Today, we are joined by Dr. Luke O'Neill. Dr. Luke O'Neill is a professor and the chair of biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin. Dr. O'Neill is perhaps best known as one of Ireland’s foremost public intellectuals and scientific educators during the COVID-19 pandemic. A world-renowned scientist, his research focuses on inflammation; he has published over 350 scientific papers and is the founder of multiple health science startups.

Today, we talk about Luke O'Neill's first steps towards his career in science. He explains how he moved from an all-consuming interest in science at large to a more specific interest in biology, how his secondary school teacher influenced that journey, and his time as an undergraduate at Trinity and PhD student in London.

Dr. O'Neill talks about the transition from pure learning in scientific fields to performing novel research of one’s own. We talk about the development and deployment of the COVID-19 vaccines, and whether human challenge trials could have sped up development even more. We discuss animal testing, misinformation, and the status quo of scientific funding in Europe, and whether the best ideas are truly getting funded, or if progress is being slowed due to bureaucratic or conservative inertia.

Of course, we also discuss his music, a love of Dr. O'Neill's, some of his musical influences, the legacy of The Pogues, and even a bit on Irish film.

Dr. O'Neill is also the author of multiple books, including "Show Me the Science," "Humanology," and most recently, "To Boldly Go Where No Book Has Gone Before: A Joyous Journey Through All of Science."

He also hosts a podcast of his own with Newstalk, called "Show Me the Science”, he is a singer and guitarist in his band “The Metabolix”, and he writes a weekly column in the Irish Independent.

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