We Love Science
Celebrating the untold stories, the extraordinary discoveries, and the inspiring lives led by those whose jobs, passions, hobbies and more embody their love of science. Hear stories about -- the dedicated scientists who unravel the mysteries of biology; the artists and musicians who highlight the beauty of science through their craft; the educators, policy makers and science outreach advocates whose convictions propel them toward community engagement and preparing the next generation of STEM leaders; and the bona fide science enthusiasts who design their own unique journey to science fulfillment.
We Love Science
Ep 67: Memory and the Human Mind - The Journey
Nikolay Kukushkin an author, neuroscientist and clinical associate professor at NYU shares with us the journey of his career path thus far. Niko grew up in Russia where the education curriculum requires students to specialize before college in their preferred subjects. Following the example of his parents, he decided to focus his studies on pursuing science. Although coming from a family of chemists, he is the sole biologist. He remembers having a wonderful childhood that was also very international–living in several countries around the world, after his family left at the fall of the USSR. Niko’s journey into publishing a novel began with a previous return trip to Russia as he was waiting to renew his visa and needed a way to pass the time. During that trip, he was invited by a friend who was a local science writer to illustrate her work. This then led to a side job in writing popular science for Russian media. From there, things happily snowballed into developing the concept for writing a novel–One Hand Clapping: The Origin Story of the Human Mind. And of course, he also brought his original illustrative style to the book. Looking back at his journey, from the time he spent at Saint Petersburg State University as a college student to his post doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Niko had countless mentors who shaped his approach to science and teaching. However, his most influential mentors will always be his parents, who instilled in him a genuine curiosity to explore the natural world from day one. The best advice he would give his younger self is “Keep calm and carry on.” He sees how things have turned out quite well on his journey so far and he is just at the very beginning of starting something interesting in his career journey. Even the regrets and setbacks along the way contributed to helping him grow and he would not do anything differently.
Tune into this episode to hear about Niko’s journey and:
- What big event he is preparing to celebrate with this friends
- How the international influence of his early childhood shaped his view of science
- How the doodles in his college notes eventually led to becoming an author
Reach out to Niko:
Website - https://www.nikolaykukushkin.com/
Substack - https://nikolaykukushkin.substack.com/
And look out for the release of his book, One Hand Clapping
If you enjoyed this episode, check out Niko’s previous episode
Ep 66: Memory and the Human Mind - The Work
And one more:
Ep 56: Once upon a time - Origin stories
Ep 40: The art of Science with Laura Canil - The Journey
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Music from Pixabay: Future Artificial Intelligence Technology 130 by TimMoor
Music from https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes: Hotshot by ScottHolmesMusic