GradCast

This week, hosts Scott Walters and Ariel Frame are joined by PhD candidate in the department of Biology, Jessica Sinka. Jessica studies plant biochemistry with a focus on the role of a super molecule called "suberin" in potatoes during wound healing. We learn how potato scabs form, some interesting lab techniques, Jessica's favourite potato recipe, and some great advise for grads.  Recorded on Jun...

Sore back? This episode is for you! This week, hosts Amalie Hutchinson and Charan Mandur interview Taylor Shelton, an MSc student from the department of physiology and pharmacology. Taylor studies the protein TRPV4, an important cell receptor that when knocked-out, has different and interesting effects on the interverbal disc.  Recorded on June 6, 2023 Produced by Amalie Hutchinson Theme song prov...

This week, hosts Scott Walters and Carly Charron interview PhD candidate and past SOGS VP Advocacy Yousuf Hasan. In addition to discussing the topic of his graduate studies, Yousuf describes his approach to advocacy work and the impact this position has had on himself as well as the larger student community.  Recorded on May 31, 2023 Produced by Jordan VanderBurgt Theme song provided by https://fr...

In this special episode, GradCast heads out into the field - literally! Hosts Amalie Hutchinson, Scott Walters, Jordan Vanderburgt, Carly Charron, Brittany Melton, and Mark Ambrogio do 5-second interviews with kids attending Science Rendezvous. They share what they want to be when they grow up, what the like most about science, and their favourite class at school. Recorded on May 13, 2023 Theme so...

This week, hosts Facundo Lodol and Mark Ambrogio interview Biology PhD candidate Matheus Sanita Lima. Matheus talks about how noncoding DNA might have important biological functions. He studies noncoding DNA segments in the genomes of mitocondria and chloroplasts.  To find out more about Matheus' research, check out his lab's website here .  Recorded on May 16, 2023 Produced by Jordan VanderBurgt...

Sara Cornwell, PhD student in Library and Information Science (LIS), shares some of the many ways that Londoners who speak more than one language navigate daily information tasks. Listen in as hosts Brittany Melton and Laura Muñoz Baena try and get as many tips as possible! Recorded on April 11, 2023 Produced by Laura Muñoz Baena Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

This week, hosts Meghan Voll and Amalie Hutchinson interview Library and Information Sciences Ph. D. Candidate Mark Ambrogio. Analyzing Station Eleven, Mark discusses his research in readership typologies, who defines genre, and how science fiction can be thought of as an event, rather than static writing tradition. Listen to the end for some bonus SF book recommendations from Mark. To find out mo...

This week, hosts Meghan Voll and Amalie Hutchinson interview bio-medical engineering PhD candidate Kian Esmailian. Kian talks about his research on spread-spectrum ultrasound techniques, the Doppler effect, and how researching blood velocity can be applied to new medical detection methods.   To find out more about Kian’s research visit his LinkedIn at kian-esmailian .  Recorded on April 25, 2023 P...

In this edition of #GradLife, your hosts Amalie Hutchinson, Charan Mandur, and Scott Walters discuss how they de-stress from graduate studies both on and off campus. Get ready to hear about Western campus exhibits, markets, and natural spaces, as well as lively talks on their favorite games and shows. Recorded on April 18, 2023 Produced by Scott Walters Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/...

On this episode of GradCast, Brittany, Laura, and Charan talk about wrapping up the term, weddings, and how they plan to schedule their lives during the summer.  Recorded on April 11, 2023 Produced by Laura Muñoz Baena Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

This week, hosts Meghan Voll and Facundo Lodol interview Melanie Pare, a Master’s student in Western’s French Program. We speak with Melanie about translating grief in French life-writing, our burning tattoo questions, dealing with rejection, and relatable thesis writing problems.  Recorded on April 4, 2023 Produced by Jordan VanderBurgt Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by Whi...

This week, hosts Meghan Voll and Scott Walters interview returning guest, Navid Afrasiabian. Now a Ph. D candidate in Physics and Astronomy, Navid talks about his new project investigating fibre-reinforced polymer composites, how we can improve their properties, and his project’s applications in the automotive and aerospace industries.  To find out more about Navid’s research, visit his Twitter at...

In this special episode Laura, Charan and Brittany are guests on What Tickles Your Peach , an undergraduate radio show. They talk about what it's like to be a TA and put their knowledge to the test in a fun game.

For our third #PostDocsTalk episode, hosts Brittany Melton and Meghan Voll interview Dr. Yimin Chen, a postdoctoral fellow at Royal Roads University in BC, formerly a PhD from Western’s FIMS department. In this episode, Yimin talks about how to build your postdoc community by being social, gives us some tips and tricks for how to build your academic community, and use that as leverage to find your...

In this special #GradLife episode hosts Amalie Hutchinson, Brittany Melton, Facundo Lodol, and producer Jordan VanderBurgt talk about getting involved in extracurriculars and how that impacts our grad experience. We chat about colour-coded calendars, if Jordan ever gets any nights off, and why saying "no" to some activities is just as important as saying "yes". Recorded on March 21, 2023. Produced...

Continuing our new series called #PostDocsTalk, hosts Scott Walters and Carly Charron speak with Dr. Catie Ivy, a post-doctoral fellow in the biology department. Catie shares advice on seeking out postdoc positions, what she looked for in potential supervisors, how funding works, and how different the postdoc experience is from her PhD.   To learn more about Catie be sure to check out her Twitter...

On this episode hosts Carly Charron and Charan Mandur are joined by microbiology PhD Candidate Gerrit Stuivenberg. Gerrit tells us about his research into what creates kidney stones, the deal with probiotics, and why one of our hosts should eat more green vegetables. To learn more about Gerrit, find him on twitter as @garybiotics .  Recorded on March 9, 2023. Produced by Laura Muñoz Baena. Theme s...

This week, hosts Meghan Voll and Amalie Hutchinson interview Farheen Meraj, an MA in Western’s Research for Policy and Evaluation program. Learn about Farheen’s newcomer integration research, where she pursues integration issues, attempts to close gaps, and provide a softer landing for new immigrants entering Canada. To learn more about Farheen's work, visit this link: Research Gate LinkedIn Recor...

On this new special series called #PostDocsTalk, your hosts Amalie Hutchinson and Meghan Voll interview Dr. Roberto Budzinski, a post-doctoral fellow from the department of mathematics. Roberto shares what it was like finding a position, what he was looking for when choosing a supervisor, and shares tips and advice for creating a winning CV.  To find out more about Roberto's research, check out th...

In this special #GradLife episode hosts Amalie, Charan, Meghan, and producer Jordan talk about their Reading Weeks and what it's like for grads over the break. Get to know the hosts as we explore our favourite novels, Amalie and Meghan's over-productivity, Charan's Waterloo adventures, and how much we all enjoy (or not) teaching!  Recorded on February 28, 2023. Produced by Jordan VanderBurgt. Them...

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder how old you are.... This week, hosts Carly Charron and Ariel Frame chat with almost-Dr. Hadi Papei, a PhD candidate from the department of astronomy. Hadi tells us about the code he wrote for determining the age of the stars in a galaxy, how he persevered through setbacks and was able to change track during his degree.  Recorded on February 21, 2023 Prod...

This week, hosts Amalie Hutchinson and Charan Mandur interview History PhD Candidate Thomas Stroyan. We chat about Thomas's work looking at the relationship between Chile and Argentina during the time of Pierre Trudeau's administration. Listen in to hear about what archives actually look like, how we almost sold a second nuclear reactor to a country with a dictatorship government, and more. Record...

This week, hosts Meghan Voll and Carly Charron interview PhD student in Theory and Criticism,  Shubhayan Chakrabarti. In this episode, we talk to Shubhayan about his research on anti-work politics and the relationship between work and guilt, as well as how philosophical ideas of Descartes can be applied to examine this relationship on multiple societal levels.    To find out more about Shubhayan's...

This week, hosts Amalie Hutchinson and Meghan Voll interview PhD candidate Caroline Diezyn about their dissertational research on three plays depicting the Salem Witch Trials. In this episode, Caroline talks about the myths and facts about the Salem Witch Trials, and the ways real historical character Giles Corey is represented. Caroline also talks about why these representations matter today, and...

In this episode, Mitch Mumby, PhD student in Microbiology and Immunology, talks to hosts Brittany and Laura about HIV, the virus that came to be one of the most successful pathogens known by humans. Tune in to learn about how Nef, a small and disorganized protein, conferred new abilities to HIV, and the impacts that studying such a delicate and controversial topic could have on someones relationsh...