In this special episode, my friend Dr. Sharon Abada shares the story of her grandfather, Dr. Marshall Klaus, and how he helped discover a lifesaving treatment for premature infants called surfactant. This story weaves together family, scientific curiosity, failure, and collaboration to tell the story of a treatment that has saved countless lives.

You can read Dr. Klaus's paper on the website: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/11/12/season-4-episode-2-lifesaving-treatment-for-premature-infants-an-interview-with-dr-sharon-abada/

More information about the other characters in this story:

Dr. Mary Ellen Avery: You can read her paper here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/499174#google_vignette, and find more information about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ellen_Avery.

Dr. John Clements: You can learn more about him here: https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2024/09/428391/john-clements-whose-science-transformed-newborn-care-dies-101.

All comments made by Sharon are made in her individual capacity and not on behalf of UCSF, and are not reviewed or approved by UCSF.

Erratum: Dr. John Clements's industry partner was Burroughs Wellcome, not Burroughs Williams as stated in the podcast.

In Plain English now has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more!

Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English!

And check out our ⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform!

Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠)

Logo credit: Biographics (Jessica Higginbotham, Tania Lintz, and Yolanda Campos Jurado)

Do police disproportionately target Black drivers for traffic stops? This is an important question to ask, but actually answering it poses a surprisingly difficult problem. Join expert Luke Brinkman and guests Sofia Angulo Lopera and Grace Moore to discuss a paper that proposes one way to answer this tricky question.

Read the paper here: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/10/08/season-4-episode-1-do-police-target-black-drivers-for-traffic-stops/

In Plain English now has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more!

Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English!

And check out our ⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform!

Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠)

Logo credit: Biographics (Jessica Higginbotham, Tania Lintz, and Yolanda Campos Jurado)

Earlier this summer, I participated in a science communication program in combination with the ⁠Pain Research Forum⁠ and the ⁠North American Pain School⁠. As part of this program, I had the honor of interviewing ⁠Jessica Merlin⁠ – a clinical pain researcher focusing on the intersection of chronic pain and opioid misuse/use disorder across populations and settings. During their wide-ranging conversation, Merlin detailed her nonlinear career path, her beginnings in research in chronic pain of HIV patients, and her current passion of providing palliative care in addiction treatment settings.

Jessica Merlin, MD, PhD, is a professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, USA. Merlin is a prolific pain researcher who has authored more than 110 original, peer-reviewed articles addressing pain management in populations with substance misuse/use disorder. She is an active clinician, including as co-director of a palliative care program for individuals with serious illness who also have a substance use disorder.

For more from the Pain Research Forum, including other interviews from my fellow PRF-NAPS Correspondents, visit their website: https://www.iasp-pain.org/publications/pain-research-forum/