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How Do Scientific Discoveries Make it Into The Community? (LIVE from BioVenture)

Season 2
Episode #3
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From cancer treatments to technology to monitor exposure to UV, scientific discoveries each face a unique journey before they reach the public. Today we’re exploring how innovation makes it to the community with excerpts from the Clinical and Translational Science Center’s annual ⁠⁠BioVenture Pitch Competition. ⁠⁠

About Our Guest(s)

Dr. Eric Bartee

Dr. Eric Bartee is an associate professor in the School of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Molecular Medicine. He studies host-virus interactions and is particularly interested in how these interactions can be used to improve therapies for cancer patients. Dr. Bartee’s lab has developed a variety of recombinant myxoma viruses which display improved therapeutic efficacy against tumors and are preparing for clinical testing. Dr. Bartee pitched a novel cancer treatment that has been used to treat tumors in mice.

Dr. Kannan Ramaiyan

Dr. Kannan Ramaiyan is a research associate professor in the School of Engineering Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Dr. Kannan Ramaiyan joined the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering in 2020. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. He has conducted research on different problems such as fuel cells, electrolysis, and electrochemical sensors. His current research focuses on the electrochemical conversion of methane to ethylene using perovskite electrodes and developing electrochemical sensors for detecting methane. He pitched a novel device that monitors exposure to UV over time to let you know when to reapply sunscreen.

Dr. Rita Serda

Dr. Rita Serda is a research assistant professor in the School of Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Serda received a master of science in Chemistry (1991) and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences (2006) from New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico. Following her doctorate research, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas at Houston. She became an assistant Professor in at UT Houston in 2010 in the Department of Nanomedicine. In 2013, she became a tenure-track Associate Professor in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX at Baylor College of Medicine, and in 2016 she returned to New Mexico and became a Research Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico. She pitched a novel cancer treatment that uses ascites to treat advanced stage abdominal cancers.

Hosted by UCAM’s Carly Bowling

Carly Bowling headshot

Long-time listener, first-time podcaster, Carly Bowling, is a university communication representative in The University of New Mexico’s University Communication and Marketing team (UCAM). She is thrilled to help shed light on the outstanding research work being done at UNM, New Mexico’s only R1 university. In addition to producing IPNRS, she contributes stories and videos to the UNM Newsroom, the University’s official communications platform.

Bowling is a graduate of the Arizona State University Walter Cronkite School of Journalism (’19). Her background includes multimedia journalism, documentary filmmaking, photography and writing. She is passionate about science communication and making academic topics and research accessible and interesting to people from all backgrounds and she hopes you’ll consider subscribing to the show!