An optimist's guide to biological competition: Ed Chuong

About this episode

Ed Chuong discusses his research on biological competition and transposons, sharing his journey into biology.

ANDers, today's episode is a doozy. Today, we sit with Ed Chuong, associate professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology and researcher at CU Boulder’s BioFrontiers Institute. Ed discusses his research exploring unexpected conflict, even in the womb, and his more recent exploration of the long-overlooked transposons. He also shares his journey into biology—from a love of science-fiction to an interest in developing video games, to a devastating discovery while snorkeling leading to original, career defining work in a lab. This conversation is a case study in ANDing's array. For more on Ed Chuong's research, visit the Chuong Lab or his profile at the BioFrontiers Institute. --- Original music composed by Nelson Walker. Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia. Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley. The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

People in this episode

Host: Erika Randall

Guest: Ed Chuong

Topics covered

• biological competition
• molecular biology
• transposons
• research journey
• science and culture
• developmental biology

Keywords

• biological competition
• transposons
• molecular biology
• CU Boulder
• research
• science fiction
• video games

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CU Boulder’s BioFrontiers Institute, Chuong Lab

More episodes of The Ampersand

• An ear to the stones: Paul Chinowsky · June 3, 2026 · 1h 3m
• What makes a Grimm Brothers fairy tale? With Ann Schmiesing · April 16, 2026 · 46 min
• Season Five Trailer: Into the woods · April 14, 2026 · 2 min
• To become a wild thing: Season Four finale with Joanna Lambert · September 7, 2025 · 40 min
• Embracing (Family) Feud: Megan Stephenson · August 31, 2025 · 30 min
• The craft of a human moment: Nick Houy · July 27, 2025 · 28 min