GradCast

This week, hosts Anthony Cruz and Bruno Mesquita are joined by Sara Varon Echeverri, a PhD student in Western University's Department of Philosophy studying social and scientific problems related to climate change. Enrolled in Western's collaborative specialization in environment and sustainability, Sara is trying to determine the best ways to study climate change that can lead to effective respon...

This week, MSc (PhD-intended!) candidate Alexander Gain talks about his research on modelling and testing immune responses to different HIV vaccines. Although current treatments help keep the virus at bay, this requires people living with HIV to take anti-viral medication for the rest of their lives. Building a preventative vaccine could allow for people to experience a better quality of life, but...

This week, PhD student Bright Ofori talks about his research on HIV stigma and mental health among older adults living with HIV. With advances in treatment, people living with HIV are living longer. However, this raises new questions about what aging with HIV looks like; what happens when the social impacts of HIV (including stigma, shame, and fear of disclosure) last after diagnosis? Bright’s res...

We’re back with our mini-series, chatting with folks on campus who support graduate students in every aspect of life!  This week, your hosts, Maris Schneider and Garth Casbourn, are chatting with Melanie Molnar, the Ombudsperson at Western University. Melanie is a professional mediator who supports graduate students as they move through their programs and learn to navigate complex relationships wi...

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview Rory Succee as he graduates with his MA in Archaeology and Biological Anthropology.  A newly-minted Western graduate, Rory is about to begin a PhD in Art History – also here at Western. Congratulations, Rory! In their conversation, Ryan and Mark ask Rory about research he undertook at St. Dominic's Cemetery in D'Hanis, Texas — a...

In this episode, hosts Anthony Cruz and Ryan Baxter are joined by neuroscience PhD student Nima Zargarnezhad. An amateur musician from an early age, Nima relates how, as an undergraduate in electrical engineering, he developed a fascination with how the human brain works. For his Master's research, Nima was able to combine the strands of his musicianship, his computational skills, and his neurolog...

This week, freshly-graduated MA Cristina Lama talks about her research, and why it’s cool to be studying human bones.  Why can the tibia be a better candidate than other bones, when doing research in bioanthropology? What sort of problems and models can we take from the literature, and use that to develop hypotheses and investigate our own questions? What are some of the complexities in working wi...

In this week's episode, hosts Anthony Cruz and Anika Bushra interview Stephanie Brocca, a master’s graduate in Health and Rehabilitation Science. Stephanie researches how current methods of communicating health information can be a barrier to health literacy, patient activation, and health competencies in individuals with specific learning disorders, a field not well studied. Outside of research,...

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview GradCast's own Garth Casbourn, a PhD candidate in Biology.  In his research, Garth studies how an animal's internal physiology shapes its behaviour, looking at the influence of testosterone on the song sparrow, a migratory bird.     The changes in behaviour that Garth studies are chiefly migration-related, looking at both adult...

This week on GradCast, hosts Anthony Cruz and Milan Mammen are joined by Jordan Sellers, a PhD student in Library & Information Science (LIS). Jordan researches sustainable digitization practices in community archives, challenging the traditional narrative that full digitization is the only way to accessibly and sustainably archive materials. Her long-term goal is to create an online toolkit t...

In this week's episode, host Mark Ambrogio interviews GradCast alumna Amalie Hutchinson, a PhD candidate in Biology. Amalie was a GradCast host and producer, ultimately serving two terms as Chair and Managing Editor. She returns to GradCast as she prepares to enter the fourth year  of her program (after a maternal leave – congratulations, by the way!). In her research, Amalie studies how hummingbi...

This week, PhD candidate Mila Strelnikova gives a crash course into adapting the scientific spirit, and exploring problems in electrochemistry with a basic science focus (and pioneering steps towards making novel, state-of-the-art microscopy approaches usable across Ontario’s nuclear ecosystem!).  What is pitting corrosion? Why is it something that’s harder to catch when we’re inspecting metal equ...

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview John (Jack) Kausch, who recently completed his PhD in Library and Information Science, formally graduating in June. In his research, Jack looks at past attempts to establish a universal language, as a way of communicating knowledge and ideas across linguistic and cultural divides. Attempts to establish a universal language can b...

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview GradCast's own Scott Walters, a long-time host and producer. Shortly after his successful PhD defence on June 11, Scott's thesis was​ published on the Western website. Scott's research explored how the feeding patterns of water-associated birds are reflected in the levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their bodies. Surprised by the...

In this week’s episode, Anthony Cruz and Maris Schneider are joined by our newly reappointed international commissioner, Lucas Ferreira Marques dos Santos. Lucas is a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry, but today he is telling us all about his experience moving to Canada, conducting research as an international student, and sharing the exciting new opportunities he pours his heart and so...

In this week's episode, hosts Mark Ambrogio and Ryan Baxter interview Kelly Wang, a first-year PhD Student in Education. Kelly is exploring how digital media tools can enhance English language learning to support learners who are older adults and seniors. With her research, Kelly aims to contribute to a field that heavily emphasizes supporting children and youth, and less on older adults and senio...

In this week's episode, hosts Chrishma Perera and Mark Ambrogio interview Pilar Rodriguez Mata, a PhD Student in Digital Humanities and Hispanic Studies. Pilar is studying Spanish-language tweets written from 2009 to 2022. Rooted in the humanities, Pilar studies the digital form, utilizing coding – to study the more than 3.5 million tweets she collected, with a focus on learning what enormous amou...

Doing science is never about a single approach. Join hosts Bruno Mesquita and Rafaela Platkin as they chat with guest Camdyn Holmes, a MSc student in Biochemistry whose research compares two different approaches in examining what makes us human. Most people know that our DNA is an important part of who we are, but not all genes are active everywhere in our body. How do scientists study and measure...

Hosts Garth Casbourn and Milan Mammen are joined this week by psychology student and member of the Psychobiology of Eating and Related Disorders (PEAR) Lab, Taylor Nicole Breddy.   Taylor is in the first year of her Master of Clinical Psychology, though she already has multiple years under her belt as a member of Western’s research community. We learn first about her current focus on individual ap...

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview Jasmine Proctor, a PhD candidate in Media Studies, in Western's Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS).  Jasmine ("Jazz") is interested in how queer K-pop fan communities negotiate gender and sexuality through transcultural networked fan labour across digital platforms.  Ryan and Mark ask Jazz about the emergence of K-p...

GradCast heads to the  Western Research Forum ! Get a glimpse into Western's largest multidisciplinary graduate research conference as hosts Chrishma Perera, Victor Lau, Maris Schneider, Milan Mammen, and Anthony Cruz conduct short interviews with the graduate student presenters. This year's conference featured over 100 different presentations from across Western's 11 faculties. See below for time...

This week, hosts Anthony Cruz and Mark Ambrogio are joined by Marc Lalonde, the longtime manager of The Grad Club and recent recipient of the Western Award of Excellence. For over 20 years, Marc has played a central role in shaping The Grad Club as a community space for graduate students, faculty, and staff. In this episode, Marc discusses his journey from Canadore College to Lake Louise, the West...

This week, PhD candidate (Nursing) Azmat Jehan shines a light on older adults and their experiences in long-term care. How are they supported by family, or by other care partners? How do cultural practices intersect with the healthcare system to make individuals feel more heard, cared for, and respected? What are some of the potential barriers that remain, hindering the realization of what's been...

In honour of International Nurses' Day (on Tuesday, May 12), hosts Chrisma Perera and Mark Ambrogio interview Mehtab Jaffer, a PhD candidate in Nursing here at Western University.  While many topics of study are divided between practitioners and researchers, Mehtab is uniquely positioned as both, as she is a registered nurse here in Ontario studying the place of Internationally Educated Nurses (IE...

BookCast is an ongoing series where we delve into novels set in an academic context.  For the 10th edition of BookCast, Garth Casbourn, Milan Mamman, and Mark Ambrogio discuss the 2006 novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl. Special Topics in Calamity Physics is a darkly hilarious coming-of-age tale and a richly plotted suspense story, told with dazzling intelligence and wit. ...