West Coast pink shrimp are a staple in classic dishes such as shrimp scampi and shrimp fried rice. Roughly 56.8 million pounds (or 7,322,122,984 individuals) of West Coast pink shrimp were caught by fishing vessels off the coasts of California and Oregon last year. While this is a largely impressive number, harvest sizes can vary from year to year typically coinciding with fluctuations in global weather patterns. However, despite the large size of this industry and repeatable patterns, relatively little is known about West Coast pink shrimp populations and why they can change so drastically from year to year.

As many of us learned in high school biology, there are uni-cellular organisms, like bacteria, and multi-cellular organisms, like us! Our guest this week is Brysyn Goodson, a Ph.D. student at Oregon State University, who is trying to understand how multicellularity evolved on Earth. Brysyn and his colleagues use yeast - one of the most well-studied systems in science, to try and wrestle these types of big questions.

Various species of kelp inhabit Oregon’s subtidal waters, providing food, nutrients, and shelter for an array of marine organisms. One such species, bull kelp, can be seen by divers towering over 50 feet above the seafloor as it grows rapidly, reaching for sunlight. Those not willing to brave the cold Oregon waters may stumble upon one during a beach walk — its leathery, green body resembling an oversized, thick whip after being torn from its holdfast by a recent storm.
Our guest this week is Anna Dworetzky, a new PhD student whose research focuses on bull kelp. Anna is particularly interested in the holdfast — the root-like structure that anchors bull kelp to the seafloor. Anna plans to dive at sites stretching from California to Alaska to examine four genetically distinct bull kelp subpopulations, investigating how holdfast structural complexity relates to attachment strength and the communities of organisms living within them.

In this episode of Inspiration Dissemination, we speak with Bonnie Kraxberger, a graduate student in the College of Education at Oregon State University, about her innovative use of virtual reality to make music education more engaging and accessible for adult learners. Drawing on her experience as both a music teacher and education program developer, Bonnie shares how she designed an immersive learning environment that teaches music literacy through creative, game-like experiences, as well as the challenges of integrating sound into virtual learning platforms. She also reflects on the future of educational technology, the importance of personalized learning, and her journey balancing graduate school, research, and parenthood while pursuing a passion project that brings music learning to life.

Your gastrointestinal tract is home to hundreds of bacterial species that play essential roles in digestion and metabolism. As this field of research expands it is becoming increasingly clear that these microbes influence systems beyond the gut: they can even impact brain functioning. These effects were once thought to occur indirectly over the span of minutes to hours through complex chemical signaling pathways. Over the past 15 years, however, scientists have discovered that gut bacteria can communicate directly with the brain via the nervous system, transmitting signals in a matter of seconds and reshaping how we understand the gut–brain axis. This week, we’re joined by Kevin Rice, a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Department of Microbiology, co-advised by Dr. Maude David and Dr. Kenton Hokanson. Kevin’s research focuses on how human gut cells interact with neurons and the role that the microbiome may play in influencing neurodevelopmental disorders. Through his work across both Microbiology and Biochemistry & Biophysics, he combines computational approaches with neuroscience techniques to better understand the big impact our microbial communities can have on human health. Tune in this Sunday, June 7th at 7 PM to hear Kevin talk about how pursuing scientific questions has shaped his perspective on what constitutes a worthwhile career and the implications of his work in understanding neurodevelopmental disorders.

Our guest this week is Mark Kerstens, a PhD student at OSU, who studies black-backed woodpeckers with the hope of improving forest management before and after wildfires. Black-backed woodpeckers are ecosystem engineers, creating habitat for many other forest-dwelling species, and Mark's work is helping to inform natural resource managers about what these charasmatic birds may be doing.

Millions of people visit U.S. National Parks each year. The amazing flora, fauna, and natural ecosystems of these parks draw visitors from all over the world to the United States. Wes Binder, an OSU Ph.D. Student, works exclusively in one of the most famous U.S. National Parks, Yellowstone. His work focuses on understanding dynamics between two of the top predators - wolves and cougars. In this episode, we talk to Wes about not only his doctoral research, but the decade he has spent tracking, trapping, and studying these animals.

Molecular biology is often introduced through the central dogma: DNA makes RNA, and RNA makes protein. But biology is rarely that simple. In this episode, Sanjay discusses how discoveries such as non-coding RNAs have expanded our understanding of how genetic information works, and how he uses computational approaches to investigate the functions and structures of these mysterious molecules. Tune in to hear about the frontier of RNA biology, the shift from PhD to postdoc, and Sanjay’s unique journey from the social sciences into biophysics. Hosted by Matthew Vaughan and Hannah Stuwe.