Catalyst Fusion: Recent Episodes
Rice Catalyst
Professor Yousif Shamoo is a Ralph and Dorothy Looney Professor of Biosciences and has been the Vice Provost for Research since 2014. In this interview, Dr. Shamoo explains his research on the rise of multi-drug resistant bacteria and the process of discovering antibiotics. We also discuss questions pertaining to the evolution of resistance in hospital pathogens and what can be done about it.
Dr. Ramesh Koka is a Gastroenterologist in Fort Myers, Florida. He graduated from Gandhi Medical College in Hyderabad, India and completed his internal medicine training at Graduate Hospital and his fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Albert Einstein Hospital in Philadelphia. In 2007, he joined the Gastroenterology associates of Southwest Florida. In this interview, Dr. Koka discusses his experiences with healthcare during the pandemic, as well as changes he foresees through focusing on telehealth, physician burnout, and addressing determinants of health.
Dr. Roberta Anding is the sports dietician for Rice University Athletics and a part-time faculty in Rice’s Kinesiology department. She has previously served as the sports dietician for various professional teams in Houston, including the Texans, the Astros, and the Houston Ballet. In this interview, Dr. Anding discusses what creating a sports nutrition program entails, as well as the challenges and changes that are made to these programs in order to cater to different athletes and individuals.
Peter Park is a senior at Duncan College, studying cognitive science with a minor in biochemistry. Peter has been conducting independent research under Dr. Mingshan Xue in a neuroscience research lab at Baylor College of Medicine for the past 1.5 years. His project focuses on Neuroligand 2, a postsynaptic cell adhesion molecule and its function in different inhibitory synapses in neurons, and the potential role it plays in neurodevelopmental disorders.
What do we REALLY know about the human body? Harveen Kaur, a freshman at Rice University, sits down with Dr. Laura Kabiri, a Sports Medicine Lecturer at Rice’s Department of Kinesiology, to unravel the mysteries, the truths (and lies), and the hidden gems of the human body. From why people are so fond of fostering so many myths to scientifically inaccurate anecdotes that children around the world grow up believing, there’s so much about the human anatomy that remains unanswered and misinterpreted. Dr. Kabiri shares some of her personal favorite myths, and some very serious discussions arise over the funniest bone in the body. Additionally, many myths are busted regarding those looming over the health of college students, prescribed and over-the-counter medications, and allergies. Join Dr. Kabiri and Harveen Kaur to move one step further to busting some of the greatest and widest myths of the human body!
Dr. Yingyan Lin is an Assistant Professor in the ECE Department and head of the Efficient & Intelligent Computing (EIC) Lab at Rice University. During this interview, Dr. Lin discusses the importance of machine learning as a field of research and tells her story of how she became introduced to the topic during her education. She also discusses two exciting new projects from the EIC Lab, including a self-improving pacemaker, and her advice for starting research as an undergraduate.
Dr. Kirsten Ostherr is the Gladys Louise Fox Professor of English and the Director of the Medical Humanities Program here at Rice University. This interview explores Ostherr’s experiences as a specialist on health information and communication technologies. Topics discussed include media’s role in the propagation of negative perceptions and stereotypes of AIDs patients, the correction of negative, misinformed public opinion, the influence our relationships with social media have over health, and the effects of the era of big data and information breaches on our personal lives, among others.
Shravya Kakulamarri and Elisa Arango are seniors at Rice University who were involved in a project with the Rice 360 Institute for Global Health, a department dedicated to “innovating creative solutions to problems in low-resource settings.” Shravya and Elisa went to Brazil in the summer of 2017 to help create mammogram and ultrasound guided breast cancer training models for medical students.
Professor Rachel Harmeyer is a Ph. D candidate in the art history department here at Rice. She also teaches a First Year Intensive Writing Seminar class called “Know Thyself”, which discusses the history of medical illustrations across cultures over time and what these pieces of art revealed about culture, society, and religion. In this podcast, we discuss the intersection of art and science and the complex history of anatomy and medicine, including the cultural and moral issues that surround them.
Interview conducted by Mabel Tang.