STEM-Talk

Latest Episodes
Episode 183: Michael Schmidt on the challenges of building a space-faring civilization
Today we have the second installment of our interview with Dr. Michael A. Schmidt, the founder, CEO, andChief Scientific Officer of Sovaris Aerospace, a company focused on assessments and solutions applied to humans in space and extreme environments on E
Episode 182: Michael Schmidt on what precision medicine means to human spaceflight
Today we have Dr. Michael A. Schmidt, the founder, CEO, andChief Scientific Officer of Sovaris Aerospace, a company focused on assessments and solutions applied to humans in space and extreme environments on Earth. Michael is also a professor of aerospa
Episode 181: Ken Forbus talks about AI and his development of the Structure Mapping Engine
Our guest today is Dr. Ken Forbus, the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Computer Science and a Professor of Education at Northwestern University.Joining Dr. Ken Ford to co-host todays interview is Dr. James Allen, who was IHMCs associate director until h
Episode 180: Pascal Lee on NASA’s ambitions to send humans to the Moon and Mars
Today we have planetary scientist Dr. Pascal Lee and STEM-Talk host Dr. Ken Ford in a wide-ranging conversation about NASAs ambitions to return humans to the Moon as a stepping stone to sending astronauts to Mars.Pascal is making his third appearance o
Episode 179: JP Errico explains how vagus-nerve stimulation reduces inflammation and chronic diseases
Today we have JP Errico, a scientist and inventor whose work focuses on neuroimmunology and the many ways it impacts cellular metabolism, inflammation, mental health and how we age. He recently joined IHMC as a Senior Research Scientist.JP is particular
Episode 178: Karl Herrup discusses the shortcomings of Alzheimer’s research
Today we have Dr. Karl Herrup, a neurobiologist known for his investigations into the roles that DNA damage and noncoding genetic variants have in Alzheimers disease.Joining Ken today to interview Karl is Dr. Tommy Wood, a visiting scientist here at IH
Episode 177: Frank Butler talks about revolutionizing combat casualty care
Today we have Dr. Frank Butler, a retired Navy Undersea Medical Officer and an ophthalmologist who served as a Navy SEAL platoon commander prior to attending medical school.Just a few weeks after our interview, President Joe Biden awarded Frank a Presid
Episode 176: JoAnn Manson on Women’s Health Initiative, menopause and her findings on hormone therapy
Today our guest is Dr. JoAnn Manson, an endocrinologist, epidemiologist, and Principal Investigator of several research studies, including the landmark Womens Health Initiative. She is a highly cited researcher and was one of the physicians featured in t
Episode 175: Hans Van Dongen on how fatigue and sleep loss lead to cognitive deficits
Today we have Dr. Hans Van Dongen, director of the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washington State University in Spokane. Dr. Kevin Gluck, a senior research scientist at IHMC, joins Dr. Ken Ford to interview Hans about his studies on inter-indiv
Episode 174: Rudy Tanzi talks about genetics, aging and the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s
Today we have Dr. Rudolph E. Tanzi, who is perhaps best known for co-discovering all three familial early-onset Alzheimer's disease genes. In addition, Rudys lab was the first to use human stem cells to create three-dimensional human brain organoids and