Further Together the ORAU Podcast

Recent Episodes

Episode 90: Health, healthcare and policy: ORAU as once, current and future pioneer

Posted July 20, 2022 • 00:31:56

Our health is one of our most important personal assets, and Brenda Blunt, ORAU director of health policy, knows that from her experience as a nurse and her extensive experience working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She and host Michael Holtz discuss the importance of healthcare and health policy, during a wide-ranging conversation. One revelation: While ORAU is known for its health and healthcare history, including being a pioneer in the field of nuclear medicine and radiation therapy, we have also been actively involved in the formation of health policy for years, for customers like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We hope you enjoy this episode.

Episode 89: CIA Mission Possible winner Kourtney Purham reflects on the past school year

Posted July 5, 2022 • 00:31:45

Kourtney Purham, a STEM teacher at Kramer Elementary School in Washington, D.C., was one of three winners of the CIA Mission Possible Classroom Transformation competition in 2021. After 15 years at another school, Purham's win of $25,000 in new technology for her classroom definitely made an impression. During this conversation, she and host Michael Holtz discuss what the last year has been like, how her students and her school have benefited from the new technology, and the learning challenges that still exist for her students. The conversation took place in a coffee shops just blocks away from the school, in the neighborhood where Purham lives and works. ORISE manages the Mission Possible program for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Episode 88: REAC/TS: Dr. Carol Iddins discusses the importance of this world-renowned DOE asset

Posted May 18, 2022 • 00:26:26

In this episode, host Michael Holtz talks with Dr. Carol Iddins, director of the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, or REAC/TS. REAC/TS is a world-renowned Department of Energy asset located at ORISE. Dr. Iddins talks about the work of REAC/TS, the importance of their role for both DOE and the National Nuclear Security Agency, and how her team is always ready to respond in the event of a radiation incident.

Episode 87: Finding a place at the table for animal use and care in teaching veterinary students

Posted May 4, 2022 • 00:29:39

Although rigid guidelines have been established for animal research, the parameters have not been as clear in the teaching and training of students veterinarians. Marci Savoy, Ph.D., a research associate with ORAU's research services team, co-authored a chapter on "Animal Care and Use in Veterinary Teaching and Clinical Services," for the book Finding Your Place at the Table, published by the Medical Library Association. In this conversation, Dr. Savoy shares her experience as a medical librarian and the challenges of finding standard protocols for animal care and use for teaching student veterinarians. The history of this topic is fascinating, including the development of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees. We hope you enjoy this conversation.

Episode 86: Research in Progress: How the pandemic has impacted career development for women in science

Posted April 13, 2022 • 00:19:58

How has the coronavirus pandemic magnified barriers to career development for women in science? That's the question being researched by Dr. Laura Davenport, ORISE evaluation specialist for STEM Workforce Development, and Dr. Firouzeh Sabri, chair of the Department of Physics and Material Science at the University of Memphis. Their research is funded through the ORAU-Directed Research and Development program. In this episode of the podcast, we discuss how these scientists and their teams came to work together, where they are in the process, and what happens next. Barriers to career development for women in science is an important issue. Tune in for this enlightening conversation.