When her first career dreams were absolutely dashed, Dr. Maria Artunduaga reinvented herself, founded a company, and learned to thrive.Trained as a physician in her home country, Colombia, Maria dreamed of coming to the US to become a pediatric plastic surgeon and hustled to make it happen. When blatant discrimination and subsequent litigation forced her out of medicine forever, she felt stuck. Eventually, she trained and studied to become an engineer and entrepreneur. She founded Respira...

Skydeck, UC Berkeley’s startup accelerator program, has created a new model for funding education. They provide resources and funding to help university-affiliated founders go from idea to startup, and profits from Skydeck’s venture fund go directly back to the University. Double Shelix is delighted to welcome Caroline Winnett, Skydeck’s Executive Director, to discuss her path from concert violinist to MBA grad to startup gamechanger. We also discuss some of Silicon Valley’s systemic issues...

Science policy has created some of the biggest research initiatives of our lifetimes, like the Human Genome Project, the Cancer Moonshot, and even the Original Moonshot. It also dictates more mundane (but vital) aspects of scientists' lives like grant funding, and how graduate students' tuition stipends are taxed. Science policy panelists Andrew Bremer, Stephanie Mack, and Kathy Shield join Sally and Kayla to discuss their work bringing a grad student science policy group to UC Berkeley and...

You’ve secured a coveted faculty position - now what? Double Shelix welcomes Helen Zha, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. Helen started as a faculty in January 2018, and on this episode, we discuss her experiences on the faculty job market and how we can learn from her mistakes - and her successes! Helen shares the triumphs and challenges she has faced in the first year of running a brand new research group, and the best advice she’s...

Heidi Norton joins Double Shelix to discuss her transition from graduate school to living her best life as a senior molecular biologist at Biomeme, a biotech startup in Philadelphia. She shares her tips for using enthusiasm as a networking tool, and how students and early career professionals can identify their strengths and demonstrate them to potential employers. Heidi shares some of the awesome science she does Biomeme, creating hand-held PCR machines to find endangered species, diagnose...

How can you make the most of a short research or work experience? Sally and Kayla give their tips for how to succeed in a summer internship or research rotation, including how to manage day-to-day responsibilities, demonstrate your curiosity and eagerness, and finish strong to leave a great impression. We give the inside scoop on asking for letters of recommendation and navigating tough conversations about authorship and publication goals. Also, what to do when you end up in a truly toxic...

We wrap up the You do Belong in Science series with listener stories and lessons learned from this series. Listeners write in with stories about the importance of professors' LGBTQ allyship and dealing with chronic illness in graduate school. We reveal who does not belong in science (spoiler alert/content advisory, it's sexual harassers). We also welcome allyship correspondent Jon Muncie to discuss actions everyone can take to prevent and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace, fairly...

We wrap up the You do Belong in Science series with listener stories and lessons learned from this series. Listeners write in with stories about the importance of professors' LGBTQ allyship and dealing with chronic illness in graduate school. We reveal who does not belong in science (spoiler alert/content advisory, it's sexual harassers). We also welcome allyship correspondent Jon Muncie to discuss actions everyone can take to prevent and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace, fairly...

Professor Suhair Sunoqrot joins Sally and Kayla to discuss her experiences running her research lab at Al Zaytoonah University of Jordan and what she wishes international colleagues understood about the research climate in Jordan. Also on this episode, a listener is having a hard time fitting in while researching in another country, and we discuss Suhair's experience finding belonging in research labs in the US and Europe. Suhair successfully balances her nanoparticle and drug delivery...

Professor Suhair Sunoqrot joins Sally and Kayla to discuss her experiences running her research lab at Al Zaytoonah University of Jordan and what she wishes international colleagues understood about the research climate in Jordan. Also on this episode, a listener is having a hard time fitting in while researching in another country, and we discuss Suhair's experience finding belonging in research labs in the US and Europe. Suhair successfully balances her nanoparticle and drug delivery...

A STEM graduate degree can be a gateway to an amazing career, but many undergraduate students are unaware that these opportunities exist or how to navigate the grad school admission process. Guests Christina Fuentes and Shaheen Jeeawoody join Sally and Kayla to discuss strategies for enabling students to learn about and successfully apply to graduate school. Shaheen and Christina are both leaders in Graduate Pathways to STEM, a grad student-run organization that brings students from...

A STEM graduate degree can be a gateway to an amazing career, but many undergraduate students are unaware that these opportunities exist or how to navigate the grad school admission process. Guests Christina Fuentes and Shaheen Jeeawoody join Sally and Kayla to discuss strategies for enabling students to learn about and successfully apply to graduate school. Shaheen and Christina are both leaders in Graduate Pathways to STEM, a grad student-run organization that brings students from...

Many students arrive in college under-prepared for success, and professors have the responsibility - and opportunity - to help them gain skills to enable their success and find belonging in STEM. However, few professors are trained to help students develop these skills, so our guest, Sherri Messersmith, incorporates them into her series of developmental math textbooks! On this episode, Sherri shares her journey in math, from besting elementary school bullies on every math test, to high school...

Many students arrive in college under-prepared for success, and professors have the responsibility - and opportunity - to help them gain skills to enable their success and find belonging in STEM. However, few professors are trained to help students develop these skills, so our guest, Sherri Messersmith, incorporates them into her series of developmental math textbooks! On this episode, Sherri shares her journey in math, from besting elementary school bullies on every math test, to high school...

The real value of STEM outreach is the positive youth development and mentorship that students receive. Being inspired to pursue a STEM career? That's just a welcome bonus, says our guest, math graduate student and data scientist Noni Williams. Noni joins Kayla and Sally to discuss effective strategies for STEM and professional development outreach to kids and teens and her extensive experience leading initiatives from robotics and digital art festivals to AP Computer Science and slam poetry....

The real value of STEM outreach is the positive youth development and mentorship that students receive. Being inspired to pursue a STEM career? That's just a welcome bonus, says our guest, math graduate student and data scientist Noni Williams. Noni joins Kayla and Sally to discuss effective strategies for STEM and professional development outreach to kids and teens and her extensive experience leading initiatives from robotics and digital art festivals to AP Computer Science and slam poetry....

We kick off our You do Belong in Science series with Dr. Tamara Alliston, PhD, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at UCSF. Tamara discusses her journey into science and academia, and how she found belonging through peer mentorship, despite imposter syndrome. As a mentor, Tamara works to help mentees "stay connected to what gives them joy," and we also discuss what brings Tamara joy - musculoskeletal biology and surfing with her family! Tamara stresses the importance of STEM outreach to adult...

We kick off our You do Belong in Science series with Dr. Tamara Alliston, PhD, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at UCSF. Tamara discusses her journey into science and academia, and how she found belonging through peer mentorship, despite imposter syndrome. As a mentor, Tamara works to help mentees "stay connected to what gives them joy," and we also discuss what brings Tamara joy - musculoskeletal biology and surfing with her family! Tamara stresses the importance of STEM outreach to adult...

Going in, graduate students expect they'll have to work hard, but most students are unprepared for the mental anguish that grad school can induce - especially when experiments aren't going well, or when we compare to themselves to others' successes. Penn Bioengineering PhD students Meagan Ita and Michael Magaraci join Sally and Kayla to discuss wellness in graduate school. Meagan and Mike discuss the importance of taking charge of your own wellness, and what departments can do to support...

Going in, graduate students expect they'll have to work hard, but most students are unprepared for the mental anguish that grad school can induce - especially when experiments aren't going well, or when we compare to themselves to others' successes. Penn Bioengineering PhD students Meagan Ita and Michael Magaraci join Sally and Kayla to discuss wellness in graduate school. Meagan and Mike discuss the importance of taking charge of your own wellness, and what departments can do to support...

Zoe Leavitt, senior consumer product and retail analyst at CB Insights, joins Sally and Kayla to discuss what's hot at the intersection of tech and retail. She truly has her finger on the pulse of the latest trends - and the data to back that up! We also talk about her experiences working for Bank of China in Shanghai, and communicating technical content to lay audiences - like on Good Morning America! We also calls BS on VCs being "afraid to meet solo with women founders" in the post-#MeToo...

Zoe Leavitt, senior consumer product and retail analyst at CB Insights, joins Sally and Kayla to discuss what's hot at the intersection of tech and retail. She truly has her finger on the pulse of the latest trends - and the data to back that up! We also talk about her experiences working for Bank of China in Shanghai, and communicating technical content to lay audiences - like on Good Morning America! We also calls BS on VCs being "afraid to meet solo with women founders" in the post-#MeToo...

Dr. Kathleen Norton, obstetrician/gynecologist extraordinaire, joins Kayla and Sally to tell us what grad students need to know about women's health! She dispels contraceptive myths and gets real about HPV vaccines, Pap smears, and mammograms. Dr. Norton (Sally's mom, y'all) also discusses her work in hospitals in Kenya, early-career struggles, timing family and career, and dealing with difficult people in the workplace. There's something for everyone in this episode, even (especially?) if...

Dr. Kathleen Norton, obstetrician/gynecologist extraordinaire, joins Kayla and Sally to tell us what grad students need to know about women's health! She dispels contraceptive myths and gets real about HPV vaccines, Pap smears, and mammograms. Dr. Norton (Sally's mom, y'all) also discusses her work in hospitals in Kenya, early-career struggles, timing family and career, and dealing with difficult people in the workplace. There's something for everyone in this episode, even (especially?) if...

Julea Vlassakis, mentorship expert and Bioengineering PhD Candidate, joins Kayla and Sally to talk mentoring in academia and beyond. Lean how to establish productive mentor/mentee relationships and cultivate the next generation of scientists - yourself included! Beginning mentees and seasoned mentors alike will learn something new from Julea's wisdom. Discover strategies for breaking out of the cycle of mediocre mentorship, how to deal with underperforming mentees, tips for cultivating a...