Emily is an Assistant Professor at MDI Biological Laboratory where she studies neurodegenerative disease-associated genes using super-resolution imaging of living, adult worms. Emily earned her Ph.D. at the University of Maine while embedded in the Jackson Laboratory and during her post-doc at MDI Bio Lab, she was recognized by the National Institutes of Health as an “Outstanding Scholar in Neuroscience”.

This conversation was recorded in September 2025.

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The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.

Find us online:

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© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

Kristen is an Associate Professor at The Jackson Laboratory where her research focuses on the effects of age on brain function and dementia risk. As a first-generation college student, Kristen's path to doing cutting edge basic research is both inspirational and informative.

Kristen was one of the 5 Minute Genius™ speakers at this past year’s Maine Science Festival; you can see her talk on our YouTube channel.

This conversation was recorded in June 2025.

~~~~~

The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

Asheesh is a mechanical engineer with over 15 years of experience in research, teaching, and entrepreneurship. He's an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Director of Research at the Composites Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL), at the University of Southern Maine. He teaches materials science and math-based courses at USM, where he also gets to shoot stuff with lasers, break stuff apart, and put things together.

Asheesh was one of the 5 Minute Genius™ speakers at this past year’s Maine Science Festival; you can see his talk on our YouTube channel.

This conversation was recorded in June 2025.

~~~~~

The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

Lydia grew up in Bangor and has been immersed in mechanical engineering since entering college at the University of Maine. A four-year varsity athlete, Lydia was was UMaine's co-valedictorian in 2024, and in her graduate work has focused on textile properties, blending her love of running with interest in engineering.

This conversation was recorded in April 2025.

~~~~~

The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

Damian grew up in Brooklyn, NY and found his way into marine science and then to Maine. His research is broad, covering aquaculture, seaweeds, and kelp, and using oceanographic tools to help make decisions about aquaculture projects.

Damian was one of the 5 Minute Genius™ speakers at this past year’s Maine Science Festival; you can see his talk on our YouTube channel.The link to the paper about kelp that recently made the cover of Science: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adt6788

This conversation was recorded in May 2025.

~~~~~

The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

Susan Hunter is a farmer who lives in Unity, Maine. She and her husband were longtime dairy farmers, and after her husband passed away Sue turned to hay farming. A few years ago, testing of her soil - which she talks about in this conversation - revealed that her land was heavily contaminated with PFAS - human made organofluorine chemical compounds that are known as forever-chemicals. Sue decided to partner with researchers from UMaine and then other organizations, to find out ways that PFAS contamination can be addressed. That research is ongoing today.

Sue was part of the 2025 Maine Science Festival, on a session we held about PFAS research.

This conversation was recorded in June 2025.

~~~~~

The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

Cory grew up in Maine and after spending time as a sea kayak guide and a ski instructor, found his way to biology and laboratory research. Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Haller Lab at MDI Biological Laboratory, Cory is interested in the cell biology of kidney vascularization and uses renal organoids and zebrafish to investigate how we may, one day, be able to rebuild the kidney and develop non-donor solutions to kidney transplantation.

Cory was one of the 5 Minute Genius™ speakers at this past year’s Maine Science Festival; you can see his talk on our YouTube channel.

This conversation was recorded in May 2025.

~~~~~

The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

Seth grew up in Maine, and his interest in science was influenced by both his environmental scientist father and one of his grade school science teachers. Seth's research is deeply multidisciplinary, and his research is not only adding to one of the longest running research projects around (the Juno Ice Field Research), it provides fantastic opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.

If you'd like to learn more about Seth's work, check out his UMaine webpage: https://umaine.edu/earthclimate/people/seth-campbell/

This conversation was recorded in April 2025.

~~~~~

The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum