Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast

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 practice and display challenges • Automation shaping creative and scientific workflows • At-home and classroom biotech kits scaling access • Simulators and free curricula overcoming logistics • Biopl...

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 engaging projects and supportive environment • First in his family to pursue science, without STEM role models at home • Joined BioBuilder apprenticeship program in 2019 after learning about it from a cl...

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 in science. Though initially experiencing culture shock and language barriers, her determination never wavered. A simple middle school experiment on atmospheric pressure had already planted the seed ...

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 skills. • Introduction to Daniel Kemp and his experience with synthetic biology • Overview of the BioBuilder Professional Development Workshop and its relevance to teaching • Importance of hands-on lear...

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 insights and his own early experiments fueled his passion for science. He also shares how his interests evolved from a broad fascination with medicine to a focused pursuit of bioengineering through problem-s...

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 her experience embarking on a project that converts scientific curiosity to a real-world application, culminating in the design of a yeast-based sensor for Salmonella detection. Hana's voice carries t...

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 journey with heartfelt candor, reflecting on the profound early influence of educational shows and the empowering story of Ben Carson's "Gifted Hands," which sowed the seeds for her aspirations in neuro...

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 thrill of manipulating organisms to produce novel scents or even creating a world of vibrant microbial colors? Yesenia did just that in the Smell Lab and What a Colorful World Lab. Yet, it wasn't all ...

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. Starting there in her junior year, she spent mornings taking 3 or 4 traditional high school classes (English, History…) and the afternoons in Biotech Shop, learning lab skills like pipetting, prepping buf...

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 engineering could be combined to help people, using genetic parts that could be reconnected to address global issues. His biodesign team focused on medical treatments with a design that addressed insulin ...

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 BioBuilderClub that was led by Viggy (Season 1 Episode 6), and leading teacher professional development workshops. In this conversation she digs into what it takes to run BioBuilder labs and programs, as well a...

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 intensive workshop at the BioBuilder Learning Lab @LabCentral, and participated in the online Idea Accelerator during the COVID shut-down of in person classes. Most recently she has worked as an intern in the...