Meet Dr. Paule Valery Joseph.

She grew up watching her mother be the community nurse. Now, at the NIH, her work helped reveal that losing your sense of smell was one of the clearest signs of COVID.

But the nose can tell us much more than whether something smells good or bad. Certain diseases have odors. Changes in smell can offer clues about our brain health and aging. And sometimes, our senses are catching things that medicine is walking right past.

This is a conversation about paying attention: to our bodies, to opportunities, and to the reasons we choose the work we do.

Paule shares why she roots her life in her “why,” how pride in who you are can open doors rather than close them, and why we shouldn’t reject ourselves from opportunities before anyone else has the chance to say yes. If you don’t apply, you’ve already given yourself a no.

And she asks us to reconsider something most of us rarely think about: our senses.

They are how we experience the world and connect us to the people we love. They can be early signals when something in our bodies changes. And when we intentionally notice and protect them, they can change the way we move through our entire lives.

Because sometimes the small things we overlook are telling us the most.

What Paule wants you to know:

“You matter. Your questions matter. Your curiosity matters. Never stop being curious. Never stop asking questions. When a door closes, a window opens. Look for that window.”

Rapid fire:

• What is a smell that takes you back to your childhood in Venezuela? Rain hitting hot pavement.
  
  
• Taste or smell: If you had to lose one of your senses, which one would it be? Taste.
  
  
• Is there a word that you can use for what it feels like to lose your sense of smell? Disconnected.

Going beyond the episode:

• Paule on LinkedIn
• Paule at the NIH
• Dementia Australia Research Foundation: Olfactory-based Cognitive Training (OCT) for older people at risk of dementia

For all resources and links mentioned in this episode, read the full guide here: https://www.alphapodcast.studio/paule-joseph

With gratitude to the organizations whose archival materials and recordings helped bring alpha to life:

• New Mexico PBS, Critical Mass: Women in Science (audio)
• NASA Image & Video Library
• American Archive of Public Broadcasting