Faculty Experts

Nicole Albanese grew up in a holistic household that emphasized diet over drugs. Now, as a clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice, she embraces medication—but as only one piece of the overall health puzzle. In this episode, Albanese, whose research focuses on diabetes, obesity and nutrition, talks to host Laurie Kaiser about the pros and cons of modern weight-loss drugs. Their conversation covers everything from unforeseen side effects to unexpected health benefits, with discussions along the way on how these drugs work, why they’re so hugely popular, what prevents most users from achieving long-term success, and what’s next on the horizon. Hint: It won’t be long before we’re looking back on Ozempic and Wegovy as weight-loss drugs 1.0.

When it was Jeff Scott’s turn to choose an instrument, the sixth grader picked the French horn because no one else had. Today, he is one of the nation’s premier French hornists and a Grammy-winning composer. In this engaging episode, Scott shares his unexpected path to success and how his multicultural Queens upbringing shaped the wildly eclectic music he writes today.

As a child, Joyce Hwang loved the way animals would create little disturbances in the human-made landscape. Now the intersection between animals and the built environment is the focus of her architectural practice and teaching. In this episode, she explains why designing our buildings and yards to accommodate non-human species is critical for both their welfare and ours.

As a clinical audiologist, Henry Louis Taylor Jr. wondered why his Black patients faced starkly different socioeconomic realities than his white patients. So he became an urban historian and planner, and now seeks to reform a neighborhood development system rooted in inequities. In this episode, he discusses his most ambitious effort yet: The East Side Neighborhood Transformation Project.