Saturday Morning Lab
Hey pals, my name is Ahmed Ibrahim, I’m a research professor in Los Angeles. I am endlessly curious and inspired by the career trajectories of people in science. How did their lived experience shape their current perspectives and future career choices. What do they value? What wisdom do they have to share? Each week I sit down with graduate students, postdocs, faculty, industry folks, and others to create a mosaic of stories that make scientists who they are. If you’re interested in sharing your story, reach out to me at SaturdayMorningLab@outlook.com.
Episodes

3 hours ago
3 hours ago
On this week's episode, I speak to the visionary Dr. Catharine Young, Senior Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health and former Assistant Director of the Cancer Moonshot Program under former President Biden. We discuss her early beginnings in South Africa, and her incredible career path through biomedical research, scientific policy, fellowship at the National Academy of Sciences and current role at Harvard Public Health. We also reflect on health policy and what inspires her during these singular times.

Friday Apr 03, 2026
Friday Apr 03, 2026
This week, I speak to the thoughtful and passionate Kamil Gorecki, a biochemist/microbiologist at the University of California Irvine. We talk about his formative years in his native Poland and his passion for STEM. We also discuss his scientific training across Europe, completing his thesis work in the midst of his mentor's battle with cancer, and moving to Southern California to continue his investigation of microbial proteins. Throughout our conversation, Kamil reminds us of the importance of chasing after an interesting scientific question for its own sake and the innovations disruptive innovations that inevitably follow.

Friday Mar 27, 2026
Friday Mar 27, 2026
This week, I talk to my long time friend Kristin Luther an industry specialist in extracellular vesicles (EVs). We talk about her broad interest early in life, her foray into medical illustration, PhD years, and ultimate transition into industry. We also talk about the challenges facing EV biology (a topic near and dear to my own heart). Unexpectedly, we have a thoughtful conversation on the nature of vocation, facing challenges, and maintaining one's sense of curiosity-driven optimism.

Friday Mar 20, 2026
Friday Mar 20, 2026
On this episode, I have the sincere pleasure of speaking with the incredibly creative and talented Emma Vidal. Emma is a scientific illustrator, art director, and founder of Draw Impacts where she and her team help scientists from academia to industry effectively convey their message and brand through art. We talk about her early years in a small fishing village in France, her fateful entry into scientific illustration and her creative process!

Sunday Mar 08, 2026
Sunday Mar 08, 2026
Hey friends, on this special mini-episode, I celebrate International Women's Day by highlighting Arabic women who despite their historic and perhaps unparalleled heroism, service, scholarship, and preservation of culture and faith in this region are often overlooked, patronized and otherwise misrepresented by international media in general and Western media (and entertainment) in particular. I included a link here to the Arab Women's Organization to learn more about what Arab women are doing to empower one another in this truly singular part of the world.

Friday Feb 27, 2026
Friday Feb 27, 2026
On this week's episode, I have the pleasure of chatting with the brilliant and effortlessly funny Dr. Gemma Alderton. Gemma is a consultant, editor and writer with nearly two decades of editorial experience in Nature and Science journals. We talk about her early passion for art and chemistry, and foray into research and scientific publishing. We also discuss at length the many challenges facing this prevailing but precarious model.

Friday Feb 13, 2026
Friday Feb 13, 2026
On this week's episode, I chat with the brilliant and thoughtful Dr. Helen Collins, Assistant Professor of Cardiology at the University of Louisville. We talk about discovering her passion for research, the struggle to find a postdoc position at the height of the recession, moving to the US and establishing her research program exploring mechanisms that underlie female cardiovascular health and resilience.

Friday Feb 06, 2026
Friday Feb 06, 2026
This week, I revisit my episode with the fun, engaging, and thoughtful Julie Bauman, a graduate student at Stanford and a science content creator in her own right! Through her TikTok channel 60 Second Science she hopes to distill and disseminate science to the expert and lay public. We talk about her how she developed an early interest in science and medicine, pivoting away from medical school and devote her time to thesis training.

Friday Jan 30, 2026
Friday Jan 30, 2026
On this first episode of season 2, I sit down with my colleague and friend, Kenneth Gouin, a brilliant and thoughtful bioinformatics scientist. We discuss his early interest in regenerative medicine, his pivot to bioinformatics, his experience in industry, and the importance of philosophical literacy in research.

Sunday Jan 25, 2026
Sunday Jan 25, 2026
Hey Friends,
Welcome to the second season of Saturday Morning Lab! We started a little later this year as I've been wrangling with a severe flu virus. But great things have also happened since season 1! I published a flagship paper from my lab (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.adp1338), and other cool developments I'm sharing in this promo! Season 2 episodes start Friday January 30th!



