GradCast

Have you wondered about the effects of climate change on salmon migration and spawning? In this episode, hosts Elizabeth Mohler and Ana Moyer sit down with Biology PhD candidate Carlie Muir to hear about her research into the thermal physiology of Atlantic salmon. In recent years, climate change has resulted in heat waves that surpass the temperatures salmon can survive at, causing mass die-offs d...

How do dominant discourses surrounding childhood disability shape rehabilitative practice? That is the core question on the research project of the MSc student Emily Cox. In this episode, hosts Ana Moyer and Laura Munoz find themselves re thinking ideas such as independence, identity and the differences between impairment and disability. Emily's study intend to reveal whether the ways we think abo...

Ever heard the advice "eat less, move more"? In this episode, hosts Liam Clifford and Amalie Hutchinson sit down with Psychology MSc student Danika Quesnel to hear about her research into dysfunctional exercise, and learn that for some people with eating disorders, "moving more" becomes dangerous. Treatments for dysfunctional exercise are still in their infancy, despite its prevalence and importan...

In a new series created by GradCast, There Is No Planet B - the first of many conversations about the definition of sustainability, and how it impacts not only the environment, but economics and sociology. Hosts Danica Facca and Rose Giles introduce Brendon Samuels, a PhD student in the department of Biology, and the Society of Graduate Student's Sustainability Coordinator.  If you would like to g...

Laura Muñoz is a PhD student studying virus evolution. In this episode Laura tells Ariel Frame about her research surrounding virus Overlapping Reading Frames, the impacts of viruses on evolution of life on Earth, and how these are studying using bioinformatics. To learn more about Laura's research, find her on Twitter . Recorded on July 6, 2021. Produced by Laura Munoz Baena. Theme song provided...

In this Episode, we sit down with Ana Moyer, an MA student in Art History. Ana is studying the representation of traditional Inuit tattoos within art. For their MA work, they are specifically writing on two contemporary Inuit artists: Ningiukulu Teevee and Sarah Ayaki Whalen-Lunn, the latter also being a trained tattooist in the skin-stitching tradition. From Ana, we learn the different ways tatto...

Remember those fruit flies that annoy you by incessantly buzzing around? They are an essential part of PhD in Biology candidate Yanira Jimenez Padilla's work. In her time at Western, she has worked with her winged friends by introducing yeast during their growth cycle to observe  any anatomical changes that take place. Why, you ask? Well as hosts Liam Clifford and Elizabeth Mohler learn, it's beca...

Many people have never heard of the Falkland Islands, let alone the Falklands War. However, for History MA student, Ryan McLachlan, it is the source of much interest. In this episode, hosts Rosemary Giles and Ana Moyer get a crash course history lesson about the Falklands War from Ryan. The small islands in the South Atlantic were the setting for a defining moment, and on 2 April 1982, Argentina i...

In this episode, hosts, Elizabeth Mohler and Francesco Colosimo, sit down with fourth year Integrative Bioscience PhD student, Megha Rao. For her research, Megha is currently looking at understanding the process of inter-facility transport of acutely ill and preterm neonates in Ontario. In other words...the path of care an ill newborn takes to recovery. Megha has extensive experience in this area...

In this special episode Danica Facca and Becky Horst, the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) VP Academic and VP Finance respectively, speak with Rhys Paterson and Francesco Colosimo about their positions as SOGS VPs and give us the details on what it’s like to have these roles, how their responsibilties have changed due to the pandemic and their experiences holding such responsibilities while bei...

Did you ever wonder how, exactly, a drone operates, or how disease is detected in farmers’ fields?  Well, in this episode of Gradcast, we sit down with Nicholas Mitchell and learn about his masters work witch was focused on multispectral cameras that are attached to drones for agri-tech applications. Some of the things you can use this for is: detecting diseases in farm fields, giving locations fo...

Have you heard of SOGS (Society of Graduate Students), but not really familiar with what SOGS is or what SOGS does?  In this episode, hosts Elizabeth Mohler and Gavin Tolometti unpack all things SOGS and sit down with VP Student Services, Effie Sapuridis and VP Advocacy, Yousuf Hasan to learn more about their roles. Elizabeth and Gavin hear about Empower You, a free, confidential counselling progr...

In this episode kirstyn seanor, the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) President, speaks with Ariel Frame and Yimin Chen about their role as president and recent developments coming from the SOGS structural retreat. kirstyn delves into the history and structure of SOGS and elaborates on the big issues SOGS is addressing at the moment.    To hear more from kirstyn, contact them through email  pres...

Sebastien Heine has nearly finished his 2 year MSc in Biology. He explains his research on Drosophila (fruit fly) female aggression to hosts Ariel Frame and Laura Munoz. Sebastien goes into details about his history with research and how he developed a general fascination with  neuroscience and how these brain cells connect with each other. His passion began at a young age and was fuelled by his r...

So often in media and in real life, meteorites (asteroids that do not burn up in the atmosphere) striking the surface of Earth often result in catastrophic consequences for all living things. However, Geology and Planetary Sciences PhD student Lauren Stone opts to reveal the whole picture. In this episode, hosts Liam Clifford and Gavin Tolometti learn how this destructive process, known as impact...

In this episode Emily Davidson tells Ariel Frame and Rosemary Giles about her exciting new research project in the Neuroscience MSc program. In this project Emily will be conducting fMRI brains scans of people playing the video game Pac-Man, a more engaging task than is typically used. As a student co-supervised by philosophy professor Dr. Michael Anderson and psychology professor Jody Culham, Emi...

Hosts Laura and Francesco talk to masters student James Braden of his work on predicting and managing high level floods through the preparation of flood models. Here, James explains how the models work and why it is so difficult to be accurate when using data from some of the more complex systems on Earth: the weather. Listen to this episode to find out the requirements for models with higher reso...

We often think of psychedelics to be purely recreational, but studies are showing that they may have medical value. Hosts, Rhys Paterson and Francesco Colosimo sat down with Master of Science student, Sid Rankaduwa, to discuss his research involving looking for the possibility of 'higher states of consciousness' in psilocybin users. More specifically, he is testing the effects of psilocybin on cer...

We often think of hibernation as simply going to sleep in the wintertime, but hibernating animals aren't actually sleeping at all! It's really a special type of dormancy or torpor. This week, hosts Yimin Chen and Laura Baena speak to Masters of Biology student Amalie Hutchinson about what the cute little thirteen-lined ground squirrel of Manitoba can teach us about the cellular processes that occu...

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a number of obstacles that students with disabilities face when accessing material online and participating in virtual courses. The shift to an almost to fully virtual format has made it challenging for students who relied on accessibility services on campus, and their ability to converse with fellow students and professors in person to overcome certain issues re...

Over one year ago, the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything for graduate students. We were all introduced to a different world of research and communication, held back by lab and class restrictions, prevention of in-person evaluations and tests, and limiting our access to resources such as books, equipment, and computer programs. We all experienced changes that have both benefited and hindered our...

In this episode hosts Rose and Laura talk to Emmanuel Wong about his research on HIV's latent reservoir. They discussed the role of bioinformatics in a world that is generating astronomical amounts of biological information and how simulation programs could potentially help us to gain insights about how the latent reservoir originates, evolves and persists within an individual.  Recorded on April...

In this episode, Sandra Grahovac-Nemeth talks with hosts Ariel and Francesco about her novel research in Alzheimer's to isolate the metabolite, lactate, to fight against this complex condition. Sandra is an experienced second year Master of Science in Biology student who has returned to school after several years working in the Pharma industry. During our discussion, Sandra touches on a number of...

In this episode, Carly Charron talks with hosts Elizabeth and Rose (with some quick peeps from Rhys) about her research on a plant-based vaccine to prevent Salmonella infection in poultry which she is doing for her Masters in Biology at Agriculture Canada. Starting from a talk in her 3rd year course to undergrad thesis in the same discipline, Carly covers the what’s, who’s, and why’s of the vaccin...

Are those who fail to study history doomed to repeat it? Public History Masters student Kestra Greer has some strong opinions on the matter. How do we make the lessons of history relevant for the wider public? How should we navigate the debate over what and how we commemorate historical figures? What can knowledge of how people handled past pandemics teach us about how to deal with COVID? Join hos...