GradCast

In this episode, Francesco Colosimo and Rhys Paterson sit down with Alexis Pascual, PhD student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, as he updates us on his research with machine learning and AI in space applications. Alexis explains how he uses linear algebra and statistics on images to teach extraterrestrial vehicles to pick out interesting features on a martian surface. This e...

Ever see a link on your phone that you just HAVE to click? As it turns out, so do mice! Join hosts Amalie Hutchinson and Laura Muñoz Baena as they chat with aspiring neuroscientist Esmin Unaran and learn about how learning itself can change the structure of your brain. Esmin explains how she uses myelin concentration of mouse brains to study how much they learn using touch-screen operant chambers....

In this episode, hosts Laura Muñoz-Baena and Ana Moyer chat with Anahí González, a PhD student in Art and Visual Culture. As a Mexican photographer based in Canada, Anahí is interested in how migrant labour is portrayed in Canadian media and explores alternative visual narratives that might contribute to a different view of migration in North America.  To learn more about Anahí, visit her photogra...

In this episode, Katrina Zmavc (PhD Philosophy Student) discusses her research on depression and how it really is an umbrella term for many related disorders. She also chats with hosts (Yousuf Hasan and Ana Moyer) about her involvement with the Society of Graduate Students as a member of the Graduate Peer Support Committee. Her aim is to find strategies to de-stigmatize mental illness and spread a...

This episode contains discussions of mental health, grad school, the COVID-19 pandemic, and discusses suicide and suicide prevention. If you or someone you know needs help, there are resources available to help you. If you are a graduate student, SOGS.ca/support-resources provides a list of mental health services located on and off campus. Alternatively, the description box contains resources disc...

As fervent calls for racial equity have justifiably proliferated within the United States in recent years, it raises the issue of familiarizing oneself with the historical and systemic nature of American racism. One such way to do this is analyzing the literature of the era for greater context, which is the approach English PhD student David Mitterauer is taking. And as hosts Liam Clifford and Eli...

In the second episode of our newest series, There Is No Planet B - Rose Giles and Brendon Samuels talk with Courtney Neidig, a second year Masters student in Education and Curriculum studies. She tells us the story of starting out as an ECE in British Columbia, the dissatisfaction in teaching practices when it comes to the environment, and ultimately how she found herself at Western as the head of...

Dristy Zaman is a PhD student in Biology studying soybeans, a type of legume. In conversation with Yimin Chen and Ariel Frame, Dristy explains how she is investigating asparagine metabolism. Dristy is on the hunt to discover a particular enzyme in this pathway that is currently unknown. What is asparagine? How will she find this enzyme? What will she name it? Find out the answer to these questions...

How does a 1972 hockey tournament between the USSR and Canada lead to the conceptualization of masculinity and the expression of nationalism in Canada? In this episode, host Rose Giles interviews Kaitlyn Carter on her research about how the idealization of the perfect Canadian and the perfect man all ties into a game we all know and love - hockey.  Correction to claim at 4:59 that Canada won the s...

In the wake of the riots in the United States this past year, History MA Sara Duodu was inspired to dive deeper into historical race relations in the United States. In this episode Rosemary Giles and Liam Clifford talk with Sara about the Red Summer, interracial violence and the framing of race in American newspapers. To reach Sara, you can email her at sduodu@uwo.ca Recorded on August 3, 2021. Pr...

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...