The research lounge: Recent Episodes
Joe
On this podcast I will be covering a range of topics. From understanding the molecular mechanisms of why interventions such as exercise & nutrition can improve our quality of life. Also, I will be talking to different PhD students, about why they started a PhD and tips and tricks they have for anyone wanting to start one.
Maria is a PhD student at the National Horizons Centre, Teesside University. Her PhD project involves investigating the roles of mitochondria in Parkinson’s disease, using fruit flies as a model system. The project combines a mix of genetics with molecular biology. She hopes that this research will improve knowledge around the mechanisms that cause Parkinson’s disease, and pave the way for future therapeutics.
Unsurprisingly, this research has increased Maria’s interest in the power mitochondria have in the body and as a result, she is particularly interested in the role of mitochondria in health and disease, and hopes to continue researching this.
Prior to starting her PhD, Maria completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science with a diploma in professional practice, as a result of a placement year in an NHS Histology laboratory. Following this, she went on to complete a Master of Research degree in Medical and Molecular Biosciences, completing a project in the replication of mitochondria during early embryo development.
Outside of her PhD, Maria exercises her passion for science communication not only via her Instagram account (@ABioBlog) but also by writing for her blog (https://abioblog.wordpress.com). She is keen to improve science outreach in areas in the UK that experience deprivation and higher levels of unemployment, with the hope that this enhances access to STEM careers for women.
Outside of science, Maria enjoys exploring the Northern countryside with her cockapoo, Monty.
Dr. Nicholas Norwitz holds a PhD from Oxford University in ketogenic and brain metabolism, works as a metabolic health practitioner, conducts clinical research, writes papers, lectures on the international stage, and is now pursuing his MD at Harvard Medical School. In addition to Nick's, academic credentials he has a history of struggling with and overcoming life-threatening metabolic diseases.
https://youtu.be/y2louDfTFt0 - Story
https://newmediketo.com - His website
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/4/1362/htm - His most recent paper
Dami is a clinician-scientist with an interest in virology. She is currently doing a Ph.D. at UCL and is a visiting clinal research fellow at the University of Cambridge. She has a background in epidemiology and has worked at Africa Health Research Institute where she worked on HIV central nervous system escape and HIV resistance. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, she has worked on SARS-COV-2, exploring the impact of viral evolution and the variants of concern on patient outcomes and vaccine response.
Diana is a PhD student at the University of Surrey and is based at the Animal and Plant Health Agency working on characterizing equine immune cells and determining their interactions with viruses.
Katrina is a Ph.D. student based at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. She's enrolled in a centre for doctoral training that combines medical research with business studies at the University of Edinburgh. She uses new microscopy techniques to study the pancreas and is interested in treating type one diabetes with cell replacement therapy.
Hey everyone welcome to another podcast episode. Today I had with me Aamir Hussain who is a post-doc at the University of Leicester in the field of Respiratory Pharmacology. He completed his PhD at De Montfort University looking at different novel antiangiogenic compounds.
Liam is an SENr-registered Sport and Exercise Nutritionist (Graduate), having completed his undergraduate degree in BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science at Sheffield Hallam University and MSc Sport and Exercise Nutrition at Leeds Beckett University. He has now relocated and enrolled in a PhD in the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). His experience in sport science and nutrition began with British Diving in Sheffield during his undergraduate degree. Next, alongside postgraduate study at Leeds Beckett University, Liam volunteered in the Applied Practice Programme. This led to experience working as a performance nutritionist with a para-powerlifter, regional rugby players, female sports teams and Team GB Racewalking. Before moving abroad, Liam worked in the NHS as a Dietetic Assistant with the Type 2 Diabetes team in Leeds. Personally, he had the privilege of attending trials for Team GB Para-Triathlon and Cycling, and England Football as a teenager. He is now an endurance enthusiast and a classified T38 (cerebral palsy) Para-Athletics athlete. Liam is more than happy for you to contact him via the details below if you wish! Twitter: https://twitter.com/LiamOliverNutri
Hey everyone today on the podcast I had Shehroz with me. Shehroz is a PhD student at Aberdeen University looking broadly at novel gene targets for treatments of obesity-related diseases more specifically focusing on a target involved in fatty liver disease. We spoke about using animal models in research, research around obesity, and general life as a PhD student. Enjoy the episode.
Brad is a 1st year Neuroscience PhD student at The University of Southampton. He's studying the mechanisms of aging (with a focus on the Cytoskeleton) in a healthy system using Drosophila as a model. This is leading on from an Integrated Masters degree in Neuroscience where he researched methods of Tau spread in-vivo. We spoke about all things neuroscience and aging, enjoy.
Craig is a third year PhD student at the University of Gloucestershire. His research utilises non-invasive assessments of cardiovascular function to investigate the acute detrimental effects of sedentary behaviours, particularly prolonged sitting. Keep up to date with all of Craig’s latest research on ResearchGate (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Craig_Paterson3).
Hey everyone on the podcast this week I had with me Annabelle who is from Ireland. She is a second PhD student.
Her PhD area is in cancer research within Systems Biology and Bioinformatics. Her research topic uses mathematical models and machine learning to improve therapy for colorectal cancer. We spoke about all things PhD and how much we are both looking forward to the christmas break. Enjoy the podcast !!
Nafisa Insan is currently a second-year PhD student in Population Health Sciences at Newcastle University. Her project is a mixed-methods study that explores Antenatal Depression in rural Bangladesh. Specifically investigating the social determinants associated with antenatal depression and the perspectives that pregnant women and healthcare providers have around mental health. The research aims to improve maternal health in rural areas of Bangladesh and other LMICs reducing socio-economic and gender inequalities between and within countries. Aside from this, She has also started an insta PhD blog and a website - Nafisa’s Notes where she likes to share her PhD journey with some tips and advice for people thinking about doing a PhD and those just starting.
Hey everyone welcome to another episode of the Festa show. Today on the podcast I had Hasan who is a Ph.D. student in Oncology at Cambridge University. His project is investigating the role of a protein called CHCHD4 in regulating mitochondrial function and hypoxia signaling in vivo using zebrafish, as well as in vitro, using tumor cell systems. On the podcast, we spoke about how we both met working on COVID-19 together in the largest testing lab in the UK and how it motivated us with our Ph.D. work and an experience we are both grateful to be a part of and help. We spoke about Hasan's research at Cambridge and also his comedy.
Tafhima Haider is a molecular biologist completing the final year of her PhD at UCL. Her research focusses on gaining better understanding of the cell intrinsic innate immune system, using HIV-1 and HIV-2 viruses as a tool. Her work involves gaining mechanistic insight into how the cell intrinsic innate immune system restricts HIV-1 and HIV-2 entry into target cells. She is investigating the importance of Lentiviral Envelope cytoplasmic tails in modulating viral sensitivity to this immune response. Aside from this, Tafhima is passionate about women’s health, particularly global maternal health. She volunteers at an NGO as a global maternal health researcher and is involved in an implementation research project which aims to improve maternal mortality and morbidity, as well as empowering women in rural Bangladesh. Hope you all enjoy this podcast
Hey everyone welcome to episode 2 of the Festa show. Today on the show I had Tom weir who is a Ph.D. student researching the history of learning disability sport in Britain between 1960-2012. We spoke about the history of disability sport and where we are now with it. Hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think.
Hi everyone. Welcome to my first (proper) episode of the Festa show. On this podcast, I spoke to Liv and Ellie who both run PhDuniverse on Instagram. Liv studies the effect of air pollution on our epigenome and interested mainly in DNA methylation and Ellie studies male infertility and how can better categorise sperm defects by looking at new technologies. In this episode, we spoke about what's it like studying a Ph.D., how they both decided to study one, and studying a Ph.D. using bioinformatics. Hopefully, you enjoy the show and let me know.
Hi, Welcome to my first podcast.
In this first podcast I give a quick intro to who I am, what I study and why I wanted to start a podcast in the first place.
How Anchor started and changed into what it is today [0:42]