Welcome to ‘Your Life, Your Way’ brought to you by Taipei Medical University! In this program, you will get to know the great stories of people from all over the world studying, researching, working and living in TMU. You will be able to find out more about your possible educational opportunities, research interests and career pathway. Come and join us!
Dr. David-Jon Lundy
Find out more about Dr. Lundy’s research
Timestamps
0:16
Background and getting started at TMU
4:55
Comfort with mistakes and failure
7:59
Managing academic relationships
10:53
Mental resources, work-life balance
12:34
Choosing a professor, TMU mentors
16:16
What makes a good student great
18:12
Making a productive start
24:07
Advice for life in Taiwan
Hailing from Washington, UK, Dr. David-Jon Lundy chose a career in biomedical science over becoming a doctor so he could stay closer to the “science” side of medicine. After graduating with a PhD and a 6000-mile journey to Taiwan, he applied his skills in a post-doc research position at Academia Sinica, where he spent the next four years working to regenerate heart tissue. Now Assistant Professor at TMU’s Graduate Institute of Biomedical Materials and Tissue Engineering, Dr. Lundy finds himself in closer contact with the “people” side of academia, where he spends much of his time helping Master’s and PhD students navigate the difficulties – and sometimes strangeness – of the world of academia. In this episode geared towards prospective graduate students, we hear Dr. Lundy’ thoughts on making the most of what makes a good student great, managing academic relationships, and the importance of embracing failure.
Austin Changou
Links
TMU Core Facility Center
Timestamps
0:17
Austin Changou, TMU Core Facility Center Director
2:22
The Core Facility Center and its role in education and research
7:37
TMU seven core facilities
14:39
Helping researchers through discussion – facing research failures
17:21
Core Facility staff and careers
19:26
TMU Core Facility services
21:09
Qualities of facility staff: patience, resourcefulness, consideration, kindness
Modern medical researchers often require specialized services and equipment that are too costly or impractical for a single laboratory or department to provide. At TMU this need is addressed by the Core Facility Center, a centralized resource comprising seven separate research Cores with equipment and expertise in imaging, mass spectrometry, flow cyclometery, NMR imaging, natural compound isolation, bioinformatics, and single cell genomics. The TMU Core Facility Center is run by Director Austin Changou, who speaks with host Joseph Lin about how the Center acts as a kind of “crazy scientist’s toolbox”, whose expert staff not only provide training to student and faculty researchers in the use of over 40 precision instruments, but also bring patience, kindness, and consideration to the often stressful world of scientific research.
Dr. Niall Duncan
Find out more about Dr. Duncan and his research
Dr. Niall Duncan, Graduate Institute of Brain, Mind, and Consciousness
http://gimbc.tmu.edu.tw/index.php?action=faculty-detail&id=13
Google scholar profile
Highlighted TMU Researcher
https://oge.tmu.edu.tw/highlighted-researcher-in-tmu-neuroscience-dr-niallduncan/
ReproducibiliTea Taipei
Timestamps
1:05
Dr. Duncan
3:24
Reproducibility and creating knowledge
5:55
Reproducibility and replicability
10:07
Positive or negative findings and changing social influence
19:05
Scientific discovery, publication, and integrity
23:07
Advice for postgrads
26:05
ReproducibiliTea
“Science” is often seen as a rigorous pursuit for truths about our world, with confirmation through replication of research at the core of the scientific method. Unfortunately, the ongoing replication crisis has led many young researchers to question whether science, as practiced today in universities around the world, prioritizes creating knowledge or simply getting published by any means necessary. Is replicability still a scientific value?
In this episode of Your Life Your Way, Dr. Niall Duncan discusses the role of replication in science, how imbalanced power relationships and perverse incentives can push researchers to – and past – the limits of academic integrity, and how grad students today can navigate the changing face of scientific research and communication.
Ting-Yi Zoe Wu
Links
Student Counselling Center, TMU Office of Student Affairs
http://osa.tmu.edu.tw/front/Counseling/pages.php?ID=dG11X29zYSZDb3Vuc2VsaW5n
BSRS-5 self-assessment tool
Timestamps
1:15
mental health services during the pandemic
5:06
mental health stressors faced by international students
9:25
recognizing and coping with stress
16:36
mental health support at TMU
19:11
recommendations for good mental health
22:58
final thoughts
Study away from home is often stressful for international students, and life during the current pandemic has exacerbated many of the stressors that affect students’ mental health. In this episode, Ting-Yi “Zoe” Wu, psychologist at TMU’s Student Counselling Center, case manager for international students, and former international student herself, discusses mental health awareness for students – common and covid-related stressors, assessing one’s state of mind, strategies for coping with stress, and mental health services available to students at TMU.
Donya L. Francis
Timestamps
1:02
coming to Taiwan, education, and becoming an ambassador
5:13
St. Kitts and Nevis
9:12
how a journalist/teacher ends up at a medical school – the value of varied interests
12:32
TMU education and international cooperation
16:16
life and hospitality in Taiwan
Educator, communicator, and global health expert Donya L. Francis has journeyed twice to Taiwan, first earning two degrees while working as a teacher and journalist. Having gained experience teaching, as a journalist, and with a master’s degree in global health and development, Francis has recently returned as ambassador for St. Kitts and Nevis. Taking the position at only 32 years old, Francis’s experience shows the usefulness of a multidisciplinary background in reaching one’s goals. In this episode, Ambassador Francis talks about the value of varied interests, experiencing Taiwan, and how goals, skills, and education can be used to benefit of people on opposite sides of the world.
Andrea Patricia Cano Romero and Ella Cheng
Links
Timestamps
0:00
Intro
5:15
Different students, different perspectives
8:32
Communication, community, activity
18:57
Who the Squad is looking for
As TMU becomes an increasingly international institute of higher learning, creating an environment that fosters cultural exchange and understanding can improve the education experience for all. This mission of fostering connections between local and international students belongs to the OGE Squad, a group of TMU student volunteers who help build relationships that bridge cultures, religions, and personal backgrounds. In this episode, OGE Squad volunteers Andrea Patricia Cano Romero and Ella Cheng talk about how their activities highlight cultural diversity, connect local and international student communities, and open the doors for communication, teamwork, and friendship.
Dr. Eisner Salamanca
Find out more about Dr. Salamanca and his research
Timestamps
0:16
Introduction and background
4:45
The teaching, research, and practice triangle
6:01
Dr. Eisner’s research
7:35
Why Taiwan, why TMU?
11:23
Future plans, suggestions for students –
He’d originally planned to return to his native Nicaragua, but after language classes, graduate study, and an assistant professorship at TMU’s School of Dentistry, Dr. Eisner Salamanca is still excited to be in Taiwan. In this episode, Dr. Salamanca covers the importance of early oral hygiene, Taiwan’s advantage connecting research, teaching, and practical experience, and his research developing bone graft materials made using pig tissue. After more than ten years in Taiwan and almost as long at TMU, Dr. Salamanca emphasizes the dual benefits of one of his lab’s rules: balancing work and leisure – to help students make the most of their Taiwan study experience and to work better by relaxing their brains.
Dr. Philip Tseng
Find out more about Dr. Tseng and his research
Philip Tseng, Graduate Institute of Brain, Mind and Consciousness
https://tmu.pure.elsevier.com/en/persons/philip-tseng
Dr. Tseng’s projects
http://gimbc.tmu.edu.tw/index.php?action=research&group=16&author=3&year=
Brain and Cognition Lab, Shuang Ho Hospital
Timestamps
0:35
Philip Tseng, Director, Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain and Consciousness
1:24
Working at Volkswagen – the psychology of drivers
4:07
The 10% myth
5:40
Social conformity and culture
7:03
Cognitive psychology – neurology spectrum
8:54
Transitioning from industry to academics
13:02
On detecting deception
22:59
Neuroscience in Taiwan and advice for students
26:24
Current GIMBC projects
For many, the title “psychologist” is synonymous with “mind reader”, though that’s not quite how cognitive neuroscience works according to Dr. Philip Tseng, Vice Dean and Director of TMU’s Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain and Consciousness. Dr. Tseng, a self-described member of a “weird group of neuroscientists, philosophers, engineers, and psychologists”, joins host Joseph Lin in this episode of TMU’s Your Life, Your Way podcast for a conversation that touches on topics as diverse as Dr. Tseng’s research, including commonly held ideas about psychology, differences between cognitive neuroscience careers tracks in Taiwan and abroad, transitioning from industry and academia, and the science of detecting lies.
Nigel Chew
Find out more about MTAMTech
Timestamps
0:16
Background, the TMU education experience
4:16
Anti-cancer drug screening at MTAM Tech
9:30
Personal motivations and the job
12:22
Advice for students
The path that brought Nigel Chew to Taiwan almost eight years began during a hiatus from a career in the chip manufacturing industry. Deciding to follow his interest in biotechnology, he came to TMU where he earned a Master’s degree, then a PhD. Now, Nigel uses his experience in business and biotech – and his deep sense of social responsibility – to help bring a TMU spinoff company’s technology to the public: a possibly life-changing anti-cancer drug screening method for personalized medicine.
Dr. Ted Chia-Kwung Fan
Find out more about Dr. Fan and his research
Department of Molecular Parasitology and Tropical Diseases, School of Medicine, TMU
http://parasitology.tmu.edu.tw/Fan%20CK-2.htm
Dr. Fan’s research
https://tmu.pure.elsevier.com/en/persons/chia-kwung-fan/publications/
Dr. Fan on Facebook
Timestamps
0:30
“Professor Worm” Dr. Ted Chia-Kwung Fan and the Department of Molecular Parasitology and Tropical Diseases
6:18
“Neglected” tropical diseases and the role of the Department of Molecular Parasitology and Tropical Diseases
8:33
Neurocysticercosis – the pork tapeworm
10:00
NTD research Eswatini
12:36
Getting into parasitology: protozoans, sleeping sickness, and Out of Africa
17:06
TMU research work in Eswatini
25:30
Life in Africa
29:44
Sincerity and respect in international collaborations
Most educators would likely balk at the title “Professor Worm”, but for someone with Dr. Ted Chia-Kwung Fan’s experience in parasitology the nickname is considered a compliment. Dr. Fan has been delving into the molecular mechanisms of parasitic diseases for the greater part of two and a half decades, starting his career at Taipei Medical University’s Department of Parasitology in 1995, and spending months at a time for the past 13 years conducting field research in Africa. Now Director of TMU’s Department of Molecular Parasitology and Tropical Diseases, Dr. Fan oversees an international team of researchers working to understand and control “neglected” tropical diseases in Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Africa. In this episode of Your Life, Your Way, Dr. Fan discusses his passion for parasitology, working and living in Eswatini, and the value of sincerity for international collaborations.
Dr. Yu-Chuan Jack Li
Find out more about Dr. Li and his research
Timestamps
0:06
Dermatology, AI, and medical diagnosis
5:30
The evolution of machine learning
12:01
Data quality, privacy, and implementation costs
15:56
ASKIN telemedicine
17:26
AESOP prescription safety
21:17
PROPHET health threat prediction
23:19
Advice for students
Every medical student knows that knowledge is vital for making medical diagnoses, but the process of memorization often exposes weaknesses in the human ability to retain and process data. In an increasingly digitized world where new medical data is created faster than at any previous time in history, could computing tools able to process information stored on the net be trained to reason as well as doctors? According to Yu-Chuan Jack Li, who’s pioneered AI technology in medicine for over thirty years, advances in data science, falling hardware costs, and increasingly sophisticated algorithms make now the best time ever to realize the future of AI in medicine. And with the computing tools he’s developing, like AESOP, MoleMe, and ASKiN, the future of medical AI may be closer than you think.
MTAMTech
Find out more about MTAMTech
Timestamps
0:16
Introduction: Academics, Commercialization, and spinoff companies
11:03
Differences between being a student and a spinoff employee
12:29
Funding new technologies, SPARK and beyond
17:03
Academic vs commercial exhibitions
20:49
Networking and local evidence
23:00
MTAMTech today
24:24
Advice for prospective spinoff starters
In this second episode highlighting TMU spinoff MTAMTech, Nigel Chew returns to talk with host Joseph Lin about his experience building a company. This time he’s brought new R&D hire (and fellow TMU graduate) Vincent Chen to discuss commercializing research, the ins and outs of how spinoff companies work, and some differences between academia and business. Together with host Joseph Lin, they discuss how spinoffs are funded, the bridge they create between research and products, and the importance of boots-on-the- ground networking. Although building a spinoff can be an arduous process, it’s one that can benefit both universities and patients – and create a sense of meaning for all those involved.
Dr. Clare HuangFu
Find out more about Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, TMU
Timestamps
0:58 – background and ATP BioPharm
4:36 – AI in drug discovery and drug synthesis
6:12 – business vs academia
11:10 – essential resources for entrepreneurs
16:34 –Balancing work and motherhood
It can be a challenge to get research into rare conditions supported; processes are time-consuming, materials are expensive, and Universities have limited resources. That’s why Clare Huang Fu and a group of researchers, having developed an AI-assisted “smart synthesis” drug discovery technology to find drugs that are both synthesizable and patentable, decided to bring their expertise to the world of entrepreneurship. In this episode, Clare shares her experiences building a startup company – with mentorship, connecting with financiers, and the differences encountered when moving between academics and the market-oriented realities of business.
Dr. Jeff Wang
Find out more about Prof. Jeff Wang, TMUH
Timestamps
0:00 – intro and background
3:51 – regenerative dentistry
7:06 – what can regenerative dentistry help?
10:13 – careers in dentistry in Taiwan
12:36 – challenges for regenerative dentistry
15:08 – the next 5 to 10 years
16:55 – what dental symptoms to watch out for
Everyone knows the importance of oral health, but getting oneself into the dentist’s chair can often be easier said than done. But the past decades have seen substantial progress in dentistry, due in no small part to the bridging of clinical practice with a broad variety of scientific research. In this episode, host Joseph Lin and Dr. Jeff Wang, TMU’s Periodontics Division Director, Associate Professor, and practicing dentist, discuss how modern regenerative dentistry is working to combine periodontal practice with breakthroughs in bioengineering to change the face of dentistry – and give us all healthy and happy smiles.
Dr. Christoph D. Dahl
Find out more about Prof. Christoph D. Dahl
Timestamps
0:00 – intro
2:10 – animal consciousness and self-awareness
7:32 – animal consciousness research, ethics, and anthropomorphism
12:00 – communication as an indicator of consciousness
15:17 – jumping spiders
17:48 – other promising research
20:47 – AI and understanding consciousness
24:14 – suggestions for students
Fifty years ago, a scientist suggesting that arachnids might be conscious could well have been laughed out of the room. But research into animal behavior and cognition since then has developed a progressively more complex picture of the multidimensional cognitive spaces behind animal, and indeed human, consciousness. This is the field of Christoph D. Dahl, associate professor at the TMU Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain and Consciousness, who in this episode of Your Life, Your Way, talks about self-awareness in animals, why jumping spiders recognize each another, and how AI and machine learning could affect the study of animal consciousness in the future.
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