Further Together the ORAU Podcast

Latest Episodes:

How the world benefits from Emory University's history of research and technology transfer Feb 27, 2025

Show notes

Emory University has been a member of the ORAU University Consortium since it was established in 1946. The university has a long and storied history of research. L:ast year, Emory's research expenditures surpassed $1.2 billion primarily focused on biomedical research as well as infectious diseases, global health, brain health, artificial intelligence and more. Emory also has a robust technology transfer office, where drugs and devices developed through research make their way to the marketplace. The Journal of Technology Transfer in 2023 listed Emory University as third in the world in drug development, behind the National Institutes of Health and the University of California system. Emory's successes include the development of drugs to treat HIV and hemophilia, and a device that helps collect mosquitos that are studied for diseases. Host Michael Holtz talks to Kimberly Eck, MPH, Ph.D., Emory associate vice president of research, and Todd Sherer, Ph.D., associate vice president of research and executive director of the Office of Technology Transfer. Emory's history underscores the importance of research and tech transfer, and is endlessly fascinating. Check this episode out! To read the Journal of Technology Transfer article, visit https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10961-023-10007-z

From artist to investigating the terrain of one of Saturn's moons: Joey Pasterski, Ph.D., NASA Postdoctoral Fellow Feb 12, 2025

Show notes

Joey Pasterski, Ph.D., is not your traditional scientist. He took piano and voice and avoided science at all costs until he went back to school in his later twenties. Today Pasterski is a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow researching laser desorption mass spectrometry for the Dragonfly mission, which will land a rotorcraft on various locations on Titan, Saturn's moon. During this conversation, Pasterski talks to host Michael Holtz about why studying Titan is important, how the moon is like a bizarro earth, and how the trajectory of his life changed when he discovered a love for science. Check it out! To learn more about the NASA Postdoctoral Program, visit https://npp.orau.org/.

Using augmented reality to improve breast cancer biopsies: A conversation with Alycen Wiacek, Ph.D. Jan 29, 2025

Show notes

More than a million breast biopsies are performed annually in the United States, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The need to ensure diagnostic accuracy is great. Alycen Wiacek, Ph.D., motivated by the impact breast cancer has had on her family and a desire to make a difference, is conducting research to help make biopsies more accurate through engineering and augmented reality. In this episode of Further Together, host Matthew Underwood talks to Wiacek about her research. Wiacek is an assistant professor at Oakland University. In her lab, the Medical Acoustics for Global Health Imaging and Clinical Translation (MAGIC), she and her students are developing a system that integrates various imaging modalities into AR to assist in the targeted biopsy of breast masses. This approach with AR means images and information can be displayed directly in the physician’s field of view to better guide the biopsy process. Her research is supported by an ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award in partnership with the Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA).

The state of research at ORAU, and a look ahead to our 2025 annual meeting Dec 12, 2024

Show notes

Ken Tobin, chief research officer, and Cathy Fore, senior director of university partnerships, sit down with hosts Michael Holtz and Abbey Becker to discuss the state of research at ORAU. As an institution, ORAU has its hands in more research than ever before, involving our own subject matter experts, as well as that of our government agency partners and our university consortium members. This episode includes discussion of recent research successes and the matchmaking that Fore does to increase the value proposition for consortium members. We discuss ORAU's current research priorities and the topics of recently awarded ORAU-Directed Research and Development projects. We also do a quick wrap up of the 2024 annual meeting, which focused on STEM education and look ahead to the 2025 meeting and its focus on advanced manufacturing. To learn more about all of the activities in our Research and University Partnerships Office, or to register for the 2025 annual meeting, visit: https://www.orau.org/partnerships/index.html

A polar vortex, Antarctica and a balloon-borne telescope: A conversation with Ali Alqaraghuli, NASA NPP Fellow Nov 21, 2024

Show notes

Ali Alqaraghuli, Ph.D., was just about to start his NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship when he was interviewed by Further Together host Michael Holtz. Alqaraghuli's research focuses on the ASTHROS balloon-born telescope. The focus of ASTHROS is to place the telescope over the Antarctic to gather and better understand how stars form. Alqaraghuli is developing a portable test bed to help calibrate the antenna and the telescope. At NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Los Angeles, scientists have all the facilities they need to test and track and adjust things if needed. "Once we ship everything to Antarctica, we're kind of a bit limited on what equipment is available, and things of that nature. So my main project really is to develop like a portable test bed that we can take with us to Antarctica that basically can do just as good of a job as if we were to have all these big fancy machines in the JPL Center," he says. To learn more about the NSA Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, visit https://npp.orau.org/

Under Pressure: An epidemic of loneliness, a parental/caregiver stress crisis, contributing factors and how ORAU is helping Nov 13, 2024

Show notes

The U.S. Surgeon General says Americans are confronting an epidemic of loneliness. About half of U.S. adults report experiencing loneliness, and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Loneliness has physical health consequences, and impacts work performance, academic achievement and our overall mental health. Additionally, the Surgeon General has warned that the stress of caring for children has an impact on our mental health. Many members of Generation X may be caring for children or again parents or both, and the stress of caregiving has impacts on mental health as well. In this episode of Further Together, hosts Michael Holtz and Matthew Underwood talk to Jennifer Reynolds, senior manager of health communication, marketing, and promotion and Kristin Mattson, senior health education specialist. Both work in ORAU's Public Health and Healthcare Program. Throughout this episode, the hosts and guests discuss the problems, contributing factors, their lived experience, and where ORAU has done work to better understand and provide solutions. For more information on the work of ORAU's Public Health and Healthcare team, visit https://orau.org/public-health-healthcare/education-and-promotion.html. This Peer Recovery Workforce Program Certificate mentioned in this podcast is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $777,115 with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

Destination Healthy Aging: An ORAU Innovation Partnership Program story Nov 04, 2024

Show notes

As Baby Boomers continue to age -- and let's be real Generation X isn't far behind -- healthy aging and how to care for this population will be critical. Elaine Jurkowski, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of Southern Illinois Carbondale, received an ORAU Innovation Partnership Programs grant to host a day-long event called Destination Healthy Aging. The continuing education event for health care workers addressed caregiving, addressed the caregiver, addressed our workforce, talked about life after caregiving, talked about building communities that would be inclusive and age friendly for caregiving. We also addressed person-centered care and caregiving in place. That is, people remain in their own home and we figure out ways to strengthen the caregivers, so that they can do that job in helping that loved one stay in their home for as long as possible and even, hopefully, till they transition from this life. In this episode of Further Together, host Michael Holtz talks to Jurkowski and student GeVonna Fassett about the Destination Healthy Aging event, including how they decided to launch a program and the topic and what the impact was. ORAU's Innovation Partnerships Program is structured to build stronger relationships between ORAU and University Consortium members. The program offers $4,000 grants that can be used to implement conferences, seminars and other events focused around a variety of focus areas. To learn more about the Innovation Partnerships Program, visit https://orau.org/partnerships/grant-programs/innovation-partnerships.html

Exploring the benefits of incorporating plants into daily life: An ORAU Innovation Partnership Grant story Oct 17, 2024

Show notes

Lakshya Sharma is student coordination manager for the Resource Center of Excellence Greater Atlanta, one of dozens of such centers around the world working to advance the United Nations' sustainable development goals. An ORAU Innovation Partnership Grant was awarded to RCE Greater Atlanta and Georgia Tech to help fund an Urban Horticulture and Permaculture Workshop, which brought together students from Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Georgia State, Morehouse College, Spelman College and other institutions across the Atlanta area. In this episode of Further Together, Sharma talks to host Michael Holtz and guest host Tracie Curtright from ORAU's Research and University Partnerships Office about the workshop. Sharma says students learned to incorporate plant life into their daily lives by gardening where they are. Sharma says the series of workshops also focused on the mental health benefits of caring for and having plants in your physical environment. Curtright shared details about the IPG program, and how ORAU's university partners can apply to use these $4,000 grants to grow attendance and dissemination of events like the one Sharma and his team organized. To learn more about the IPG program, visit https://orau.org/partnerships/grant-programs/innovation-partnerships.html

There is always something to be excited about in science: NASA NPP Fellow Sunil Pulletikurti, Ph.D. Oct 03, 2024

Show notes

Sunil Pulletikurti, Ph.D., is NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow conducting research on the chemical origins of life. Essentially, he's investigating how small molecules become parts of larger molecules -- for example, how an amino acid becomes part of a protein and other cellular transformation. In this conversation with host Michael Holtz, Pulletikurti takes a deep dive into his research, the time he spent at NASA before his postdoctoral fellowship, what sparked his interest in science, the struggle of coming from an impoverished childhood in India to being part of a global research enterprise, and how the fellowship will impact his career. Learn more about the NASA NPP program at https://npp.orau.org/index.html.

The fight against cancer takes all of us: A conversation with Rachel Matlock from the Tennessee Department of Health Sep 20, 2024

Show notes

As part of our continuing series of conversations with leaders in the cancer space, hosts Michael Holtz and Matthew Underwood sit down with Rachel Matlock, manager of the comprehensive cancer control program at the Tennessee Department of Health. She also manages the Tennessee Cancer Coalition, which brings together stakeholders from across the state to reduce the cancer burden in the state. Her focus is primarily on cancer prevention and early detection. In this conversation, we discuss how Rachel got to her role, the Tennessee Department of Health's role in the fight against cancer, how she works with local health departments, community organizations, researchers, healthcare providers, decision makers and everyone involved in the fight against cancer. To learn more about Tennessee's Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, visit https://www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/fhw/tennessee-comprehensive-cancer-control-program.html.

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