Body Banter

Welcome back to Body Banter after summer break! This month, Dr. Christine Palmay shares her perspective as a family physician passionate about preventative care, particularly immunizations. She explains how RSV, a highly contagious respiratory virus, impacts both infants and older adults, and discusses the recent advances in protection, including monoclonal antibodies for children and vaccines for...

This time on Body Banter, Sarina M shares her powerful and personal experience living with long COVID following two severe infections. She describes the wide-ranging impacts on her body—from respiratory struggles and chronic fatigue to muscle pain and visual disturbances—as well as the emotional toll of navigating an invisible illness. Sarina emphasizes the importance of being believed and support...

In this episode, Martine Dunnwald shares her journey from studying pharmacy and cell biology in France to becoming a skin biologist and educator in the US. She describes how a chance research collaboration sparked her interest in craniofacial biology and how her resilience during funding challenges led her to discover a passion for teaching anatomy. Martine emphasizes the value of foundational ana...

This week on Body Banter, Janet Philp shares her unconventional path into the field of anatomy, driven by a passion for accurate anatomical education. She discusses her research on the history of body donation, including the notorious Burke and Hare case, and examines how access to dissection is regulated. Janet also explores her innovative use of felted anatomical models, which make learning more...

Welcome to the fifth season of Body Banter! In our opening episode, Professor Claire Smith shares her journey into anatomy, driven by personal health experiences and a fascination with body donation. She explores the complex motivations behind donation, including altruism and a desire to contribute to medical education. A key discussion revolves around "My Dead Body," a documentary featuring the d...

In our final episode of 2024, Dr. Christopher Smith takes us through his unique path from exercise science and fine arts to his role as a postdoctoral fellow at the American Museum of Natural History. Combining his artistic training with scientific research, Chris explores the evolution of the inner ear and its role in balance and spatial awareness. He shares how his interdisciplinary approach, bl...

In this episode Dr. Valerie O'Loughlin shares her unconventional journey into the fields of anatomy and embryology, from studying biological anthropology to becoming a tenured professor of anatomy. She reflects on how early challenges with understanding embryology sparked her passion for creating accessible and innovative learning tools to help students grasp complex concepts. Valerie highlights t...

Join us this episode as Dr. Jon Cornwall shares his journey from physiotherapy to academia, where he developed a strong focus on anatomy and ethics. His interest in the ethical implications of dissection grew while conducting research on back muscles, leading him to question the use and treatment of body donors. Jon emphasizes the importance of cultural sensitivity and ethical considerations in an...

Welcome back from summer break! This week on Body Banter, Dr. Theo Smith shares insights on integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion into anatomy education. As Director of DEI at Touro University, Theo discusses the importance of representing LGBTQIA+ identities in medical curricula, particularly in topics like pelvic anatomy and queer health. His personal journey of coming out and advocating...

In this episode of Body Banter, Dr. Adam Taylor joins us to talk about his research on science communication and the general population's understanding of basic anatomy knowledge—or lack thereof. Adam shares how he collaborated with a citizen science group to collect survey data from over 80,000 participants worldwide, and how his research became "Buzzfeed famous". We talk about the importance of...

Happy Pride Month! In this episode of Body Banter, fashion designer and drag artist Blake McCabe joins us to talk about how he views the body when designing costumes for his drag family. Blake shares insights into the creative process of both dressing in drag and designing for performers, explaining how drag as an art form transforms self-perception by fostering confidence through the celebration...

Join us on this episode of Body Banter as we welcome Valerie DeLeon, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Florida and Past-President of the American Association for Anatomy. We explore the treatment of historical skeletal remains and tissues in the broader science community and how the mistreatment of marginalized communities continues to influence science. Valerie delves into...

In this week's episode of Body Banter, Vancouver-based fashion designer and spinal cord injury advocate Chloë Angus shares her unique perspective on the human body through the lens of fashion design. Chloë reveals how her experiences in the fashion industry as well as her own experience of living with a spinal cord injury have deeply influenced her understanding and appreciation of the body. She t...

In this episode of Body Banter, Dr. Lara Boyd joins us to talk about neuroplasticity, aka the brain’s capacity to change, from her perspective as a physical therapist-turned-neuroscience researcher. We discuss the inseparable relationship between the brain and the body, as well as how the sweet spot for changes in the brain occurs when we engage in activities that are challenging yet achievable. L...

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Jen Gunter, the internationally known gynecologist and author of the newly released book "Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation" on this week's episode of Body Banter. Dr. Gunter discusses the profound influence of the patriarchy on women's perceptions of worth regarding their bodies, particularly concerning menstruation and the so-called "repro...

For our first episode of 2024, we are joined by Dr. Margaret Moss to discuss the importance of Indigenous cultural safety and awareness in healthcare. Dr. Moss shares insights from her role as a consultant on the investigation team for the In Plain Sight Report (2020). She explores both the devastating impact of anti-Indigenous racism in BC's healthcare system and the system's shortcomings in supp...

For the second of our two-part series on "The Body of Music" and our final episode of 2023, we explore the potential of music in the anatomy classroom. Dr. Sunit Jadhav, during his recent visit to Canada, joins Claudia and Segun to talk about his passions for anatomy education and music—and how he combines these two passions to make learning anatomy more fun and engaging for his students. Sunit al...

In this episode of Body Banter, we're joined by Dr. Tara Gaertner—a neuroscientist and music educator—to delve into the fascinating relationship between our brains and music. We talk about Tara's rich background ranging from music education, to neuroscience in the context of occupational therapy, and now psychiatry as a resident doctor. Tara shares how music can be used to better understand our br...

This week, Anthony Saraco and Ursula Krebs join us on Body Banter to explore their very different experiences of inner visualization and what they "see" in their mind's eye. Anthony shares how his inability to visualize shapes mentally, also known as aphantasia, impacts his day to day experiences, as well as his approach to teaching anatomy in what is usually considered a highly visual field of st...

On this week's Body Banter, Certified Medical Illustrator Ni-ka Ford joins us to discuss the role of medical illustration in addressing bias in healthcare education and creating more inclusive and diverse representations of the human body. Ni-ka shares why she decided to enter the profession of medical illustration, her experience over the last two years as the Chair of the Association of Medical...

This week on Body Banter, we have an expert panel joining us to discuss the impact of weight stigma on healthcare and patient outcomes. Claudia and Segun first met our guests—Dr. Rebecca Pearl, Dr. Jeffrey Hunger and Natalie Loschiavo, RD, LDN, RYT—at the 2023 Anatomy Connected conference in Washington, DC where they were panelists on a roundtable discussion on weight stigma in health education an...

This week on Body Banter, Claudia and Segun connect with Dr. Sarah Purcell whose research focuses on nutrition and metabolism. We talk about the individual and population differences in energy balance and how our food environment—which includes geography, food insecurity, access, and other systemic considerations—has an impact on our metabolism. Sarah also discusses how the simplified equation of...

This week on Body Banter, we are honoured to have Prof Beverley Kramer join us to discuss her amazing career in anatomy education and leadership. Prof Kramer is the President of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA), has been the head of several anatomy departments at universities in South Africa, and is also Segun's former PhD supervisor! We discuss Prof Kramer's passi...

In our final episode of this season of Body Banter, Dr. Sabine Hildebrandt joins us to discuss her research on the history and ethics of anatomy, specifically the history of anatomy in Nazi Germany. We talk about the current state of body donation programs in North America, who has power over knowledge of the human body, and why it's so critical to talk about the dark parts of our history so we ca...

This week, Michelle Turner joins us to talk about her work as a Registered Midwife and PhD student. We discuss the remarkable transformation the human body undergoes during pregnancy, why it’s important for clinicians (and everyone) to question our history and approach to providing healthcare, and how midwifery can be leveraged to address equity issues in the healthcare system.