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Beyond the bench

Portraits of scientists’ lives outside the lab

Autism researcher Veronica Martinez Cereno holds a brain in her lab.

Beyond the bench: At school with Verónica Martínez Cerdeño

by  /  1 May 2023

Spectrum caught up with the University of California, Davis professor about her passion for volunteering in underserved schools, birding and fossil-hunting.

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January 2023
Jill Silverman sits at her desk with her dog.

Beyond the bench: Finding solitude with Jill Silverman

by  /  17 January 2023

The people-focused researcher shares her secrets to carving out time for grant writing, creating work-life balance and letting go of unread emails.

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December 2022
Gavin Rumbaugh stands on a beach with his family: his wife, dog and child.

Beyond the bench: Finding balance with Gavin Rumbaugh

by  /  15 December 2022

Rumbaugh, who studies how the autism-linked gene SYNGAP1 shapes brain development, describes how he has embraced coastal living and which aspects of his career he wouldn’t do over.

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October 2022

Beyond the bench: Mastering meaningful movement with Karen Chenausky

by  /  21 October 2022

The competitive rower-turned-researcher spoke to Spectrum about how trying out for the U.S. national rowing team and a subsequent coaching position shaped her study of speech development.

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September 2022
Constantina Theofanopoulou strikes a dancer's pose in her lab.

Beyond the bench: Learning new moves with dancer-scientist Constantina Theofanopoulou

by  /  13 September 2022

Theofanopoulou shares how flamenco stepped up the pace of her social-communication research, and what’s behind the ‘no fear’ ethos in her new lab.

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August 2022
Portrait of Judy Van De Water at her home in Fort Bragg, CA, with her paintings.

Beyond the bench: A conversation with Judy Van de Water

by  /  12 August 2022

When Van de Water isn’t busy mentoring “the next generation of scientists” in her lab, she finds time to paint, watch HGTV and hang out with her horse, Hank.

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March 2022
Lindsay Shea standing in front of a white board.

Beyond the bench: A conversation with Lindsay Shea

by  /  11 March 2022

Lindsay Shea talks about her work, her “dirt kitchen,” fried sticky buns and why her lab doesn’t have a mascot.

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February 2022
Dr. Kostas Zarbalis standing in front of a window in his office.

Beyond the bench: A conversation with Konstantinos Zarbalis

by  /  10 February 2022

Konstantinos “Kostas” Zarbalis talks about the upside of unexpected experimental results, and why he eats just one meal per day.

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January 2022

Beyond the bench: A conversation with Kristin Sohl

by  /  13 January 2022

When pediatrician Kristin Sohl isn’t building programs to improve care for and research about autistic people, you can find her reading psychological thrillers or playing Pokémon Go.

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November 2021
Professor Andrew Whitehouse surrounded by playful children in the busy clinic in Subiaco Western Australia.

Beyond the bench: A conversation with Andrew Whitehouse

by  /  24 November 2021

Andrew Whitehouse talks about his conservation efforts in the Australian Outback, what it’s like to be an identical twin and why he leaves work promptly at 5 p.m.

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Dr. Audrey Brumback in her lab with her hair and lab coat flying out behind her.

Beyond the bench: A conversation with Audrey Brumback

by  /  3 November 2021

Audrey Brumback riffs about volunteering in Mexico, having a lab next door to her husband’s and why she sometimes cries at work.

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