The Lab Notebook Podcast
The Lab Notebook Podcast
While science may seem unapproachably abstract or complex at times, when you get down to the pages of the lab notebook, you can really see what it’s all about. That’s why we, at LabCast Productions, bring you The Lab Notebook Podcast. As a bi-weekly research update show, we cover the latest on daily science progress from anticancer medicines in fungi to planetary orbital modeling. Right alongside our guest scientists, our show brings you on the real journey of scientific discovery.
Education
B.S. Chemistry, University of Chicago, 2026
Favorite Paper
Feynman, RP. “The Development of the Space-Time View of Quantum Electrodynamics.” California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California; Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1965.
If you could be a piece of lab equipment, what would you be?
A lab microwave—not a fancy one, just the kind that originated as a normal microwave and then was relegated to only drying microscope slides.
Rocky Lowenthal is an undergraduate organic chemist at the University of Chicago. Having researched turkey tail fungi since 2019, Rocky has followed the colorful mushroom across the fields of cancer biology, developmental biology, and (now) organic chemistry. They have gained an appreciation for a variety of methodologies and really enjoy working at the intersections of biology, chemistry, and physics. Though focused on a single species in lab, Rocky is also broadly interested in mycology and enjoys foraging when the weather allows (though it may seem counterintuitive, you’ll have to trust that nice weather is especially important if you are hiking through a swamp). Based in the Snyder and Esser-Kahn Labs, Rocky currently researches the small molecules of Trametes versicolor (turkey tail fungi) in an effort to identify those with anticancer properties. Their methods involve bioactivity-guided extraction, separation, and purification of the compounds followed by characterization through mass spectrometry and NMR.
Outside of lab, Rocky enjoys playing with their cat, who they are trying to leash train. Progress has been limited in that regard but Rocky would be more than happy to share pictures upon request.