Listeners, we are bringing you a special cross-over event with The AJP-Heart and Circ Podcast. In our January 2022 episode on Cortical Bone Stem Cells Effects on Cardiac Wound Healing, we talked with senior authors Dr. Steven Houser and Dr. Timothy McKinsey about their collaboration on two recently published articles by Hobby et al. and Schena et al. In this new episode of Behind the Bench, hosts Dr. Lisandra de Castro Brás (East Carolina University) and Dr. Charlotte Usselman (McGill University) interview first authors Dr. Alexander Hobby (University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus) and Dr. Giana Schena (Rajant Corporation). Why two podcast episodes on the same two articles? The studies represent a unique collaboration between the Houser Lab and the McKinsey Lab, and Alex and Giana are both former Houser Lab members who have pursued different paths. Alex transitioned to a post-doc position in the McKinsey Lab doing molecular studies, a departure from the large animal studies he conducted in the Houser Lab. Giana moved from academia to industry, working for Rajant Health, a healthcare business division of Rajant Corporation. Both Alex and Giana have unique perspectives that will resonate with anyone determining which path to take next in their science career. Give a listen.   Giana J. Schena, Emma K. Murray, Alycia N. Hildebrand, Alaina L. Headrick, Yijun Yang, Keith A. Koch, Hajime Kubo, Deborah Eaton, Jaslyn Johnson, Remus Berretta, Sadia Mohsin, Raj Kishore, Timothy A. McKinsey, John W. Elrod, and Steven R. Houser Cortical bone stem cell-derived exosomes’ therapeutic effect on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion and cardiac remodeling Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published November 8, 2021. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00197.2021   Alexander R. H. Hobby, Remus M. Berretta, Deborah M. Eaton, Hajime Kubo, Eric Feldsott, Yijun Yang, Alaina L. Headrick, Keith A. Koch, Marcello Rubino, Justin Kurian, Mohsin Khan, Yinfei Tan, Sadia Mohsin, Stefania Gallucci, Timothy A. McKinsey, and Steven R. Houser Cortical bone stem cells modify cardiac inflammation after myocardial infarction by inducing a novel macrophage phenotype Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published September 23, 2021. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00304.2021