Dr. James Beatty

Seeking answers about the nature of the mysteries of the universe has been a continuing quest for thousands of years.  For all that we have learned, there is always more to know – and that “more” requires increasing effort and bigger science.

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Dr. James Beatty, current chair of the Physics Dept., has spent many years seeking to understand the nature of neutrinos and cosmic rays which fill the universe around us, and may hold secrets that could bring us untold advantage in working with natural forces.  The problem is that these rays are relatively rare – at the scale of a mere planet – and are exceedingly difficult to detect.  Dr. Beatty and his team are participating in two international projects intent on learning more about these rays, and building a body of knowledge about them.

One project is based in Argentina – covering an area of the plains about the size of Rhode Island.  Detectors placed in array throughout this region are poised to “see” the rays, and capture key data that is sent back to OSU and dispersed to research partners around the world.  Another project is taking place in Antarctica – where a large array of detectors are floated about the ice by a huge balloon.  This too is an international collaboration.

Dr. Beatty’s students have some unique opportunities to use these land-based “telescopes” to capture and study unique views of the universe.  And the university gains from involvement with an international community of researchers, all seeking to find and share knowledge about the nature of our galactic environment.

A brief preview of this complete interview is also available (YouTube).

Dr. Karla Zadnik

Myopia – or nearsightedness – has seen a drastic increase among Americans over the last 20 years.  It seems to become apparent most often in children, especially between the ages of 5 – 15.  Figuring out what causes myopia, and why it appears at such a specific time in the lives of young people – has become the mission of Dr. Karla Zadnik.

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In a major study that stretched across the continent and followed almost 5000 students from 1st to 8th grade with detailed annual examinations, Dr. Zadnik and her team have put together a rich body of information with which they are now working to determine what conclusions might be drawn.  Preliminary results have produced at least one stand-out theory.  While the major factor impacting a tendency toward myopia remains genetics (“We can’t choose who our parents are,” says Dr. Zadnik during the interview) – it turns out that some of the commonly held beliefs about other causes – too much reading, too much television, lightness, closeness – are not necessarily as clear cut as once believed.

Once again we see how dedication and commitment can hold together a complex and years-long research program – involving multiple teams in a variety of geographic and cultural settings – and thousands of children.

A brief preview of the complete interview is also available (YouTube).

Dr. Laura Justice

Reading is one of the first and most fundamental intellectual skills required for education – and it is a huge challenge for many children, especially those considered at-risk due to disability, family status or other reasons.

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Dr. Laura Justice pursues research in improving reading for children, particularly for at-risk children who have special challenges.  She has studied ways to leverage  characteristics of the printed word – books – in helping children – and the adults who help them – find cues and clues that enable them to get over the barriers to understanding.  She is a professor in the School of Teaching and Learning, in the College of Education and Human Ecology at OSU.  She was also awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 2007.

She has also participated in a key national study of the efficacy of reading curricula – the series of reading books, teachers’ guides and related activities marketed to school districts as complete packages, often covering the complete grade school experience.

The results of this study may surprise you, and the implications reach to the heart of public policy and the way public education is structured in the U.S.

A brief preview of the complete interview is also available (YouTube).

Dr. Rebecca Jackson

Some of the most important research requires the cooperation of large numbers of people over extended periods of time.  Succeeding at this kind of research is complicated by the mobility of people over many years, and the difficulty in keeping them involved, in light of all the demands on time that crop up in individuals’ lives.  But some researchers have found a formula for success – and Dr. Rebecca Jackson is one of those.

Watch the complete video interview, click here.

The Women’s Health Initiative has been on-going for 15 years, and during its most active time, Dr. Jackson and her staff  maintained the involvement of some 5000 participants over a number of years – many still keep in touch.  Similarly, the Osteoarthritis Initiative has been studying some 1200 participants for more than 5 years.  The extraordinary planning and communications required to keep such people-intensive projects moving forward and with a full contingent of study subjects has prepared Dr. Jackson for her next big challenge.

The Center for Clinical and Translational Science was established in 2008 under the directorship of Dr. Jackson.  The purpose of the center is to promote the faster movement of research results to clinical patients (“translation”) – and that effort requires the participation and support of most of the colleges on the OSU campus in one way or another.  In addition to being one of the largest individual grants ever awarded to an OSU researcher, the CCTS promises to be among the most far-reaching as well.

A brief preview of the complete interview is also available (YouTube).

William E. Carson III, M.D.

The study and treatment of cancer is a complex activity with many focal points covering a broad range of issues.  Causes may range from environmental to genetic.  Clinical response may range from chemo or radiation treatment for the body, to nutrition for the long term, to psychological intervention for the emotional well-being of the patient.  And the well-versed physician must know a great deal more about these options than ever before.

See the complete video interview, click here.

Dr. Carson is part of the leadership of OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center, and mentors other researchers while conducting his own research into breast and skin cancer.  While he is a surgeon, he is also exploring new treatments to reduce the prospects of recurrence, and ways to raise the probability that a surgical intervention – when necessary – will be successful.

He is also a part of a broad movement throughout the OSU College of Medicine to promote “translational science” – efforts to improve the speed with which research results can be validated and moved as quickly as practicable into clinical practice – where that research can go to work for real patients and their families.

A brief preview of this complete interview is also available (YouTube).

Dr. Ellen Mosley-Thompson

As one of the founding faculty/researchers of the Byrd Polar Research Center, the work of Dr. Mosley-Thompson and her colleagues has attracted the attention of the public and policy-makers alike in the emerging reality of global climate change.

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For more than 35 years, she has conducted projects requiring months in hostile weather and terrain, extracting ice cores from remote glaciers, analyzing the contents of the ice (which captured snapshots of atmospheric and weather conditions as the snow fell during the thousands of years the glacier has existed), and carefully reconstructing ancient weather conditions to track changes over time.  Her results have become a piece of an overall pattern showing the rapid increase of temperature and other atmospheric elements – like carbon dioxide – over the last 100 years, relative to many thousands of years of now-visible history.

Dr. Mosley-Thompson’s infectious positive attitude and enthusiasm give us a picture of a dedicated scientist, doing important ground-breaking work, while laying the foundation for new generations of research that will surely follow.

A short preview of this interview is also available.

Dr. Mary Ellen Wewers

In spite of decades of messaging about the hazards of smoking, there is still a significant segment of our society who smoke.  Studies have shown there are significant costs to the individual – both in terms of dollars and health consequences – as well as the community at large.

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Dr. Wewers has devoted most of her career to the care of those who have suffered the consequences of smoking – and to finding new ways to help and enable smokers quit the habit, and reduce risk to themselves and their families.  Her current work focuses on Appalachian Ohio, where she and her team are exploring new ways to combine counseling and other social services to help people change their lives.

She is also deeply involved in the new Center for Clinical and Translational Science – which is also a program dedicated to reaching out to communities and meeting their needs as the communities themselves define them.

A brief preview is also available (YouTube).