PODCAST · science
Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast
by BioBuilder Educational Foundation
Monthly episodes explore the impact of BioBuilder on the careers of our guests, from graphic designers to teachers, entrepreneurs, and students.
Episodes
-
Jasmine Thompson On How Curiosity Became A Career Plan
We talk with Jasmine Thompson about building a biotech career from the ground up, starting with BioBuilder and expanding into biomedical engineering, lab research, and software engineering. She shares how research habits, teamwork, and communication skills transfer across internships in biotech,...
-
Seeing How Hands-On Lab Training Can Change A Career Path
Micro-credentials sound small until they change what you can do with your hands and what you believe you can do in a real lab. We sit down with Hannah, a Northeastern bioengineering student with a strong interest in neuroscience, to unpack how early, hands-on synthetic biology training helped her...
-
Turning Creativity into Real-World Solutions with Biology
In this episode, Zeeshan talks with Will about how creative world building turned into a real drive to solve problems through biology and synthetic biology. Their conversation traces how BioBuilder helped Will gain mentors, lab confidence, and a clearer path from high school projects to Stanford...
-
From Student To SynBio Teacher
In this episode, our host talks with Vivien Marmerstein about her path from BioBuilderClub student to educator and how synthetic biology helped her build confidence in her teaching. She traces the moments that pushed her toward microbiology, research, and ultimately a return to Western Reserve...
-
Don't Panic - This Is the Hitchhiker's Guide to BioBuilder
A year-end reunion with artists, educators, and students shows how curiosity becomes practice, projects, and careers across bioart, education technology, diagnostics, and materials science. We share real tools, honest challenges, and clear next steps for learning and building. • Bioart as living...
-
Maria Bennes: A Veteran Educator Changing Lives with Hands-On Science
What happens when a pharma trainer, academic workshop lead, and high school teacher are all the same person? You get a blueprint for science education that actually prepares students for real biotech work. We sit down with Maria Bennes, a biotech instructor at Blackstone Valley Regional…
more -
From Classroom to Career: Edwin Gonzalez and his Biotech Journey
Edwin Gonzalez shares his journey from a BioBuilder apprentice to becoming a lead scientific support specialist at Thermo Fisher by age 23, highlighting how hands-on experiences and mentorship shaped his career path. • Middle school science teacher sparked Edwin's interest in science through...
-
Curiosity, Teamwork, and Synthetic Biology: Building Solutions for Real-World Problems
In this inspiring episode of the BioBuilder Podcast, Dev and Joshua, co-founders of the startup AIVON, take listeners through their personal journeys of curiosity, innovation, and social impact. The conversation weaves through their formative experiences with science and technology, their time in...
-
Nicole Mumbi: scientific curiosity meets life-changing opportunity
What happens when scientific curiosity meets life-changing opportunity? Nicole Mumbi shares her remarkable journey and provides a powerful answer to this question. Moving from Nairobi, Kenya to Boston in 2019, Nicole faced the challenge of cultural transition while nurturing her budding interest…
more -
Cultivating Curiosity: Greg Wu's Journey in Synthetic Biology
Greg Wu shares his transformative journey from high school in China to becoming an aspiring pioneer in synthetic biology. His story highlights critical educational opportunities at BioBuilder that shaped his passion for science and his future ambitions. • Greg's initial interest in natural…
more -
Transforming High School Science Education: an interview with Daniel Kemp
Daniel Kemp shares his transformative journey in integrating synthetic biology into high school education. Listeners will gain insights into practical applications in the classroom, the establishment of the BioBuilderClub, and the significance of bridging theoretical knowledge with real-world...
-
Finding Synthetic Biology: Nicolas Rojas Taborda Transformative Journey
In this episode of Life-Changing Science, we sit down with Nicolas Rojas Taborda, a senior at Revere High School. Nico's interests shifted dramatically thanks to his involvement in the BioBuilder Apprenticeship Challenge. Nico describes his discovery of synthetic biology and his team's project...
-
Unlocking Nathan Kirokwa's Path to Bioengineering
In this episode of Life-Changing Science, we sit down with Nathan Kirokwa, a rising senior at Pioneer Charter School of Science, who guides us through his journey from a curious child captivated by the human body's healing magic to a dedicated bioengineer. Nathan recounts how his mother's…
more -
From Books to Biotech: Vanessa Murati and BioTechBuilder
Ever wondered how a love for reading can shape your career path? Join us for an enlightening conversation with Vanessa Murati, an ambitious junior at Pioneer Charter High School of Science. Vanessa's childhood obsession with character development led her to explore human behavior and…
more -
Hana Shinzawa: A Journey Beyond the Textbook with a Budding Biologist
Meet Hana Shinzawa, a beacon of inspiration from the BioBuilderClub who joins us to recount her experience as she discovered her passion to do and communicate science. Her AP Bio class captured her imagination leading her to relaunch the BioBuilderClub at her school. In this podcast she reviews…
more -
Where Life Sciences Meet Tech Training in High School Curriculum
Are you ready to have your mind expanded by the ingenuity of STEM education? Prepare to be inspired as Zeeshan talks with the dynamic Billy Carrier from Volunteer High School, a public school located in Church Hill, TN serving about 1000 students in grades 9-12. There Billy is trailblazing the...
-
From High School Fascination to Cutting-Edge Biotech: Susana Donkor's Journey in Science
Ever wondered how a high school fascination can ignite a lifelong passion for science and medicine? Zeeshan's conversation with Susana Donkor explores her early days, marked by influential encounters and pivotal experiences, to her current cutting-edge work at Aurion Biotech. Susana shares her...
-
Tara Peterson: One High Schooler's Journey from BioBuilder into a Biotech Career
Ever wondered how high school curiosity can evolve into a successful career in biotechnology? In this podcast, our guest Tara Peterson shares her unique story of how her high school apprenticeship program at BioBuilder shaped her career. Listen as she reveals the differences between her high…
more -
Inside the Lab: Yesenia Collins' Adventures in Synthetic Biology
Get ready to be inspired by our extraordinary guest, Yesenia Collins. A pivotal figure in her school's BioBuilderClub, Yesenia takes us along on her captivating journey, from her initial introduction to synthetic biology to her innovative projects at Tyngsborough High School. Can you imagine the...
-
Season 3 Episode 3: Igniting Passion for Biology with Amanda Blackburn and Evie Lafollette
Imagine transforming high school biology education by integrating synthetic biology into the curriculum, igniting students' passion for learning and preparing them for future success. How do you make this possible? This BioBuilder podcast focuses on two extraordinary biology teachers, Amanda...
-
Season 3 Episode 2: Meet BioBuilder Rachael Smyers
Rachael Smyers was part of the 2019 BioBuilder High School Apprenticeship Challenge that was held at LabCentral. The program’s “learning by doing” approach attracted her to it, especially since she got what she felt was a late start in the Vocational Technical Program at Medford High School....
-
Season 3 Episode 1: Meet BioBuilder Lyle Musesengwa
Lyle Musesengwa is a high school sophomore at Dobyns-Bennet HS, a rural school in Kingsport, TN, near the Appalachian Mountains. His school has strong STEM offerings, including the MATE Underwater Robotics competition, as well as nationally recognized Marching Band program. Lyle was born in Cape...
-
Season 2 Episode 12: Meet BioBuilder Jacob Lei
Jacob Lei was a rising Junior in High School when he participated in one of BioBuilder's online programs in the summer of 2020, waking up at 5AM Pacific time to participate synchronously three times a week for a month. BioBuilder’s online program introduced Jacob to the idea that biology and...
-
Season 2 Episode 11: Meet BioBuilder Presley Simelus
In this interview, Presley notes how they haven’t seen a single program or organization that is similar to BioBuilder. Presley would know, given the range of programs that they have engaged in. Presley is currently an 11th grade student at Prospect Hill Academy Charter School in Cambridge, MA.…
more -
Season 2 Episode 10: Meet BioBuilder Jo-Anne Purdy
Jo has been a biology teacher for 26 years and a BioBuilder from the very start, having attended the very first Professional Development workshop at MIT in 2011. Since then, she has integrated BioBuilder into her classroom (Newton North and Westborough High Schools in MA), supporting a...
-
Season 2 Episode 9: Meet BioBuilder Veni Dole
Veni Dole is currently studying Chemical Engineering at Columbia University, but as a high school student she participated in BioBuilder's BioBuilderClub at Andover High School. The team project she worked on addressed plastic bottles that pollute the ocean. Their design used salt as a trigger…
more -
Season 2 Episode 8: Meet BioBuilder Geneva Fischer
Geneva Fischer, a rising sophomore at Northeastern University in Boston, has been part of the BioBuilder community since high school. As part of her work in the biotechnology program at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, she saw her classmates participate in the BioBuilderClub, joined an…
more -
Season 2 Episode 7: Meet BioBuilder Dave Westenberg
Dave Westenberg, a Professor of Biological Sciences at Missouri University of Science & Technology, is widely known as a wonderful microbiologist, a great communicator and an exceptionally dedicated teacher. His students, be they undergraduates, high school teachers or public audiences…
more -
Season 2 Episode 6: Meet Rebekah Ravgiala
Rebekah Ravgiala is an award-winning biotechnology teacher at Tyngsborough High School in Massachusetts. She attended the first BioBuilder teacher professional workshop at MIT in 2011 and was hooked. Her excitement about synthetic biology motivated her to lead her school's iGEM/BioBuilderClub…
more -
Season 2 Episode 5: Meet Oscar Jimenez
Oscar is a rising junior at University of Massachusetts at Lowell, studying biology. His interest in biotechnology was sparked by a high school class and teacher at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. He applied and was accepted to BioBuilder's High School Apprenticeship Challenge in 2019, held…
more -
Season 2 Episode 4: Meet Nancy Otaluka
Nancy is currently a Clinical Research Assistant at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. She was one of the first BioBuilder Apprentices, a workforce readiness program for Boston-area students in under-resourced local high schools. In 2021 she graduated from the University of...
-
Season 2 Episode 3: Meet Chris Kuffner
Chris Kuffner has been a longtime BioBuilder -- starting in high school at Acton-Boxborough High School in Massachusetts almost a decade ago, and now he serves as a BioBuilderClub mentor and workshop instructor. He pursued his early interest in synthetic biology at University of Maryland, where…
more -
Season 2 Episode 2: Meet Jenny Nemlekar
Jenny is a creative whose work designing the first BioBuilder website influenced her career path from biomedical engineer to successful luxury handbag maker, marketer, and woman-led business owner. Learn more about BioBuilder's programs for students, educators, and industry professionals here 👉...
-
Season 2 Episode 1: Meet Tian Shi
Tian Shi is a senior at Georgetown University who came to BioBuilder's Learning Lab as a high school student and designed a biotechnology that she is now commercializing. She has also written a book on entrepreneurship and credits her work with BioBuilder for helping her see herself as an agent…
more -
Episode 12: Meet Angela Girodier
Angela Girodier is a senior undergraduate student at Emmanuel College, majoring in biology and secondary education. She is an alumna of the BioBuilder Apprenticeship Program. In this podcast, she describes how a science scavenger hunt in 8th grade and a grant proposal she wrote for her high…
more -
Episode 11: Meet Rebecca Millman
Zeeshan Siddiqui, BioBuilder's podcast host, notes: A particular topic of conversation I found really insightful was hearing about BioBuilder's tried and tested model over the past 10 years, where you start a curriculum in a school district and an area, you then start the Clubs in that area. Then...
-
Episode 10: Meet Karen Katz
Karen is a legal and healthcare executive, entrepreneur, and business development leader. She is currently the Deputy Director at the Office of Behavioral Health at MassHealth. Karen was one of the very first members on the BioBuilder Board of Directors. She helped shepherd the nonprofit from its...
-
Episode 9: Meet Amin Hajimorad
Amin Hajimorad earned his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Iowa State University, Ames, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Amin is currently an associate professor at California State University, Chico. He first got...
-
Episode 8: Meet Kevin Fuentes
Kevin Fuentes is a first generation Salvadoran-American now studying chemical engineering and biochemistry at Tufts University. He discovered BioBuilder when Dr. Kuldell gave a presentation to one of his science classes. He completed the Apprenticeship Challenge in the spring of 2019 and did his...
-
Episode 7: Meet Lindsey L'Ecuyer
Lindsey L'Ecuyer is an award-winning biotechnology teacher at Andover High School in Massachusetts. She has been empowering students to become independent learners for over 13 years. She is also a BioBuilder Ambassador and as part of her BioBuilderClub, Lindsey’s students have appeared on local...
-
Episode 6: Meet Viggy Vanchinathan
Viggy just completed his senior year at Westborough High School, in Westborough, a small town in central Massachusetts. He was first truly exposed to synthetic biology through BioBuilder's bacterial transformation lab, "What a Colorful World." From there, he partnered with his high school biology...
-
Episode 5: Michael Sheets
Learn more about BioBuilder's programs for students, educators, and industry professionals here 👉 https://biobuilder.org/ And follow BioBuilder on social media: https://www.facebook.com/BioBuilderFoundation/ https://twitter.com/SystemsSally https://www.youtube.com/@BioBuilder...
-
Episode 4: Meet Jude Clapper
Jude Clapper started teaching synthetic bio at Taipei American School (TAS) in 2013 after attending one of Natalie Kuldell's Biobuilder workshops at MIT. He is now the chair of Scientific Research at the school, as well as an advisor for their iGEM team - which has won three high school grand...
-
Episode 3: Meet Katie Hart
Katie Hart is an assistant professor at Williams College and a member of the BioBuilder educational foundation board. Katie has spent several years running BioBuilder professional development workshops at UC Berkeley for teachers interested in incorporating the BB curriculum into their…
more -
Episode 2: Meet Karen Ingram
Karen Ingram is a creative director, designer, and artist who uses her skill set to promote scientific awareness. With an origin in painting and textile design, Ingram's professional experience has traversed the arenas of digital design and art direction, creative strategy, event curation, and...
-
Meet our Host, Zeeshan Siddiqui
About the host Zeeshan Siddiqui is a Synthetic Biologist from Sydney, Australia. He completed his undergrad in Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics from UNSW, Sydney. In 2020, he joined the iGEM team as an ambassador, with the goal of promoting science communication and education. He intends to...
-
Episode 1: Meet Julie Legault
Julie Legault is designer-entrepreneur from the city of Montreal. She is also the co-founder of Amino Labs, an MIT spinout that builds hardware and synthetic biology products making genetic engineering accessible to children and non-scientists. Join us for this very exciting episode as Julie…
more
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast have?
Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast currently has 47 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast about?
Monthly episodes explore the impact of BioBuilder on the careers of our guests, from graphic designers to teachers, entrepreneurs, and students.
How often does Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast release new episodes?
Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast has 47 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast?
You can listen to Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast?
Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast is created and hosted by BioBuilder Educational Foundation.
URL copied to clipboard!