Staff Bios

The son of a scientist and a doctor, Jad Abumrad did most of his growing up in Tennessee, before studying creative writing and music composition at Oberlin College in Ohio. Following graduation, Abumrad wrote music for films, and reported and produced documentaries for a variety of local and national public radio programs, including On the Media, PRI's Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and WNYC's "24 Hours at the Edge of Ground Zero". The Ring & I, an insightful, funny, and lyrical look at the enduring power of Wagner's Ring Cycle which he produced and hosted, aired nationally and internationally and earned ten awards, including the prestigious 2005 National Headliner Grand Award in Radio.

NPR Science Correspondent, Robert Krulwich, joins Jad Abumrad in studio as co-host of Radio Lab. Robert Krulwich has been called "the most inventive network reporter in television" by TV Guide. His specialty is explaining complex subjects - science, technology, economics - in a style that is clear, compelling and entertaining. He has explored the structure of DNA with a banana, explained arbitrage by wearing Groucho glasses and illustrated the Texaco-Pennzoil battle with Barbie and Ken dolls. A Special Correspondent for ABC News, Krulwich appears regularly on Nightline and other news programs, including ABC News Tonight and Good Morning America. His rare talent for on-air teaching is often called upon to make complicated subjects comprehensible, from the intricacies of Enron's accounting irregularities to the impact of the Human Genome Project. As host and executive editor of PBS's new five-part documentary series, NOVA scienceNOW, Krulwich explored scientific breakthroughs and their applications, from fuel cells and hydrogen-powered cars to secrets of the genetic code and nanotechnology. "The most exciting news being made at this moment is what human beings have learned about themselves, the planet they're on, and the universe they're part of," says Krulwich. "This is a time when our gaze has widened, and this is a show about what we can see now."

He won an Emmy Award, a Polk Award and a DuPont Award for his PBS Frontline programs on Internet privacy, the savings and loan scandal and campaign finance, respectively. The National Cancer Institute gave him their Extraordinary Communicator Award. He also won an AAAS Science Journalism Award for a 2001 NOVA special, Cracking the Code of Life.

Prior to her career in radio, Ellen worked in coral reef conservation, spent a couple of years officiating union elections, and scooped more Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream professionally than you could eat without inducing type 2 diabetes. As a radio producer she’s worked as a reporter, a talk show booker, a tape cutter, montage maker, a voice over artist, a news editor, and podcast guru. Currently, she is Radio Lab’s Executive Producer, and works frequently with The Takeaway on science news coverage.

In past lives, Lulu was a history major, woodworker, and barista. She is now a zealous convert to the gospel of sound. In her free time, she writes stories, cycles her bike, and stares at people on the subway. She thinks Radio Lab is Miracle-Gro for the mind, and is proud to be manufacturing the stuff.

Elizabeth Giddens recently completed a seven-year stint at Harper's Magazine, ending as senior editor in charge of the Readings section. Other notable entries in her cv include wrangler, sailor, flamenco dancer, and actor. She's currently renovating a derelict house in Bed-Stuy.

Sally has been interviewing people since she was 16 and she's beyond thrilled that it's finally occurred to her to make this her career. Her oral history work is included in the library of congress and among others she's produced and reported for BBC Radio 4, Marketplace, Pacific Time, Radio Rookies, The World, and Weekend America. Sally lives in Brooklyn where she enjoys sitting around, daydreaming, and drawing supermodels, robots and cats.

Jonah Lehrer is an editor-at-large for Seed Magazine. He’s written articles for Nature, New Scientist and the MIT Technology Review. After graduating from Columbia University in 2003 with a degree in neuroscience, Jonah spent the next two years studying 20th Century Literature and Theology at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. His first book, "Proust Was A Neuroscientist," will be published by Houghton-Mifflin in November 2007. He lives in Concord, NH with his girlfriend Sarah Liebowitz and two birds.

Justin Paul has science in his genes. With two chemists for parents, it was inevitable that he’d have high standards when choosing a graduate school. A fourth-year M.D.-Ph.D. student in Sidney Strickland’s Laboratory of Neurobiology and Genetics, Justin is researching the effects of progressive blood vessel damage on the development and acceleration of Alzheimer’s disease, and he knows he has barely scratched the surface of what he could do.