Natural Prodcast | Joint Genome Institute

A man with a beard and glasses wears headphones in front of a microphone.

Natural Prodcast is a “fireside chat”-style podcast about natural products and the science and scientists of secondary metabolism. Natural products, secondary metabolites, and specialized metabolites all refer to the chemicals that make species unique and different from one another. They are incredibly important to medicine, the environment, and human health. As the JGI acts on its goals in — and builds out its capabilities for — secondary metabolism research, “Natural Prodcast” serves as an important line of communication to the scientific community. Host Dan Udwary talks to luminaries in the field about current and future developments, and how the JGI can be part of that space.

Natural Prodcast Episode 1: The Primer, Part 1

In this introductory episode, Alison Takemura and Dan Udwary give an introductory lesson on who we are, and start to cover the basics in this field.

Natural Prodcast Episode 2: The Primer, Part 2

This the second episode of Natural Prodcast, which continues a conversation from the first episode.

Natural Prodcast Episode 3: The Primer, Part 3

This episode is the 3rd and final part of Natural Prodcast’s “Primer” episodes.

Natural Prodcast Episode 4: Nancy Keller

This is episode 4 of Natural Prodcast, our interview with Dr Nancy Keller from the University of Wisconsin.

Natural Prodcast Episode 5: Brad Moore

This is episode 5 of Natural Prodcast, our conversation with Brad Moore, a researcher from University of California (UC), San Diego and Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO).

Natural Prodcast Episode 6: Marc Chevrette

This is Episode 6 of Natural Prodcast, our conversation with Marc Chevrette, a postdoctoral researcher from the laboratory of Jo Handelsman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Natural Prodcast Episode 7: Ben Shen

This is our conversation with Professor Ben Shen, from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in Jupiter, Florida.

Natural Prodcast Episode 8: Eric Schmidt

This is the website for Episode 8 of JGI’s Natural Prodcast, which features our conversation with Professor Eric W. Schmidt from the University of Utah.

Natural Prodcast Episode 9: Roger Linington

This episode features our conversation with Roger Linington, from Simon Fraser University.

Natural Prodcast Episode 10: A Primer on Genome Mining

Natural Prodcast Episode 11: Marnix Medema

In this episode, Alison and I talk to Marnix Medema, from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

Natural Prodcast Episode 12: Nadine Ziemert

This is our interview with Nadine Ziemert, from the University of Tübingen.

Natural Prodcast Episode 13: Francisco Barona Goméz

Dr. Francisco (Paco) Barona- Goméz is a Principal Investigator at Cinvestav UGA-Langebio in Irapuato, Mexico.

Natural Prodcast Episode 14: Nigel Mouncey

Our guest on this episode is Dr. Nigel Mouncey, JGI’s Director, and also lead of the JGI’s Secondary Metabolites Science Program.

Natural Prodcast Episode 15: Katherine Duncan

This is Natural Prodcast’s conversation with Professor Katherine Duncan from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

Natural Prodcast Episode 16: Marcy Balunas

Natural Prodcast presents our interview with Professor Marcy Balunas, currently at the University of Connecticut‘s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Natural Prodcast Episode 17: Cassandra Quave

This episode is Natural Prodcast’s conversation with Dr. Cassandra Quave, from Emory University’s School of Medicine and College of Arts and Sciences in Atlanta.

Natural Prodcast Episode 18: A CSP Primer

In this episode, host Dan Udwary partnered with Menaka Wilhelm to talk to JGI staff about JGI’s Community Science Program, or CSP.

Natural Prodcast Episode 19: Bill Fenical

In this episode, Natural Prodcast talks to the legendary Prof William Fenical of Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego about the beginnings of marine natural products, his experiences in drug discovery, and exploring marine bacteria for novel chemistry.

Natural Prodcast Episode 20: Brian Bachmann

Natural Prodcast is proud to welcome Professor Brian Bachmann, from the Vanderbilt Chemistry Department, and Primary Investigator of the Laboratory for Biosynthetic Studies.

Natural Prodcast Episode 21: Elizabeth Parkinson

Natural Prodcast's interview with Elizabeth "Betsy" Parkinson, from Purdue, about bacterial signaling molecules and regulation of biosynthetic pathways, student mental health, and getting kids interested in microbiology.

Natural Prodcast Episode 22: Alison Narayan

In this episode, Dan and Jackie talk to Alison Narayan, from the University of Michigan’s Life Sciences Institute and Department of Chemistry.

Natural Prodcast Episode 23: Aaron Puri

Natural Prodcast talks to Aaron Puri, from the University of Utah’s Chemistry Department.

Natural Prodcast Episode 24: Jackie Winter and SMC

Dan chats with new-ish co host Jackie Winter, from the University of Utah, about her secondary metabolism research on novel microbes and bioactive compounds in the Great Salt Lake.