On episode 44 of A Chat with Uma, I'm here for an (unexpected) solo episode to give you a full-length, 360° “State-of-the-Union” of my life for 2025. 2.5 years have flown by since my original intro episodes, and new listeners are still meeting a 2023 snapshot that’s quite outdated. Today I lay out—clearly and in one place—everything I’m doing now and why it matters: my neuroscience research, science communication, lived experience advocacy (plus the intersection of all 3), and my current leadership and service roles.
I trace the through-line from my lived experience to every research question, keynote, grant review, and board seat, and I end with the mission that stitches it all together: shrink the treatment gap, save lives, and make myself obsolete. If you’re new, this is the ground-floor tour; if you’ve been here since episode 1, it’s the missing chapter that connects every choice I’ve made in the past several years!
Topics Discussed (+ Timestamps):
(00:00:00) Introduction and reason for today's episode
(00:07:06) Road-map for this “State-of-the-Union” + core mission statement
(00:15:24) My lived-experience backstory and WHY that drives every decision
Contextual episodes:
- 01. My Full Story: 0 to 26
- 02-05. My Mental Health Journey: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
- 06. Yes, I've Done Psychedelics: From Psychonaut to Researcher: Pt 1, Part 2
- 07-08. The Ketamine Diaries - OCD, PTSD, Depression, & Chronic Pain: Part. 1, Part 2
(00:20:48) PhD Research Update: An overview of my OCD (+ bipolar & schizophrenia!) research projects–genes, neurobiology, signaling pathways, psychedelics, & more
(00:38:06) Science communication: closing the researcher–lived experience gap
(00:43:42) Mental health advocacy: using my story to raise large-scale awareness in the public and within research populations
(00:53:06) Service & leadership: President of OCD Wisconsin, One Mind Lived Experience Council, board member of Society for Neuroscience-Upper Midwest Chapter, ad-hoc advising + grant reviewer + committee roles, strategic consulting for companies
(01:11:34) Pulling all the strands together—my mission and what comes next
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