Curious by Nature

Every pet owner wants to know the absolute best food to put in their dog or cat's bowl, but the endless rows of grocery store options have turned feeding time into a total guessing game. From raw diets and sous vide to traditional kibble, picking the right option isn't just about what looks delicious, it's about protecting an invisible internal ecosystem.
Dr. Kelly Swanson is a professor of animal sciences and the director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois, where he has spent over twenty years studying pet health. His lab is uncovering the deep connection between what our pets eat and how their gut microbiome regulates everything from their immune systems to their weight.

Dr. Siniša Hrvatin is an assistant professor of biology at MIT and a member of the Whitehead Institute. His lab is uncovering the biological secrets of hibernation and frozen stasis, not just to understand these animals, but to discover how we can copy their tricks to save human lives.

For decades, the standard medical advice for treating a concussion was to go sit in a dark room, turn off your phone, and do absolutely nothing until you felt better. But modern science has completely flipped the script, revealing that hiding out in the dark might actually make your brain recover slower.
Dr. Kouros Emami is a clinical and sports neuropsychologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he works on the cutting edge of head injury recovery. He treats everyone from elite athletes to everyday people, using active movement and specialized exercises to help the brain heal itself.

Dr. Brian Southwell is a Distinguished Fellow at RTI International, where he researches science communication, public trust, and the spread of misinformation. His work focuses on helping researchers and institutions better connect with the communities they serve.

Michael Schutz is a Professor of Music, Cognition, and Percussion at McMaster University, where he researches how auditory alerting systems in healthcare can be vastly improved. By applying centuries of musical composition insight and psychophysical research, he is exploring how healthcare sounds can be re-engineered to cut through critical room noise without being unnecessarily jarring.