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The Hitchhiker's Guide to Immunotherapy

Dr. Liz Wayne got her start as a cancer hunter, searching for rogue cells running loose through the bloodstream. But she started to notice something strange – everywhere she found cancer cells, she found immune cells, too. Today, a big issue with cancer therapy is that some cancer sites are really hard to reach, but immune cells have no problem getting there. Dr. Wayne thought, why not hitchhike cancer-fighting drugs onto immune cells to get them straight to the places they’re needed most? Listen to this month’s episode to find out how her research may pave the way for a cheaper, more accessible kind of cancer immunotherapy. Plus, stick around after the credits to hear the origin story of Dr. Wayne’s podcast, PhDivas.

Hosted by Kelsey Hickey and Ben Mansky
Produced by Kelsey Hickey and Ben Mansky
Editing help from the CTOR team

Original music by Arda Mizrak
Pinball machine sound effect from mapleleaf on Freesound.com

Pitch Imperfect: The Quest to Improve the Bionic Ear

To date, cochlear implants are the most successful electronic device for restoring sensation in individuals with sensorineural hearing loss. Yet these devices are not without flaws. For instance, pitch perception is extremely poor in these devices, and that can affect an implant user's ability to distinguish sounds in a noisy room. In this episode, we speak to Dr. Charles Limb, a UCSF ear surgeon who specializes in hearing loss and performs these cochlear implant surgeries. By incorporating complex elements of music, Dr. Limb and his team hope to improve the current cochlear implant model so those with hearing loss have a wider range and more sensitive ability to hear.

Hosted by Ramie Fathy and Devika Nair
Produced by Devika Nair, Anna Lipkin, and Ramie Fathy
Editing help from the CTOR team

Music used in this episode:
"The Zeppelin," "Shift of Currents," and "Heliotrope" by Blue Dot Sessions
"Western Tanager" and "Yellow-rumped Warbler" by Chad Crouch
"Aim is True," "All The Ways," "In My Head," "Intermezzo," "Paper Boat," "Ringling," "Surface Tension," "Clair de Lune (Synth Arr.)," "Clair de Lune (Felt Piano, Rhodes and Drum Machine Arr.)"and "Window Shopping" by Podington Bear
Beethoven -Symphony no 9 in D minor, opus 125 - Movement 2 performed by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra

Implants and IUDs: A Renaissance of Birth Control

Let's talk about sex, baby. Wait, minus the baby. This month, we interviewed a science historian and a current provider, as well as our friends and family, to learn about the scientific and cultural factors that shape contraceptive use in the US.




Hosted by Anna Lipkin and Nancy Cai
Produced by Anna Lipkin, Nancy Cai, Jina Lee, and Iris Bachmutsky
Editing help from the CTOR team

Music in this episode:
"Pulsars," "In My Head," and "Paper Boat" by Podington Bear
"Plague," "Crying Earth," and "Moonlight Reprise" by Kai Engel
"Your Mother's Daughter" and "Candlepower" by Chris Zabriskie
"As I Figure" and "Camille Saint-Saens Danse Macabre--Isolated Harp" by Kevin MacLeod
"Quel Augelin Che Canta" by Claudio Monteverdi, performed by the Tudor Consort
"Siesta" by Jazzhar
"Frozen Egg" by Lame Drivers

Episode Art adapted from NCHS Data Brief No. 188 (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db188.htm)

Rx Friendship: Treating the social deficits in schizophrenia

Forming strong social relationships with others is critical to our mental health and well-being. But what happens when our ability to form these vital connections is impaired? In this episode, Dr. Josh Woolley explores the social deficits in patients with Schizophrenia, and how oxytocin may hold the key to developing a better treatment.

Hosted by Devika Nair and Meryl Horn
Produced by Devika Nair, Meryl Horn, and Samantha Hindle
Music attribution: Intermezzo, Sunset Stroll, 60s Quiz Show, Silver Sliver, A Thought, Gathering, Ringling, Lope and Shimmer, and Well and Good, by Podington Bear, Gone by Dana Boule, and The Hangover by David Szesztay

Extending the Thread of Life with Dena Dubal

If you could swallow a pill that would give you twenty extra years of healthy life, would you do it? In this episode of CTOR, we talk to Dr. Dena Dubal, a neurologist and neuroscientist at UCSF. Her research on a protein discovered completely by accident may hold the key to living longer, healthier lives more resilient to heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia.

How is that possible? Listen to this month’s CTOR episode to find out! 


Produced by Peter Chisnell and Sam Ancona Esselmann 
Cover art by Michael Griffin Kelly

 Music:
"As Colorful as Ever" by Broke for Free
"Ice Climb," "Down and Around," "Aim Is True," "Big Blue," and "Onward" by Podington Bear
"Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo" by Lina Palera
"Still On" by VYVCH
"Le Songe d'Hacolhii" by Sunhiilow
"You Know Who You Are" by Alan Singley