BTI’s Michelle Heck and Joyce Van Eck Guest on Podcasts

Boyce Thompson Institute is happy to share that two of our faculty members recently appeared as guests on popular podcasts. The content of these podcasts illustrate the breadth of research being done at the Institute to help increase global food security, improve human health and benefit the environment.

Joyce Van Eck guested on the Gastropod podcast, which looks at food through the lens of science and history. The episode, which was released on October 7, focused on the history, present and future of using CRISPR technology to improve our foods. Joyce’s lab uses biotechnological approaches – including CRISPR – to study gene function and improve crops. On Gastropod, she discussed her lab’s research using CRISPR to improve groundcherries and goldenberries, with an aim to make the orphan crops easier to harvest and more attractive to consumers.

Michelle Heck was profiled on the People Behind the Science podcast, which explores the lives and experiences of people behind the research and scientific discoveries of today. On the episode, which was released on September 2, Michelle discusses how she became a molecular biologist studying plant pathogens, including a transformative visit to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory when she was in ninth grade. She also talks about her life outside of the lab, the importance of her family, and her love of music and endurance cycling.