Fellowship of the Research Podcast

All star S.T.E.M.ist, Sandra is enriching graduate student life and community with Support our Science. As a PhD student in the ENLS department, Sandra studies the biochemical side of fishes and pee. Become electrified as we learn about electrofishing, the texture of fishes, how much fish pee, and what exactly they excrete out as pee. As a soon-to-be post-doc, Sandra reflects on her PhD journey an...

Learn the ins and outs of ethical banking with Master of Economics student, Monisola. Monisola acts as our guide to make the future brighter with sustainable financing for business through her work with B corporations. Contact Monisola: monisolaajeigbe@trentu.ca Links related to FoTR Podcast: Links to all Sound Bytes used in the podcast can be found at: tinyurl.com/2jhevzpj Find us on Instagram: @...

Buoy consultant, sax musician, and hobbyist bread baker, Claire Stevens, is a PhD student in the ENLS department studying harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. Find out how Claire is forecasting harmful algal blooms to protect our drinking water. Links related to our guest: Contact Claire: clairestevens@trentu.ca Links related to FoTR Podcast: Links to all Sound Bytes used in the podcast can be found...

Falconer apprentice, Megan Heft, a PhD student in the ENLS department, shares her research on swallows and zebra finches. Meg connects how light and heat stress affect bird circadian rhythms and parental care. She combines studies on a wild population of tree swallows with experiments on captive zebra finches. Also, what is falconry?! Meg is teaching a juvenile red-tailed hawk to co-hunt with her...

It's a plane, it's a bird, it's a... squirrel? Laurelie Menelon is a PhD student in the ENLS department who studies genomics (a fancy word having to do with genetics) and flying squirrels in Ontario. Find out how climate change is leading to hybridization in flying squirrels and the consequences. Also we get serious about crafting, and for all you future graduate students, learn some t...

Tragedy, drama, enlightenment. Enter the Ancient Greeks and Romans of the 5th to 8th century. Discover how the Roman aqueducts have stood the test of time. Who controlled water governance then? Why is this relevant today? Join Harper Jin, a Master’s student in the Anthropology Department, who reveals these answers and more. Related episodes: Eric: S1E10 - Eric Samtleben (Let's get physical) -...

Grab your binoculars and put on your bird nerd hats. Taylor Brown is a PhD student in the ENLS department and will make you feel like cuddling a puffin afterwards. But not really because the birds wouldn't like that. The best way you can help is by turning out your lights. Taylor teaches us all about light attraction and the problems it causes in seabirds. Also learn about chicken collecting,...

We are recognizing international Women's Day with research about mothers. Cris is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Social Research department. Cris gives us a sensitive and nuanced account of the social and political problems that occur when children are involuntarily separated from their mothers. A disclaimer to our listeners: This episode covers domestic violence, abuse, and children b...

Get cozy with us as we learn about microplastics in moss. M.Sc. Student, Kelly Evans, takes us to freshwater lakes in the Canadian Arctic of Nunavut to learn about the pervasiveness of microplastics. What is moss? How does moss ingest microplastics? Is it time for all of us to start hyperventilating because of the problem of microplastics? And what would a moss lover’s home look like in the Shire?...

Stephanie Aultman is an M.Sc. student in the Anthropology department who transports us to Belize to document indigenous subsistence farming practices. Discover the human story surrounding agriculture, and how subsistence practices can restore deforested lands. Links related to our guest: Contact Stephanie via email: stephanieaultman@trentu.ca More about Dr. Helen Haines’ Research: https://kakabish...

Tristan is a Ph. D. student in the ENLS department who shares the ins and outs of wildlife diseases. Learn about the Arctic form of rabies. Who knew diseases came in different forms based on geography? We revisit the furry Arctic fox, which is the main host for this disease. Learn about climate change and disease dynamics, and how you can help prevent disease spread in your own pets. Related episo...

Greg is an M.Sc. student in the ENLS department who advocates for the charm of the muskrat. Muck through the wetlands of Ontario with us to learn about how invasive cattail species are impacting this pudgy rodent. Plus how did Sasha get the worst burn ever? Links related to our guest: Contact Greg via email: gregmelvin@trentu.ca or X: @_GregMelvin More about Dr. Jeff Bowman's Research: https:/...

Eric Samtleben is a M.Sc. student in the psychology department who gets us jazzed to exercise. Come with us as Eric tests the human body to its physical limits with ultra marathon running and Muay Thai. Learn about what motivates us to exercise and how to keep to that fitness New Year's resolution.  Links related to our guest: Contact Eric via email: ericsamtleben@trentu.ca or on Instagram: vo...

Alex Derian is a Ph. D. student in the Environmental and Life Sciences department who takes us on a journey into the Inuit Traditional Territory to study some adorable furry skeletons. From ice to isotopes, Alex tries to piece together the lives of Arctic foxes and how Inuit people may have shaped how these foxes interacted with the world around them. Come with us as we learn how Inuit people and...

Anthony Arsenault is an M.Sc. student in the ENLS department investigating something you may not think about very often - Dissolved Organic Matter! What is DOM, you may ask?? Well, you'll have to tune in to find out! Journey with us through the Experimental Lakes Area basins and the Great Lakes ice sheets Anthony has covered in his graduate adventures! Plus, stick around for March Mammal Madne...

Julia McCuaig is an M.Sc. student in the Anthropology department who takes us back through time to the ancient Moche civilization - dating pre-Inca, how can we possibly learn about a state that died out so long ago? Julia walks us through the process of finding plant remains originating from 700AD ( that's over 1300 years - I can't keep my veggies longer than a month!) and how we interpret...

Lilian Dart recently finished her M.A. in the Sustainability Studies program, working with the Kawartha Land Trust to look at volunteer relationships and novel conservation strategies. In the sciences, we are often taught that conservation is keeping an ecosystem precisely as it is without humans, or more often, how an ecosystem was before humans - does that sound familiar? What if that didn't...

Jenn Baici is a Ph. D. student in the ENLS department studying Ontario's most delicious Galliformes - wild turkeys! Oh wait, does that sound familiar?! Jenn joins us for a second waddle around Peterborough's peculiar pecking priorities - come with us as we learn how to wrangle a backpack onto a giant turkey and how pecking order (AKA rank) plays a crucial role in their social structure!  Link...

Kayla Martin is an M.Sc. student in the ENLS department studying Ontario's most delicious Galliformes - wild turkeys! Come on a waddle with us to learn about the trees these birds sleep in, the conditions that make a roost just right, and how these birds are tracked across the Peterborough landscape! Also - stay tuned near the end to hear about a rare predation observation - will the turkeys make...

Alexis Rausch is an M.Sc. student in the Anthropology department who takes us on a journey through the mass graves of... Kingston, Ontario?! The Irish Potato Famine caused millions to leave their home, many fleeing to Canadian borders. They brought with them a heritage that ~12% of Canadians share today (Canadian Census, 2016), but many of those who escaped were not lucky enough to start a legacy...

Erin Matula is an M.Sc. student in the ENLS department studying carbon cycling in boreal forests - the twist? She's investigating how wildfires in these forests release tons of carbon into watersheds and contribute to climate change in ways you may not expect! Climate change is a horror that's coming for us all - from invasive species in wetlands to fires in forests, Erin takes us on a tour of som...

Lyn Brown is a Ph. D. student in the ENLS department studying the amazing American Oystercatcher! Come with us as we learn about these fantastic birds, the beaches where they live, and the ways Lyn is planning on tracking them where no hobbit, I mean researcher, has gone before!  Links related to our guest:  Lyn's GoFundMe (Saving Chincoteague Oystercatchers) : www.gofundme.com/f/saving-...

Let's go on an adventure! Meghan and Sasha are two graduate students at Trent University embarking on a journey to interview fellow grads across programs at Trent. It takes more than one person to finish a thesis - it takes supervisors, committee members, friends, and support - so let's celebrate the fellowship it takes to finish one of the most significant accomplishments in our lives! In...