GradCast

In this episode Emily Davidson tells Ariel Frame and Rosemary Giles about her exciting new research project in the Neuroscience MSc program. In this project Emily will be conducting fMRI brains scans of people playing the video game Pac-Man, a more engaging task than is typically used. As a student co-supervised by philosophy professor Dr. Michael Anderson and psychology professor Jody Culham, Emi...

Hosts Laura and Francesco talk to masters student James Braden of his work on predicting and managing high level floods through the preparation of flood models. Here, James explains how the models work and why it is so difficult to be accurate when using data from some of the more complex systems on Earth: the weather. Listen to this episode to find out the requirements for models with higher reso...

We often think of psychedelics to be purely recreational, but studies are showing that they may have medical value. Hosts, Rhys Paterson and Francesco Colosimo sat down with Master of Science student, Sid Rankaduwa, to discuss his research involving looking for the possibility of 'higher states of consciousness' in psilocybin users. More specifically, he is testing the effects of psilocybin on cer...

We often think of hibernation as simply going to sleep in the wintertime, but hibernating animals aren't actually sleeping at all! It's really a special type of dormancy or torpor. This week, hosts Yimin Chen and Laura Baena speak to Masters of Biology student Amalie Hutchinson about what the cute little thirteen-lined ground squirrel of Manitoba can teach us about the cellular processes that occu...

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a number of obstacles that students with disabilities face when accessing material online and participating in virtual courses. The shift to an almost to fully virtual format has made it challenging for students who relied on accessibility services on campus, and their ability to converse with fellow students and professors in person to overcome certain issues re...

Over one year ago, the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything for graduate students. We were all introduced to a different world of research and communication, held back by lab and class restrictions, prevention of in-person evaluations and tests, and limiting our access to resources such as books, equipment, and computer programs. We all experienced changes that have both benefited and hindered our...

In this episode hosts Rose and Laura talk to Emmanuel Wong about his research on HIV's latent reservoir. They discussed the role of bioinformatics in a world that is generating astronomical amounts of biological information and how simulation programs could potentially help us to gain insights about how the latent reservoir originates, evolves and persists within an individual.  Recorded on April...

In this episode, Sandra Grahovac-Nemeth talks with hosts Ariel and Francesco about her novel research in Alzheimer's to isolate the metabolite, lactate, to fight against this complex condition. Sandra is an experienced second year Master of Science in Biology student who has returned to school after several years working in the Pharma industry. During our discussion, Sandra touches on a number of...

In this episode, Carly Charron talks with hosts Elizabeth and Rose (with some quick peeps from Rhys) about her research on a plant-based vaccine to prevent Salmonella infection in poultry which she is doing for her Masters in Biology at Agriculture Canada. Starting from a talk in her 3rd year course to undergrad thesis in the same discipline, Carly covers the what’s, who’s, and why’s of the vaccin...

Are those who fail to study history doomed to repeat it? Public History Masters student Kestra Greer has some strong opinions on the matter. How do we make the lessons of history relevant for the wider public? How should we navigate the debate over what and how we commemorate historical figures? What can knowledge of how people handled past pandemics teach us about how to deal with COVID? Join hos...

Searching for jobs and networking with potential employers has always been a scary and intimidating process, and the COVID-19 pandemic has not made it any easier. As graduate students mark down the days towards the end of their degree, they begin to ask themselves, "How do I know I can stand-out in an interview over Zoom?", "How can I network with people if I cannot attend conferences in person?",...

Cindy Mora-Stock has had quite the life journey. Departing her native Chile to embark on a seismology PhD in Germany, she now finds herself in Canada at UWO completing her second postdoctorate. As hosts Liam Clifford and Rhys Paterson learn, travelling the world and exposing oneself to new experiences has a brilliant way of enriching one's understanding and making the international student experie...

In Part 1 of the SOGS Commissioners Episode, our guests are Denise Kamyuka (Racial Equity and Inclusivity Commissioner) and Francesca Alexander (Gender Concerns Commissioners). They chat about their roles as our community advocates at Western with our hosts Yousuf Hasan and Francesco Colosimo. They share with us what kinds of events they create to strengthen our community. Full Video on YouTube  R...

In Part 2 of our Community Advocates Episode, our guests are Elizabeth Mohler (Accessibility Commissioner), Geneveave Barbo (Indigenous Commissioner), and Shannon-Thomas Carnahan. They discuss about what they do as our community advocates at Western with our hosts Yousuf Hasan and Rhys Paterson. They also chat about what difficulties they face in improving the student experience. Full Video on You...

There are plenty of options for a burgeoning MESc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering like Hira Nadeem to apply her skills towards space technology. Hira tells Ariel Frame and Yimin Chen about her recent internship at Planet , the Brooke Owens Fellowship she was recently awarded and how these have led up to her studies at Western and aspirations to work on aerospace engineering. Hira also gave...

Abbie Bechard tells Ariel Frame and Laura Munoz Baena about her MSc in biology research that she is working on. Abbie explains how she tests social spacing in flies and how this can be used to test models with autism related genes, such as Neuroligin.  To get in touch with Abbie, find her on Facebook. Full video available on YouTube Recorded on March 9, 2021 Produced by Laura Munoz Baena Theme son...

After First World War new methods for the administration of colonial territories were required. In this episode, Benjamin Gladstone chats with hosts Elizabeth Moller and Laura Muñoz-Baena about the Americanization of the global colonial and economic systems and its impact on the growth of the United States as a world power and its continues involvement in several economies around the globe.    Rec...

In this #GlobalGrads episode, co-hosts Liam Clifford, Rhys Paterson, and Laura Baena are joined by Political Science PhD student Maxwell Bogpene.  Max now finds himself at UWO to further his studies after originally leaving his native Ghana to pursue a degree at Ohio State University. But this was not without the hassle of being an international student during a global pandemic. As the conversatio...

On this episode the past chairs of GradCast gather together to discuss their history on the podcast, their experiences and where they are now. This light hearted conversation with Alexander Moszczynski, Tristan Johnson, Susan Anthony and Ariel Frame is facilitated by longstanding committee member, Yimin Chen. Listen in to find out how it all started, how we've grown and what makes this production...

In this episode, Rosemary Giles gives us an overview of all she knows about Western Counties Veterans Lodge, a rehab facility in London, ON that used to house soldiers recovering from World War 2. As an MA in History student, Rosemary enthusiastically explains to hosts Francesco Colosimo and Ariel Frame about the past functions and environment at this facility which she has determined to date and...

Contaminants in food sources can cause serious problems for wildlife physiology, especially for birds who feed of marine life and aquatic insects that are exposed to high levels of methylmercury (MeHg). On top of contaminants, birds experience food stress from many environmental factors such as predators, food shortage, unpredictable weather, and interaction with humans. Now, what happens when bir...

For Black History Month, on our show we had Western University's Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) Racial and Inclusivity Commissioner (Denise Kamyuka) and the Pride Commissioner (Shannon Carnahan) to chat about an important documentary recently screened at a SOGS Advocacy event: The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson . Denise and Shannon discussed the remarkable life of Marsha as the leading g...

Sample return on Mars, an ancient lake, oceans beneath the surface of icy moons. These are among the topics talked about in this episode! In this episode, hosts Gavin Tolometti and Rhy Paterson talk with PhD student Leah Sacks in the Department of Earth Sciences and the Institute for Earth and Space Exploration. Leah recently defended her M.Sc where she studied how material ejected from impact eve...

With the growth and increased use of nuclear energy in Canada, more research is being conducted to understand how nuclear waste should be stored safely and in permanent storage facilities. Hosts Elizabeth Mohler and Gavin Tolometti learn about nuclear waste storage from the Department of Chemistry PhD student Lindsay Grandy. Lindsay's research looks at the underlying processes of copper corrosion...

Liam Brown, Masters student in Biology, gives us a tour through the history of antibiotic resistance. Liam tells Elizabeth Mohler and Ariel Frame about his research conducted at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research facility in London studying this topic and how the make up of fertilizer can impact antibiotic resistance in agricultural soil. For more about Liam's research, check Liam's Res...