The flagship ComSciCon has come and gone, but do you crave a little more? In April, Virginia Tech students came together to talk about what science communication means to them and why it is essential for scientists to leave the lab and participate in science communication ..read more

The flagship ComSciCon has come and gone, but do you crave a little more? In April, Virginia Tech students came together to talk about what science communication means to them and why it is essential for scientists to leave the lab and participate in science communication ..read more

Big Lick of Science presents a public interest series in conjunction with the American Society for Neurochemistry. Episode 1: That I may serve: Dr. Carla Finkielstein, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, and Virginia Tech serving Southwest Virginia during the pandemic Paras visited with Dr. Carla Finkielstein, cancer biologist at Virginia Tech, who answered "What am I positioned to do to serve others during the pandemic?" by being the driving force and director of the Virginia Tech Molecular Diagnostics lab, the Covid-19 diagnostic lab that serves Southwest Virginia ..read more

How does a system change based on scientific information? And why does change sometimes seem to conflict with previous information? Paras visits with Dr. Sarah Parker, an expert on studying clinical setting effectiveness, such as reducing infection during operations. They discuss topics like science policy and how scientists create change on a large scale.  ..read more

Paras interviews a previous post-doc at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Ryan King. They chat about Ryan's long-lasting interest in how the heart functions and what was it like being a first-time dad in graduate school. During this interview, Ryan was a post-doc in Dr. Scott Johnstone's lab, who was featured in a previous episode titled "A pannexin for your thoughts ..read more

Big Lick of Science brings a first for us, we sit down with a summer undergraduate research fellowship (SURF) student at the Fralin Biomedical Research Insititute at Virginia Tech. Gabe focused on addiction research during his summer months in Roanoke and also talks a little bit about his educational background, including his time being homeschooled ..read more

We bring you a special episode today with Dr. György Buzsáki, Biggs Professor of Neuroscience at New York University School of Medicine. Paras and Dr. Buzsáki discuss his Inside Out approach and philosophy to how brain rhymes support cognitive function. Dr. Buzsáki is the author of over 300 papers and 2 books, the latest titled “The Brain From Inside Out ..read more

Dr. Stefanie Robel is a primary investigator at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech who focuses on these little star-shaped cells within our brains called astrocytes. These cells are important for brain health and function, but that can all change during traumatic brain injury, as her group studies. Additionally, we chat about her interests outside of the lab, including team building and mentorship ..read more

Big Lick of Science sits down with new Principal Investigator, Dr. Scott Johnstone to discuss his research into cellular communication via pannexins and connexions and his unique experience working in academia in both the United States and the United Kingdom, along with opening a new lab during the pandemic ..read more

"If all of your friends were to jump off of a bridge, would you do it?" Peer pressure can be a powerful social influence, but can this phenomenon be used to help people to better decision-making? Rachana discusses all of this and more with Mark Orloff, PhD candidate at Virginia Tech ..read more