Episode 13: Four Decades as a Spinal Cord Injury Research Scientist. A Conversation With Dr. Scott Whittemore

It’s not every day that you get to talk to someone with 40 years of research experience in your field. Let alone, someone as distinguished as my guest for this episode. Join me as I sit down with Dr. Scott Whittemore to discuss a myriad of topics from his four-decade career as a spinal cord injury research scientist including stem cell research, proteostasis in spinal cord injured patients, and the reversible silencing of lumbar interneurons.

You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...

• The secret sauce that makes scientific collaborations work [3:24] 
• Taking a deep dive into Dr. Whittemore’s research [10:06]
• Dr. Whittemore’s take on the current potential of stem cells [18:40]
• What is proteostasis? [21:22] 
• Pharmaceutical solutions for proteostasis [27:18]
• The silencing of the lumbar interneurons [29:19] 
• What Dr. Whittemore wish he knew 40 years ago [35:02]
• Becoming a good scientist and training the next generation [37:14]

Resources & People Mentioned

• The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and The Buoniconti Fund
• Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center 
• Reversible silencing of lumbar spinal interneurons unmasks a task-specific network for securing hindlimb alternation (Paper) 

Connect with Dr. Scott Whittemore

• Scott R. Whittemore, Ph.D 

Connect With Maxwell Boakye

• https://maxwellboakye.com/podcast 
• Like on Facebook
• Follow on Twitter
• Follow on LinkedIn
• DrMaxBoakye (at) Gmail.com

Follow Optimal Neuro|Spine on
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts