As a kid, all Vincent Lynch wanted to do was hang out by the river near his home, fishing and crabbing and playing in the muck. School, by contrast, was a bore. Then he discovered biology—and never looked back. Today, as an evolutionary biologist at the University at Buffalo, Lynch studies the genomic history of animals both living and extinct to understand everything from why elephants don’t get cancer to why women go into labor. In this episode of Driven to Discover, Lynch talks to host Tom Dinki about what it means to run a “curiosity-driven” lab, why resurrecting extinct species is a bad idea, and how analyzing animal genes could help humans lead longer, healthier lives.

Credits:

Host: Tom Dinki
Guest: Vincent Lynch
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group

Coming on Nov. 5: Forensic dentist Mary Bush is a leading expert on bitemark evidence. She speaks to host Laurie Kaiser about her efforts to eradicate this faulty science from the U.S. court system, explains why victim identification is important work, and shares how she ended up on Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries.”

Narcissists get a bad rap, but is it deserved? According to Emily Grijalva, an associate professor of organizational behavior at the University at Buffalo School of Management and a renowned expert on narcissism, it’s complicated. Grijalva has spent her career studying the trait—among leaders, across genders, over the lifetime and through the generations. She’s even studied narcissism inside the NBA. In this episode, she speaks to host Laura Silverman about the pros and cons of narcissism, how to cope with a narcissistic boss, why men are more prone to narcissism than women, and the truth behind every generation’s belief that “kids today” are more narcissistic than ever (spoiler alert: they’re not).

Credits:

Host: Laura Silverman
Guest: Emily Grijalva
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group

Coming on Nov. 5: Forensic dentist Mary Bush is a leading expert on bitemark evidence. She speaks to host Laurie Kaiser about her efforts to eradicate this faulty science from the U.S. court system, explains why victim identification is important work, and shares how she ended up on Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries.”

More than 750 older Americans are hospitalized every day due to severe side effects from their medications. Many of them will die prematurely as a result. In this episode of Driven to Discover, host Laurie Kaiser talks to David Jacobs, an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the University at Buffalo, about the systemic failures in our health care system driving this alarming trend, and how he and other members of an interdisciplinary initiative called Team Alice are working to reverse it. Jacobs recounts the story of Alice Brennan, the vibrant, 88-year-old woman for whom Team Alice is named; explains how the team has grown over the years to involve researchers from across the university as well as the greater community; and shares what individuals can do now to keep themselves and their loved ones safe from medication-related harm.

Credits:

Host: Laura Kaiser
Guest: David Jacobs
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group

Coming on Nov. 5: Forensic dentist Mary Bush is a leading expert on bitemark evidence. She speaks to host Laurie Kaiser about her efforts to eradicate this faulty science from the U.S. court system, explains why victim identification is important work, and shares how she ended up on Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries.”