This Week on The Academic Minute

Monday

Joseph Friedman, resident physician at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, examines how the fourth wave of the opioid crisis may be receding, but progress is still uneven overall.

Tuesday

Claire Strom, professor of history at Rollins College, explores our society’s view of hunger and how the response to it has changed over time.

Wednesday

Matt Simoneau, professor of career and technical education at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, details why kids want to be social media influencers when they grow up.

Thursday

Etya Amsalem, associate professor of entomology at Penn State University, looks at why some bumblebee larvae become queens while others do not.

Friday

Khachatur Manukyan, research associate professor at the University of Notre Dame, discusses how Benjamin Franklin stopped counterfeiters when paper money was so easy to fake.

Catch up with The Academic Minute from 10/5 - 10/9

Monday

Jad Ardakani - Houston Methodist Research Institute
Your Zip-code and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Dr. Jad Ardakani is a medical doctor and clinical research fellow in preventive cardiology at the Houston Methodist, where he works under the mentorship of Dr. Sadeer Al-Kindi and Dr. Khurram Nasir. His research focuses on the environmental and social determinants of cardiometabolic disease, leveraging large-scale clinical and geospatial datasets.

Tuesday

John P. Cooke - Houston Methodist Research Institute
Radiation-Induced Skin Damage and Telomerase Therapy

Dr. John P. Cooke is the Chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the Houston Methodist Research Institute, Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Regeneration, and Medical Director of the RNA Therapeutics Program in the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center in Houston, Texas.

Wednesday

Weichaun Dong - Houston Methodist Research Institute
Discovering America’s Epilepsy Belt

Dr. Weichuan Dong is a scientist in spatial epidemiology, population health, and machine learning, with a focus on how environmental and social factors shape chronic disease risk and outcomes. Dr. Dong’s work integrates large-scale clinical data, advanced AI/ML methods, and geospatial analysis to generate insights that support better prevention, diagnosis, and care delivery.

Thursday

Maen Abdelrahim - Houston Methodist Research Institute
Detecting Cancer Recurrence Earlier via Blood Test

Dr. Abdelrahim earned his PharmD, followed by a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology, and subsequently an MD from Texas A&M University. He completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine and a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Duke University.

Friday

Andrew Lee - Houston Methodist Research Institute
All Eyes on America’s Pickleball Problem

Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery at Houston Methodist. Dr. Lee received his first faculty appointment in 1994 as an Instructor in the Department of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

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