Arjun Raj’s Bag of Tricks | The Night Science Podcast - Ep 3

Today we’re sharing episode 3 of the Night Science podcast, originally published on May 3rd, 2021.

In this episode, Itai and Martin talk with Arjun Raj, Professor of Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania. Arjun understands the functioning of biological cells using a bag of tricks that he carries from problem to problem; the art of science, he posits, lies in figuring out what tricks will tell you what answers to what problems. Arjun thinks that we are all born night scientists, and that it's day science that needs to be learned. The ultimate goal of life as a scientist, he believes, is not so much writing papers, but building people. Arjun has received many prizes, including the NIH Director's New Innovator Award. His lab pioneered tools for studying biological processes using state of the art imaging and sequencing technologies.

0:00 - Introduction
2:31 - Leaving a school of thought as a form of legacy
3:46 - Origins of his creativity
7:40 - Creativity as a bag of tricks
12:10 - The interdisciplinary advantage
13:55 - Balancing day and night science
18:09 - Example of finding this balance
26:54 - Finding and identifying good ideas
31:43 - Night science techniques
37:17 - The day and night science of collaboration
40:19 - Anthropomorphisms to understand biology
43:03 - Final thoughts

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ABOUT NIGHT SCIENCE
Where do ideas come from? In each episode, scientists Itai Yanai and Martin Lercher explore science’s creative side with a leading colleague.

Our producer is Lou Baron. Editorial support and transcription by Arjun Udupa. Show art by Kendall Martin.

For more information about Night Science, visit www.biomedcentral.com/collections/night-science and www.night-science.org

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