Further Together the ORAU Podcast

Latest Episodes:

ORAU-funded researchers give voice to small family farmers and how they respond to extreme weather events Sep 12, 2024

Show notes

September is National Preparedness Month, the annual campaign to remind everyone that preparing for emergencies and disasters can keep them, their families aMnd their communities safe. In this episode of Further Together: The ORAU Podcast, hosts Michael Holtz and Matthew Underwood talk to two researchers about how small family farmers manage extreme weather events and how that, in turn, effects their health. Amanda McHale, Dr.PH, research associate on ORAU's public health and healthcare team, and Jennifer Russomanno, Dr.PH, associate department head at the University of Tennessee Department of Public Health, discuss the research they conducted during their year-long pilot project. No research existed on the impact of extreme weather on this group of farmers, so McHale and Russomanno met with and interviewed farmers to see how they manage extreme weather events. Russomanno brings and interesting perspective to the conversation because she owns a small farm. Among their discoveries: the vast majority of small family farmers do not rely solely on farming for income. Their research was funded through the ORAU Directed Research and Development program, which supports collaborations between ORAU subject matter experts and faculty at consortium member universities. To learn more about ORAU-Directed Research and Development grants, visit https://orau.org/partnerships/grant-programs/odrd.html

Creating a fair and just healthcare system: A conversation with Charles R. Rogers, Ph.D. Aug 22, 2024

Show notes

Charles R. Rogers, Ph.D., is the founder and CEO of the Colorectal Cancer Equity Foundation, an organization dedicated to eliminating colorectal cancer disparities among black men and other marginalized groups. In this conversation, host Michael Holtz and special guest host Brenda Blunt, ORAU senior director of health policy, talk to Rogers about the critical need to eliminate disparities, the importance of education about colorectal cancer prevention and early detection, and the hard work of creating a fair and just healthcare system. Rogers talks about his research portfolio, why health equity drives his work and how he came to found the CRC Equity Foundation. To learn more about the foundation, visit https://crcequity.org/

Meet the Interns: 2024 Edition Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

For the second year, the ORAU Research and University Partnerships Office has funded an internship program that places students in meaningful roles across the organization for the summer. In this episode of Further Together: The ORAU Podcast, hosts Michael Holtz and Matthew Underwood talk to five of the six interns in this year's program about their experiences at ORAU, what they will take away from the experience and what comes next. Lindsay Motz from the Research and University Partnerships Office introduces us to Samantha Gross, Noah Price, Faryal Rafay, Brian Bros and Julio Chavez. Amanda Smith was unable to join us for this conversation, but we understand she has enjoyed her experience.

Aligning missions to increase cancer screening rates: A conversation with Bryan Goettel of Exact Sciences Jul 17, 2024

Show notes

Bryan Goettel is the director of advocacy and alliance relations for Exact Sciences, a Madison, Wisconsin, based biotechnology company. Exact Sciences is perhaps best known for its signature product, Cologuard, an at-home colorectal cancer early detection test for adults of average risk age 45 and older. Further Together host Michael Holtz has a history with the company, including sharing his cancer journey at the first-ever national sales meeting for Cologuard in July 2014 and attending the Cologuard Classic golf tournament as a cancer advocate this past spring. Exact Sciences is on the forefront of oncology treatment and cancer prevention. During this conversation, Goettel talks about where Exact Sciences is heading in the biotechnology space, how he got to be part of the company, the importance of the patient voice in shaping its products, and how companies like ORAU can join the fight against cancer. To learn more, visit https://www.exactsciences.com/

Leave no one behind: A conversation with Jody Hoyos, CEO of Prevent Cancer Foundation Jul 10, 2024

Show notes

In our continuing series of conversations with leaders in the oncology and cancer space, Further Together host Michael Holtz sits down with Jody Hoyos, CEO of the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The Prevent Cancer Foundation is the largest non-profit organization in the country solely dedicated to the prevention and early detection of cancer. As part of the conversation, Hoyos says companies like ORAU can help prevent cancer by educating and encouraging employees to get tested for colorectal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer and others and help them understand when they are eligible to get those tests. Holtz and Hoyos also discuss the foundation's latest early detection and prevention survey, and how Hoyos became the leader of the foundation. To learn more about the Prevent Cancer Foundation, visit https://preventcancer.org/

Men need to take charge of their health: A conversation with Mike Leventhal of the Tennessee Men's Health Network Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

As Men's Health Month (June) comes to a close, Further Together host Michael Holtz sits down with his friend and fellow health advocate Mike Leventhal, executive director of the Tennessee Men's Health Network, for a conversation about men and their health. Men are great about many things, like taking care of their families and their careers, but are not always great about taking care of themselves, which can be detrimental. The discussion includes the importance of seeing a doctor and a dentist for regular for checkups, and those all-important screening tests for colorectal and prostate cancers. Mike talks about how the Tennessee chapter of the Men's Health Network got started and some of the initiatives underway to help men better focus on their health. To learn more about the Men's Health Network, visit https://menshealthnetwork.org/.

Find the thing that gets you out of bed in the morning: A conversation with David Burtt, Ph.D., NASA NPP Fellow Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

David Burtt, Ph.D., is in his second year as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, studying martian geology using data from the Mars rover at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Burtt wound his way through several scientific disciplines before focusing on extraterrestrial geology. He discusses the pivotal moment where he had the courage to talk to an advisor about research he was working on. It wasn't exciting to him, so he pivoted. Burtt talks about working on the Mars rover in preparation for the Artemis project, the value of mentorship, the importance of collaborating with hundreds of people on one of the world's biggest, most important projects and the importance of connection to other people. Check out the conversation. Learn more about the NASA Postdoctoral Program fellowship, visit https://npp.orau.org/index.html.

Of rugrats, plant water usage and climate change: A conversation with Zoe Pierrat, Ph.D., NASA Postdoctoral Fellow May 22, 2024

Show notes

Understanding how plants use water resources and how they're responding to changes in climate and the resulting feedbacks on the climate system is important, and challenging. Zoe Pierrat, Ph.D., a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, says that while there are great models for some aspects of climate and climate change, plants adapt to the changes in their environment making understanding their impact more uncertain. Host Michael Holtz talks to Pierrat about all aspects of her NPP Fellowship, including how she got interested in science, how the NASA NPP has impacted her life and career, the value of mentorship and collaboration, and how being a curious rugrat started everything! To learn more about the NASA NPP program, visit https://npp.orau.org/index.html.

Leadership is about the people, not the leader: A conversation with Ken Tarcza, ORAU chief of staff May 08, 2024

Show notes

Ken Tarcza has served as a leader in several capacities, from the military to the U.S. Department of Defense to the U.S. Department of Energy. One thing he knows to be true is this: leadership is not about the leader. Leadership is about people: meeting them where they are and creation conditions where they can be successful. In this episode of the Further Together podcast, hosts Michael Holtz and Matthew Underwood unpack Tarcza's role as chief of staff, his commitment to meeting every new employee during their onboarding process, his role in ORAU's strategic planning process, and the life lessons he's learned over the course of his career. Learn why he retired twice and why he has an affinity for the statue known as "Iron Mike." Enjoy!

Every kid wants to be an astronaut: A conversation with Abhishek Desai, NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

Like just about any kid, Abhishek Desai grew up in India with dreams of becoming an astronaut. While that dream didn't come true, Desai is a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow studying space from Earth. His project at NASA focuses multimessenger and multiwavelength astronomy to explain processes happening inside an Active Galactic Nuclei. In this conversation with Further Together's Michael Holtz, Desai talks about coming to the United States for his education, the importance of collaboration and mentorship, the value of the NASA NPP program, and more. To learn more about the NASA Postdoctoral Program, visit https://npp.orau.org/index.html