Science Talks

Shang Song is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering and a BIO5 Researcher, she will talk about

• Research approach

• Biomaterials and their usage

• Her Research focus

• Recent Discoveries in the Lab

• Mentorship’s impact on Science

Three things you will learn in this episode:

• What Biomaterials are

• Recent Discoveries in Cell Treatments

• Mentorship in Research Labs

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The BIO5 Institute’s Amy Barber ta...

• 3D bioprinting

• Cancer diagnostics

• Mentorship

• Lab experiences

• Potential future of cancer treatment 

Three things you will learn about in this episode:

• Tumor Twins

• Bioprinting’s usage in medicine 

• How engineering can personalize cancer treatment 

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The BIO5 Institute’s Amy Barber talks with member and one of the...

• What are NeuroPods?

• Gut response to real vs artificial sugar

• GASTRONAUTS: a scientific community 

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The BIO5 Institute’s Amy Barber talks with member and one of the University’s experts on the gut biome Dr. Maya Kaelberer. Dr. Kaelberer is working to understand how the gut senses and responds to the complex composition of food, going beyond traditional calor...

Three things you will learn in this episode:

• Drug Discovery and Machine Learning 

• AI usage in modern Computational Research

• Challenges in using AI for Precision Medicine and how to combat them

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The BIO5 Institute’s Amy Barber talks with member and one of the University’s experts on AI, Dr. Travis Wheeler, Dr. Wheeler’s research group uses computational methods to advance genome research, drug discover...

Amy Barber was joined by Dr. Alexander Bucksch, a plant phenomicist and associate professor in the School of Plant Sciences at the University of Arizona. He has over 10 years of experience in developing and applying mathematical and computational methods to study plant morphology and physiology across scales and domains, from the organismal to the ecosystem level, and from above to below-ground.

His current research focuses on root ...

Amy Barber was joined by Dr. Pierce Longmire, a postdoctoral research assistant in the lab of BIO5 member Felicia Goodrum in the Department of Immunobiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson. The overarching goal of the Goodrum lab is to understand how viruses can asymptomatically coexist within a human host. They study the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), using it as a model for defining and understanding inte...

 Today we are joined by Dr.  Vanessa Buzzard, a senior research specialist at the University of Arizona School of Environmental and Natural Resources. Dr. Buzzard received her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 2017 where she focused on plant functional trait distribution, but has transitioned her studies from natural systems to urban environments. Today, she is a part of BIO5 member Laura Meredith’s lab where she questions th...

Amy Barber was joined by Ash Black, the director of AI & industry at the University of Arizona Institute for Computation & Data-Enabled Insight, to discuss his role coordinating AI outreach and building internships, jobs, and economic opportunities across Arizona. This institute provides training, education, collaboration, software licenses, and data to our researchers here at BIO5 and the U of A. Black works as a creative ...

Identifying and understanding zoonotic diseases—infections that are spread between people and animals—can help predict future emergence risks, particularly in vulnerable populations. Combined with computational and data-based models, this research allows us to study potential diseases in the hopes of preventing outbreaks.

On this episode of Science Talks, Amy Barber is joined by Dr. Liliana Salvador, assistant professor of animal a...

Students are an important part of the BIO5 Institute at the University of Arizona and share in the success we achieve here. The different administrative departments within BIO5 look for ways to engage with students and train them on the business side of science. One of those departments is the Public Affairs department where students assist with communications and marketing projects, community and faculty events, and other special ...

Air pollution, which has implications for human health particularly in urban areas, may be attributed to volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. VOCs in the atmosphere have various sources, but of rising concern are those originating from personal care items, cleaning products, and industrial solvents. 

Amy Barber and Caroline Bartelme were joined by Dr. Gemma Purser a 2024 BIO5 Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Laura Meredith’s lab in the Sc...

A chronic wound does not heal in an orderly set of stages or predictable amount of time. These wounds often remain in the inflammatory stage for too long, taking years to heal, or never healing at all. Biomedical research uses regenerative medicine, tissue repair, nanotechnology, and various biomaterials to target chronic injuries like this. It’s important for researchers to focus on targeting an anti-inflammatory response within m...

In many cases where babies are born prematurely, they often have underdeveloped lungs. This can cause breathing problems and neonatal lung diseases that require long-term treatment, or even lung transplantation. It’s critical for research to be done to provide treatments that can help these premature babies survive so they can grow up healthy. 

Amy Barber is joined on Science Talks by Dr. Vlad Kalinichenko, an internationally renown...

Understanding the role of cardiac myosin binding protein-c in muscle function can offer insight into cardiovascular disease. Mutations and abnormalities in this protein can lead to defects in the cardiac system, including heart failure in adults.   

Amy Barber and Caroline Bartelme are joined by Dr. Angie Greenman, a 2024 BIO5 Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Samantha (Sam) Harris’ lab in the Department of Physiology at the University of ...

Amy Randall-Barber and her co-host, Paulina Garza, welcomed Byrdie Lopez to the latest episode of Science Talks. Lopez is a University of Arizona undergraduate pursuing a double major in biochemistry and molecular cellular biology on track to attend pharmacy school. Her journey at the BIO5 Institute began as a KEYS Research intern in 2022 working with BIO5 member Wei Wang in the R Ken Coit College of Pharmacy. Only a few years late...

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects nearly half of American adults and is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Researchers are working to better understand the role of the peripheral nervous system, the part of your nervous system that lies outside your brain and spinal cord, in the development of cardiovascular as well as renal diseases. Amy Randall-Barber from the BIO5 Institute was joined on S...

Induced pluri-potent stem cells (iPSC) are widely used in therapeutics for disease modeling, regenerative medicine, and drug discovery. Using patients’ cells, scientists can regenerate their cells into iPSC and recreate new organs for patients who need them. Amy Randall-Barber from the BIO5 Institute was joined on Science Talks by Dr. Ekta Minocha, a 2023 BIO5 postdoctoral fellow working in the Jason Wertheim lab at the University ...

See how an interdisciplinary scientific approach shaped the future of molecular diagnostics and personalized healthcare on a global scale. Amy Randall-Barber from the BIO5 Institute was joined on Science Talks by Dr. Frederic Zenhausern, director of the Center for Applied NanoBioscience and Medicine (ANBM) at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, among many other appointments in the college including in Basic Med...