr. Carol Iddins, director of the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, or REAC/TS. REAC/TS is a world-renowned Department of Energy asset located at ORISE. Dr. Iddins talks about the work of REAC/TS, the importance of their role for both DOE and the National Nuclear Security Agency, and how her team is always ready to respond in the event of a radiation incident.

Episode 87: Finding a place at the table for animal use and care in teaching veterinary students May 04, 2022

Show notes

Although rigid guidelines have been established for animal research, the parameters have not been as clear in the teaching and training of students veterinarians. Marci Savoy, Ph.D., a research associate with ORAU's research services team, co-authored a chapter on "Animal Care and Use in Veterinary Teaching and Clinical Services," for the book Finding Your Place at the Table, published by the Medical Library Association. In this conversation, Dr. Savoy shares her experience as a medical librarian and the challenges of finding standard protocols for animal care and use for teaching student veterinarians. The history of this topic is fascinating, including the development of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees. We hope you enjoy this conversation.

Episode 86: Research in Progress: How the pandemic has impacted career development for women in science Apr 13, 2022

Show notes

How has the coronavirus pandemic magnified barriers to career development for women in science? That's the question being researched by Dr. Laura Davenport, ORISE evaluation specialist for STEM Workforce Development, and Dr. Firouzeh Sabri, chair of the Department of Physics and Material Science at the University of Memphis. Their research is funded through the ORAU-Directed Research and Development program. In this episode of the podcast, we discuss how these scientists and their teams came to work together, where they are in the process, and what happens next. Barriers to career development for women in science is an important issue. Tune in for this enlightening conversation.

Episode 85: Finding the links between COVID-19 health risk disparities and air pollutant exposures Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

How did so-called lockdown or stay-at-home orders designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus impact air pollutant concentrations, particularly in underserved communities? That's the question Davyda Hammond, Ph.D., ORAU environmental engineer, and researchers at the University of Houston Air Quality Forecasting and Modeling Lab are working to answer. They are investigating and characterizing the human health risk disparities due to air pollutant exposures prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hammond's research was funded through the ORAU-Directed Research and Development program. In this episode of Further Together, Hammond discusses her research in-depth and talks about next steps for her and the research team.

Episode 84: How to rock your virtual ISO 9000 audit: A conversation with Kristy Kistner Mar 23, 2022

Show notes

Around here, Kristy Kistner is ORAU's quality queen. As the director of performance excellence, she, among other duties, oversees maintenance of ORAU’s ISO 9001:2015 registration, compliance with the U.S. Department of Energy quality assurance requirements, and conduct of assessments and process improvement initiatives. Next week, she will be speaking during the American Quality Institute's ISO 9000 and Audits World Conference, where she will discuss "How to Rock Your Virtual ISO 9000 Audit" based on her experience leading ORAU through virtual audits during the pandemic. No surprise, we rocked it! Help us improve the Further Together podcast. Take our survey: https://surveys.blubrry.com/oraufurthertogether

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