CARRBORO, N.C. – In January 2006, Dr. Sam Wilson, the former deputy director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and Dr. Tom Goehl, now retired editor-in-chief of Environmental Health Perspectives, the monthly journal published by NIEHS, sat in a small studio in downtown Carrboro for the first broadcast of Radio In Vivo.

“I’ve learned a lot since that first episode,” said creator, producer, and host Ernie Hood. “Doing a live hour-long interview was challenging.”

Celebrating five years on the airwaves and more than 160 programs later, Radio In Vivo continues to thrive as an important source for listeners interested in the latest scientific breakthroughs from the area’s universities, institutions, and companies.

Hood volunteers his time and efforts to report on the most up-to-date innovations and research findings from the greater Triangle area.

“Coverage of science in the Triangle was diminishing in the traditional channels during that time,” said Hood. “I wanted to showcase the important achievements of scientists in the Triangle in many diverse areas.”

While Hood’s professional focus has been the life sciences, particularly environmental health, Radio In Vivo features interviews with everyone from astronomers to biotech insiders and beyond.

His interview with Dr. John Walker, President of Zenph Studios, focused on the cutting-edge technology used to recreate recordings from music legends like Art Tatum and Glenn Gould. Using a combination of computer technology and high-resolution musical instruments, Zenph Studios turns the scratchy sounds of yesterday’s recordings to the high-quality sounds the artists intended.

A more recent interview with Dr. Howard Rockman and Dr. Joseph Rogers, renowned cardiologists at Duke University, showcased their “bench to bedside” research approach to heart failure, a condition affecting approximately six million Americans.

Speaking on the symptoms and methods used to manage the condition, Rockman and Rogers also focused on their specific areas of research. Rockman’s research focuses on characterizing the molecular pathways involved in heart failure and identifying novel therapies, while Rogers’ work focuses on mechanical devices targeting more severely affected patients.

Hood is a freelance writer whose career has spanned a variety of different media, including video, television, and audio production. His first experiences with radio were volunteering with his college radio station. In recent years, radio as a hobby has evolved to Radio In Vivo, a high quality vehicle promoting local scientists and the important work they do.

Targeting scientists, industry insiders, students and non-scientists, Radio In Vivo can be heard live on Carrboro’s local station WCOM-FM (103.5) every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to noon as well as through the live Internet stream on the station’s Web site www.wcomfm.org. Archived shows also are available.

Radio In Vivo is underwritten by the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, Durham; the North Carolina Association for Biomedical Research; and Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at UNC.

Get the latest news alerts: Follow LTW at Twitter.