Welcome back to part 2 of our series on science policy! Last time, we talked with Adriana, Ona, and Vivian about hot topics in science policy and how we as voters can learn more about how our electoral candidates view science. This time, we’ll be doing a deepdive into Ona and Vivian’s organization, the Johns Hopkins Science Policy and Diplomacy Group. Through this group, Ona and Vivian engage other graduate researchers in the world of science policy, providing them valuable opportunities to work out their science policy chops. Their goals: To get more students interested in science policy and ..read more

Happy 2024! This year is an election year, and a very big one at that. What do you look for in a candidate? We at the Sci’more Podcast look for people with an interest in science, both as a worthwhile investment and as a tool for the betterment of our communities. In this episode, we speak with scientists actively involved in bridging the gap between science and policymaking, a key facet of the field of science policy. For this episode, we invited Dr. Adriana Bankston, an expert in science policy and advocacy with years of experience and former Senior Fellow in Science Policy at the Federatio ..read more

It’s time for the final episode in our virology series, which we’re producing in partnership with the American Society for Virology! Last time, we met Dr. Chris Beyrer, Director of Duke University’s Global Health Institute and an expert on all things mpox and HIV. We spoke with him about what mpox (formerly, monkeypox) is, where it comes from, and why outbreaks have been happening around the world in the past year. In this episode, we continue our discussion on mpox by learning more about how it spreads, what the symptoms of mpox are, why it has been such a huge problem for the world’s gay co ..read more

It’s time for the long-awaited part three of our virology series, which we’re producing in partnership with the American Society for Virology! In this two-parter, we cover mpox, or the virus formerly known as monkeypox. We brought out former Bluejay Dr. Chris Beyrer, the current Director of Duke University’s Global Health Institue. Before his transition to Duke, Dr. Beyrer spent years developing public health and human rights education at Johns Hopkins as well as setting up the HIV/AIDS research apparatus at our university. And before that, he spent years all over the world studying HIV and po ..read more

Ticks: little bugs, with big appetites for your blood. They won’t bleed you dry, but it’s what they leave behind that hurts. For this two-part episode of the Sci’More Podcast, Phil and Chris interviewed three tick and tick-borne disease experts to get the scoop on tick safety, Lyme disease, and Alpha-gal syndrome, in which a tick bite can cause a red meat allergy. Our guests this episode (part 1 and 2): Nicole Foley: nf276@cornell.edu Nicole Baumgarth: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/4363/nicole-baumgarth Onyi Iweala: https://iwealalab.web.unc.edu/  — DISCLAIMER: The v ..read more

Ticks: little bugs, with big appetites for your blood. They won’t bleed you dry, but it’s what they leave behind that hurts. For this two-part episode of the Sci’More Podcast, Phil and Chris interviewed three tick and tick-borne disease experts to get the scoop on tick safety, Lyme disease, and Alpha-gal syndrome, in which a tick bite can cause a red meat allergy. Our guests this episode (part 1 and 2): Nicole Foley: nf276@cornell.edu Nicole Baumgarth: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/4363/nicole-baumgarth Onyi Iweala: https://iwealalab.web.unc.edu/  — DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts ..read more

Time for an episode on the coronavirus pandemic! Don’t worry, in this episode we’ll give the virology discussion a break and explore how the pandemic has disrupted our communities. More specifically, we’ll take a look at the housing and eviction crisis as well as changes in primary and secondary education. To do this, we interviewed Tori Tavormina, a public health and business student at Johns Hopkins University who spent some time investigating the housing and eviction crisis in Texas. Phil and Michael will then share some of the lessons they learned about how the pandemic affected housing an ..read more

“Brrraaaaiiiinnsssss!” No, that’s not a zombie looking for a snack; it’s the crowd at Brainfest! Brainfest is a free spring event put on by graduate students at Johns Hopkins University meant to make neuroscience cool, fun, and educational for everyone. To learn more about this event, we talked with Blake and Isis, neuroscience graduate students at JHU and the directors of this year’s Brainfest. If you want to know more about this event, then check out this episode! Brainfest will take place on Saturday April 1 from 11 am - 3 pm at the Cherry Hill branch of the Enoch Pratt Library (606 Cherry ..read more

Valentine’s day coming up may have many of us weak at the knees. But elite athletes, like those set to play in Superbowl LVII, go through detailed training and conditioning schedules to strengthen joints like the knee, prepare for big games, and reduce the risk of injuries. If they do occur, how are sports injuries assessed and treated in high-level athletes? Why are we told to bend our knees when landing from a jump? And what else can athletes do to reduce the risk of injury? Learn all about these topics and more from this episode’s guest, Dr. Andrew Cosgarea, an experienced orthopedic surgeo ..read more

You hear about it every year: “It’s flu season! Be sure to get a flu vaccine!” But what exactly is the flu, how can it harm you, and why do we need to be vaccinated every single year? Learn the answers to these questions and more in the first episode of the Sci’more Podcast’s virology series! We interview Cami and Nico, microbiology PhD students researching the small (but mighty!) world of viruses like influenza, commonly known as the flu, and SARS-CoV-2, the culprit behind the coronavirus pandemic. This episode explores the history of influenza, how something so small can cause so much damage ..read more