GradCast

Russell Ashton has been a working man since he was 10; first running his own very successful neighborhood lawn services business, and now working as a Mechanical Engineer at a Junior Mineral Exploration Company. So why is Russel even in school doing his Masters? Tune in and listen to hosts Greg and Nik pick his brain about how to get your job to pay for your education.  Recorded Dec 3, 2019 Produc...

Gregory Robinson enlightens hosts Ariel Frame and Nikol Posnov about his research on the impact of cannabis during development. As a soon to be MSc graduate from the physiology and pharmacology department's collaborative specialization program in developmental biology, Greg has discovered some novel effects that cannabinoids, THC and CBD, have on the developing fetal heart when ingested by the mot...

With lame duck Trump and president elect Biden incoming, the world is sharply tuned in to American political scandals involving their presidency. Danielle McLennan is an MA student in history investigating various American political scandals including the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, whistleblowers and American news media in general. Ariel Frame and Yousuf listen closely as Danielle describes scand...

#GradLife is back with another winter holiday special episode! Graduate students get to use the holidays as a chance to put aside work and spend time with friends and family, eating mountains of homecooked food and catching up with stories. This year we face new challenges with COVID-19 restricting travel and making it harder to see extended family over the holidays. However, it is not all doom an...

The Trump presidency was infamous for a myriad of reasons, one of them being his perpetuation of a post-fascist rationale that sought to deeply divide people. How does an ideology, sharing a namesake with the likes of Hitler and Mussolini, reincarnate into this modern form? Hosts Liam Clifford and Yousuf Hasan speak with Political Science Master's student Hunter Blue on how the forty-fifth US Pres...

In the second episode of GradCast's international student segment, hosts Liam Clifford, Nikol Posnov, and Rhys Paterson speak to Earth Sciences Master's student Karina Martinez about her experiences at UWO. Hailing from Mexico, Karina speaks to how Canada has both benefited her growth as an academic and increased her yearning for home. A subsequent discussion on food, social outings, and tequila s...

Last year, Nikol Posnov told us about all the things that she was planning to study as an Earth Science MSc student. This time, she's returned to tell us about what she actually ended up researching. What can rocks taken from Brazilian impact craters tell us about where we might find evidence of life on Mars? How likely is it that future missions will find anything living on the Red Planet? On thi...

In this special episode, Dr. Samuel Wong joins hosts Liam Clifford and Francesco Colosimo to discuss his research in how COVID-19 is affecting mental health globally. As the keynote speaker at Power & Global Health Day 2020, he tells us about certain mental illnesses that the pandemic is exacerbating, particularly in populations whose mental health are being disproportionally affected by the pande...

Xavier Borsato joins hosts Liam Clifford and Francesco Colosimo to chat about his research in domestic violence against males. He attempts to shine a light on how men can also be victims of abuse but often face several stigmas that act as barriers for seeking and attaining help. Xavier hopes that, through his research, he can help fill a gap in the literature regarding this topic.   Recorded Novem...

Jason Wozniak (MSc. Geology) joins hosts Yousuf Hasan and Elizabeth Mohler to chat about economic geology and gold mineralization. Jason's research helps companies know where exactly to look for gold. In particular, he studies old rocks to learn more about gold-movements. We also chat about COVID-19 and how it has deeply impacted Jason's research.  To find out more from Jason, check out his person...

In this special episode, Julia Albert sits down with Elizabeth Mohler and Ariel Frame to tell us about the capsules she produced as a part of Power & Global Health Day 2020 . These capsules focus on the work faculty are doing around how inequity has been amplified for marginalized community’s during COVID-19. Julia is an undergraduate student in the School for Advanced Studies in the Arts and Huma...

Being an international grad student is an incredibly rewarding adventure but one consisting of a unique set of challenges. In a brand-new series debuting on GradCast during UWO International Week, hosts Liam Clifford, Nikol Posnov, and Rhys Paterson speak with Brazilian Political Science MA Ricardo Moll about the international student experience and what we can all learn from it. As the subsequent...

Kendra Cotton (MSc. Nursing) joins hosts Yousuf Hasan and Elizabeth Mohler to chat about her research on technology and information flow among health care professions. Kendra tells us why health information exchange among professionals is important for effective patient care. She also chats about how social media is a great tool for caregivers to facilitate communication especially amid the pandem...

Do you want to know what it takes to work in the field of gold exploration in the Canadian Yukon Territory? An Arts degree, a failed calculus course, four exploration field seasons and a Masters in Geology. JUST KIDDING! It takes believing in yourself and a properly guided passion. Tune in to this week's GradCast episode with James Alexander to learn more about "best-friend" elements and minerals,...

As humans, we often underestimate how important bipedal movement is to our lives. And according to recent Pedorthics program graduate and Kinesiology alumnus Ashley Njeru, there is much we can do to prioritize its wellbeing. And as hosts Liam Clifford and Viki Tellios learn more about lower limb health, orthotics, and orthopaedics, it becomes clear that this is something we should be taking more s...

Hanna Grover and Amara Miles are both MA candidates in Occupational Therapy. They chat with hosts Yousuf Hasan, Elizabeth Mohler, and Gavin Tolometti about how COVID-19 has impacted their fieldwork over the summer. They also share with us how they have coped with these unprecedented times and found new ways to connect with people using online platforms. We talk about friendships, family, research,...

Anna Sui (PhD Candidate in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences) chats with us about a research project that has led to the increase of smartphone use during the pandemic. She joined hosts Elizabeth Mohler and Gavin Tolometti to discuss smartphone addiction and nomophobia (fear of not having your smartphone or not being able to use it). Yoah Sui (PhD graduate in Kinesiology, soon to be a post-doctor...

In this episode of GradCast, hosts Gavin Tolometti and Francesco Colosimo chat with Kristin Prentice (a PhD Candidate in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences researching leisure activity in older adults) and Adam Debosscher (a PhD Candidate in English Literature studying popular fantasy literature), about the various struggles they have faced as students in the COVID-19 era. Together, they enlighten...

When we listen to the world around us, we can tune the brain to focus on sounds or voices. Do you remember when you were last on the train or bus and there was a certain sound that stood out to you? You could figure out what that sound was right? That is you perceiving the surrounding environment. For the human brain, this is a complex yet routine ability and is something we do not think about on...

In this episode of GradCast, hosts (Elizabeth Mohler and Nikol Posnov) talk with Anna Sui (PhD Candidate in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences) about her research which looks at how women story their experiences of requesting and receiving tubal ligation (getting their tubes tied). Specifically, her research explores how various intersecting social identities (race, disability, gender, etc.) shape...

Erlantz Etxeberria (PhD Candidate in Philosophy) chats about his research on scientific method and explanations in science with hosts (Yousuf Hasan and Liam Clifford). What is the scientific method? Should we trust science? Can philosophy inform science? Is there a clash between scientific evidence and politics? We talk about these issues with Erlantz. He also shares with us what he thinks about R...

In this episode Elizabeth Mohler and Ariel Frame become informed by Francesco Colosimo on his research investigating the health information being distributed to the public on COVID-19. In his Masters of Health Information Science, Farncesco seeks to assess which information is trusted, which is correct and which channels are disseminating correct information opposed to misinformation. During a glo...

Jaclyn Siegel (PhD Candidate in Social Psychology) joins us (Yousuf Hasan and Yimin Chen) to discuss three fascinating HRTO cases involving Western University. Jaclyn has lately been fascinated by how HRTO handles applications and appeals of harassment and discrimination. As a feminist, Jaclyn provides valuable insights on related issues as well. She also discusses some of the more pernicious form...

The aftermath of a meteorite striking the surface of a planetary body leaves behind a circular depression in the ground and plumes of dust and rock. The energy left over in the crater can heat up the water that passes through the rocks, creating an environment that could have been responsible for the emergence of microbial life on Earth over 3 billion years ago. In this episode, hosts Gavin Tolome...

As a graduate student, we face academic rejection in various forms. From a journal declining your manuscript, being told you were not good enough to join a research lab or postgraduate institution, to rejection from peers because of your choices in course work. In this #GradLife episode, hosts Viki Tellios, Gavin Tolometti, and Monica Molinaro open the floor to GradCast committee members Ariel Fra...