Season's Savings | ₹5/mo for 3 months

₹199/month after first 3 months. Renews automatically. Terms apply.
Beyond Biology cover art

Beyond Biology

Beyond Biology

Written by: Mary Ellen Wiltrout
Listen for free

About this listen
 This MIT Learn podcast connects high-level research and the human heart with Mary Ellen Wiltrout as the host. The show features world-class experts with a unique dual perspective: a deep scientific understanding of a disease and a personal connection to the health topic. Listeners will gain a foundational understanding of the science underlying research of complex health subjects, from cancer to infection to personalized medicine while learning about the people behind scientific research. The Beyond Biology podcast offers inspirational lessons of perseverance, empathy, and the power of a growth mindset. By exploring the individual story and their expertise, the podcast demonstrates how health and individual career journeys transform the way we approach scientific discovery. At MIT, Mary Ellen Wiltrout, PhD is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Online and Blended Learning Initiatives in Biology and Academic Director, DELTA Science and Academic Lead of Universal Biology in Open Learning.Copyright MIT Biological Sciences Hygiene & Healthy Living Physical Illness & Disease Science
Episodes
  • Living With Bipolar Disorder: A Real Story of Mental Health, Hidden Disability and Hope with Darcy Gordon

    Living With Bipolar Disorder: A Real Story of Mental Health, Hidden Disability and Hope with Darcy Gordon
    Nov 2 2026

    In this MIT Learn Beyond Biology episode, MIT Lecturer in Biology, Darcy Gordon, speaks about living with bipolar disorder with the host, Mary Ellen Wiltrout. Darcy shares how she navigated treatment and disclosure through school and the workplace, motivating the building of more inclusive learning environments. Darcy discusses how personal experience shaped her scientific curiosity and commitment to helping students feel welcome, while emphasizing that disclosure is always a personal choice. Darcy Gordon, PhD, is the Lecturer in Blended Learning and Online Initiatives, Department of Biology and Open Learning, MIT.

    Resources

    Video of this Beyond Biology episode on MIT Learn

    7.03.3x Genetics: Population Genetics and Human Traits on MIT Learn

    See more of Darcy's work on the Pulse Shorts on MIT Learn

    • Darcy describes experiencing depression and mood changes in adolescence, receiving a bipolar II diagnosis, and learning to recognize hypomania symptoms such as insomnia, racing thoughts, grandiosity, and risky behavior.
    • Her sister recognized how serious things had become and urged their parents to seek help; stigma made it difficult for Darcy to be candid with clinicians at first.
    • School and college brought uneven support: understanding high school teachers, limited counseling capacity in college, and a period without therapy despite ongoing medication.
    • Darcy explains that bipolar disorder has no cure and that treatment is focused on managing symptoms.
    • She recounts contrasting professor responses when she disclosed her diagnosis, and recommends beginning with appreciation, asking what support is useful, and avoiding intrusive demands for details.
    • Her academic path moved from organismal biology research on crickets to a PhD studying ants, then toward education after teaching and mentoring became especially meaningful.
    • At MIT, Darcy experienced imposter syndrome and uncertainty about the disability disclosure checkbox in a job application, reflecting the vulnerability involved in sharing a hidden disability.
    • Darcy discusses genetic association research and the complexity of mental illness, including genetic, environmental, and contextual contributions; she hopes for more targeted treatments.
    • Her inclusive teaching work treats students’ lives beyond the classroom as relevant to creating welcoming, accessible learning environments.
    • Darcy stresses that openness can reduce isolation, but nobody owes anyone their story, and disclosure may not be safe in every setting.

    Timestamp Highlights

    00:00 The fear and uncertainty of disclosing a hidden disability

    02:15 A childhood curiosity for life sciences and learning

    06:01 Adolescent depression, symptoms, and getting a diagnosis

    11:11 What hypomania looked like in daily life

    16:09 College transitions and gaps in mental health support

    21:57 Lifelong treatment and the diabetes comparison

    24:18 Two very different reactions to disclosure

    30:28 How biology made the science of the brain personal

    33:24 From cricket research to studying ant societies

    38:30 Teaching, mentorship, and finding a career in education

    41:06 Applying to a job at MIT and confronting the disability checkbox

    44:19 Imposter syndrome and learning to trust others’ judgment

    48:00 What genetic studies can and cannot tell us about bipolar disorder

    52:04 Darcy choosing to share her story at MIT

    58:04 Inclusive teaching and recognizing students’ full lives

    01:00:05 What Darcy would tell her younger self

    01:01:24 Disclosure is personal, and safety comes first

    Keywords

    Darcy Gordon, bipolar disorder, mental health, disability disclosure, higher education, inclusive teaching, MIT, science education
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Personalized Medicine, Diabetes, and AI with Dimitris Bertsimas

    Personalized Medicine, Diabetes, and AI with Dimitris Bertsimas
    Oct 2 2026

    In this MIT Learn Beyond Biology episode, MIT professor Dimitris Bertsimas joins Mary Ellen Wiltrout to share how advances in data and AI are helping healthcare move beyond one-size-fits-all treatment. Dimitris discusses how operations research, AI, and patient data could help make medicine more personal with a focus on diabetes care. Dimitris shares how family experiences shaped his healthcare research, including work using electronic medical records to help personalize diabetes treatment. He also explains how genomic data could support earlier intervention, why sharing anonymized health data matters, and how AI might help clinicians make decisions without replacing their judgment. The conversation ranges from optimizing Panama Canal operations to the future of personalized medicine and lifelong learning. Dimitris Bertsimas is the Vice Provost for Open Learning, the Associate Dean of Online Education and Artificial Intelligence, Sloan, and the Boeing Professor of Operations Research.

    Key Topics

    • What operations research is: Dimitris defines operations research as a scientific approach to designing, improving, and optimizing systems, with applications ranging from transportation to healthcare.
    • A real-world optimization example: He recounts how modeling helped improve vessel scheduling and throughput at the Panama Canal.
    • Why healthcare became a focus: The experiences of losing his father to gastric cancer and his mother to diabetes deepened his commitment to healthcare research.
    • Personalizing diabetes care: His team worked with long-term electronic medical records to study how treatment combinations could be tailored to individual patients.
    • The role of genomics: Dimitris discusses research into beta cell decline and the potential to identify diabetes risk earlier.
    • His view of AI: He distinguishes analytics using structured data from AI approaches that can work with unstructured data, such as text and images.
    • Why data sharing matters: He explains how anonymized patient data can support research while removing identifying details.
    • AI in emergency departments: His group is piloting systems that combine triage notes and patient records to provide clinicians with a differential diagnosis and test suggestions.
    • AI as clinical support: Dimitris emphasizes that AI should advise and assist; physicians remain responsible for decisions.
    • Lifelong learning: He reflects on adapting to new fields and shares how MIT Open Learning serves learners at different stages of life.

    Timestamps

    00:00 Why medicine is still largely not personalized

    01:13 What operations research means

    02:15 Using optimization to improve Panama Canal operations

    04:10 How family experiences led Dimitris toward healthcare research

    05:53 Why diabetes became a personal and research priority

    06:29 Type 2 diabetes and approaches to managing the disease

    09:10 Studying long-term diabetes records

    10:08 Using patient history to guide treatment choices

    11:03 Early AI research in personalized diabetes care

    12:24 Studying beta cell decline with genomic research

    13:47 Dimitris’ distinction between analytics and AI

    15:47 What personalized or precision medicine means

    16:45 A personal story illustrating why cancer treatment can affect patients differently

    18:22 How continuous glucose monitoring informs Dimitris’ own diabetes management

    20:44 Why sharing anonymized health data can advance research

    23:09 How anonymization works

    24:47 Generative AI pilots for emergency department diagnosis support

    26:15 Using AI to suggest diagnoses and tests for physician review

    27:13 Reported effects on emergency department stays and insurance test rejections

    28:44 Why AI should advise rather than make medical decisions

    30:38 Dimitris’ five-year outlook for personalized medicine

    33:03 Adaptiveness, impact, and continuous learning

    35:29 Applying ideas through entrepreneurship and iteration

    36:51 MIT Open Learning and lifelong learning resources
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • The Heart of a Scientist with Alan D. Grossman

    The Heart of a Scientist with Alan D. Grossman
    Sep 7 2026
    MIT biology professor Alan D. Grossman shares the story of his medical crisis that began with unexpected lightheadedness on campus in 2002 and led to a heart transplant in 2006. The conversation traces the medical details of sarcoidosis, heart failure, immunosuppression, and recovery, while also showing how Alan kept teaching, mentoring, and leading through it all. After listening, you will gain a broader appreciation of resilience, rare disease research, and the life-saving impact of organ donation. Mary Ellen Wiltrout guides the story from diagnosis to transplant to leadership during the pandemic, with Alan reflecting on what changed in his work, priorities, and perspective.ResourcesVideo of this Beyond Biology episode on MIT LearnAlan Grossman's faculty profileKey topicsAlan Grossman explains why his heart does not race when he gets nervous.He shares the day his health changed in July 2002.The initial diagnosis was heart block, which led to a pacemaker.Grossman discusses sarcoidosis, a rare inflammatory autoimmune disease that in his case attacked only the heart.He describes trying immunosuppression and anti-inflammatory treatment.As symptoms advanced, he developed heart failure.He explains how transplant candidacy depends not only on medical severity but also on support systems, infection risk, and the ability to survive the demanding post-transplant period.Grossman walks through how heart transplant surgery is physically straightforward but medically complex because rejection prevention is the real challenge.He explains the role of antibodies and cell markers in the immune system’s response to a transplanted organ.He recounts waiting more than a year for a heart, including one false alarm before the actual transplant offer in 2006.He describes the immediate post-op period, including high-dose steroids, hallucinations, pain, and a broken rib discovered later on an X-ray.He reflects on returning to work, rebuilding his lab, restarting teaching, and later helping create the microbiology graduate program at MIT.He talks about how surviving severe illness made him both more patient and less patient in different ways, and more willing to focus on what he can control.He explains leading the biology department during the pandemic and why his own long experience with immunosuppression shaped his caution around COVID.The episode closes with a direct call to register as an organ donor and to make those wishes known to your family.Timestamps00:00 - Why a transplanted heart does not respond to nerves00:31 - Introducing Alan D. Grossman and the heart transplant story01:37 - Living with a denervated transplanted heart02:29 - The first symptoms on a hot day walking to work04:11 - Heart block, ambulance ride, and pacemaker placement05:39 - What a pacemaker does and why the diagnosis was not a heart attack06:32 - Diagnosing sarcoidosis and the mystery of organ-specific autoimmune disease08:09 - Why a scientist wants to understand a rare disease09:24 - Immunosuppression, inflammation, and why treatment did not stop progression12:37 - From early normal life to heart failure symptoms13:39 - The strict low-sodium and low-fluid strategy14:18 - Why transplant became necessary15:37 - What transplant candidacy requires beyond medical need17:05 - Why transplant surgery is simple on paper but hard biologically18:09 - How the immune system recognizes a donated heart as foreign19:06 - Post-transplant immunosuppression and long-term medication20:25 - Waiting for a heart and the role of arrhythmia and defibrillator support21:35 - What a defibrillator shock feels like23:27 - Months in the hospital and staying connected to work24:30 - Lab meetings from home and mentoring during illness25:32 - Focusing on what can still be controlled27:30 - The false alarm before the real heart became available28:29 - The transplant day and why he could not eat29:35 - Antibodies, compatibility, and the call that the heart was his30:42 - Steroids, hallucinations, and the rough early recovery31:18 - Pain, a broken rib, and the weeks after surgery32:17 - Going home, returning to MIT, and rebuilding the lab34:18 - Realizing he could create a microbiology graduate program35:37 - How severe illness changed patience, perspective, and administration37:22 - Becoming department head after first trying to avoid the role39:21 - The department’s shift toward online learning during COVID40:31 - Why the pandemic’s early work-from-home shift was easier than returning42:42 - Leading through uncertainty by emphasizing communication and connection44:27 - A message on organ donation and transplantation45:11 - How to register as an organ donor in the United States
    Show More Show Less
    47 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet