GradCast

For Western's 7th Annual Indigenous Awareness Week (IAW), GradCast hosted two Indigenous Graduate Students to chat about their research. IAW celebrates Indigenous presence and builds community between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. GradCast's IAW Special Episode has two parts:  Part 1: Reconciliation – in progress? Riley Corbin (MA French Candidate) discusses how he wants to use the Truth...

Raj Mann is a PhD student in the Neuroscience Program. She has worked diligently for years to perfect a difficult method of measuring the electrophysiology of individual neurons from the brains of rats. Raj tells Elizabeth Mohler and Ariel Frame how she has applied this method to a model of Autism and discovered how their neurons differ.  To find out about Raj's work, check out her supervisor's la...

Asad Lone has nearly completed his PhD in biology. He tells Ariel Frame and Laura Munoz about the cell biology research he has done on the impact of p66Shc on cell metabolism and susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease brain pathology. Asad also discusses his interest in the ketogenic diet and post-PhD plans.  To read about Asad's work, you can find him on ResearchGate Recorded January 19, 2020 Prod...

In the series' third episode, hosts Liam Clifford and Rhys Paterson speak to Earth Sciences Master's student Richa Agarwal about her time as a Western student. Originally from Pune, India, Richa endears her home by comparing its sights and sounds to those she has experienced in Canada. From Nova Scotia to Niagara Falls, her journey touches upon the highlights of her experiences and how nicely it c...

#GradLife is back with our first episode of 2021! Starting off the year strong, we bring an episode covering a topic that a lot of graduate students ask ourselves and each other probably every other day, "what job can I get with my degree?". We are all taught to focus on specific projects and problems and we never stop to think, "Can I apply my skills in other fields? or Will my specific skill set...

On this episode, hosts Yousuf and Francesco discuss cognitive dissonance with Master’s of Psychology candidate, Mikayla Colthirst-Reid. With a background and industry experience in marketing, social media and communications, Mikayla is attempting to explore how our own self-perceptions affect our decision-making processes and behaviours. She discusses how this phenomenon could make our choices pre...

Did you know Mars has seasons too? Different from ours, but they are there. In this episode, Ariel Frame and Elizabeth Mohler sat down with Vidhya Ganesh Rangarajan who shared his research which focuses on studying active surface processes on Mars. These include phenomena that may be driven by wind, water, frost, dust and/or seasonal atmospheric changes seen on Mars.  To find out more from Vidhya,...

This week we speak with Dan Perdic, a media studies scholar looking at the misogynist Red Pill online community. Hosts: Yimin Chen & Tristan Johnson Recorded on Nov 29, 2016 Produced by Susan Anthony

On this episode, hosts Gavin and Greg discuss game theory with a PhD Candidate in Economics, Adam Rooney. From childhood, Adam has been an avid poker fanatic often hosting poker tournaments with his friends. When he came to university, he started with $50 in his bank account, which he used as a buy in for online poker tournaments. After winning many tournaments, he cashed out with an undergraduate...

Andrew Hanna and Yimin Chen speak with Mary Blake Bonn about the role of voices in musical understanding, as well as her work as the president of SOGS. Recorded on June 20, 2017 Produced by Susan Anthony

Russell Ashton has been a working man since he was 10; first running his own very successful neighborhood lawn services business, and now working as a Mechanical Engineer at a Junior Mineral Exploration Company. So why is Russel even in school doing his Masters? Tune in and listen to hosts Greg and Nik pick his brain about how to get your job to pay for your education.  Recorded Dec 3, 2019 Produc...

Gregory Robinson enlightens hosts Ariel Frame and Nikol Posnov about his research on the impact of cannabis during development. As a soon to be MSc graduate from the physiology and pharmacology department's collaborative specialization program in developmental biology, Greg has discovered some novel effects that cannabinoids, THC and CBD, have on the developing fetal heart when ingested by the mot...

With lame duck Trump and president elect Biden incoming, the world is sharply tuned in to American political scandals involving their presidency. Danielle McLennan is an MA student in history investigating various American political scandals including the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, whistleblowers and American news media in general. Ariel Frame and Yousuf listen closely as Danielle describes scand...

#GradLife is back with another winter holiday special episode! Graduate students get to use the holidays as a chance to put aside work and spend time with friends and family, eating mountains of homecooked food and catching up with stories. This year we face new challenges with COVID-19 restricting travel and making it harder to see extended family over the holidays. However, it is not all doom an...

The Trump presidency was infamous for a myriad of reasons, one of them being his perpetuation of a post-fascist rationale that sought to deeply divide people. How does an ideology, sharing a namesake with the likes of Hitler and Mussolini, reincarnate into this modern form? Hosts Liam Clifford and Yousuf Hasan speak with Political Science Master's student Hunter Blue on how the forty-fifth US Pres...

In the second episode of GradCast's international student segment, hosts Liam Clifford, Nikol Posnov, and Rhys Paterson speak to Earth Sciences Master's student Karina Martinez about her experiences at UWO. Hailing from Mexico, Karina speaks to how Canada has both benefited her growth as an academic and increased her yearning for home. A subsequent discussion on food, social outings, and tequila s...

Last year, Nikol Posnov told us about all the things that she was planning to study as an Earth Science MSc student. This time, she's returned to tell us about what she actually ended up researching. What can rocks taken from Brazilian impact craters tell us about where we might find evidence of life on Mars? How likely is it that future missions will find anything living on the Red Planet? On thi...

In this special episode, Dr. Samuel Wong joins hosts Liam Clifford and Francesco Colosimo to discuss his research in how COVID-19 is affecting mental health globally. As the keynote speaker at Power & Global Health Day 2020, he tells us about certain mental illnesses that the pandemic is exacerbating, particularly in populations whose mental health are being disproportionally affected by the pande...

Xavier Borsato joins hosts Liam Clifford and Francesco Colosimo to chat about his research in domestic violence against males. He attempts to shine a light on how men can also be victims of abuse but often face several stigmas that act as barriers for seeking and attaining help. Xavier hopes that, through his research, he can help fill a gap in the literature regarding this topic.   Recorded Novem...

Jason Wozniak (MSc. Geology) joins hosts Yousuf Hasan and Elizabeth Mohler to chat about economic geology and gold mineralization. Jason's research helps companies know where exactly to look for gold. In particular, he studies old rocks to learn more about gold-movements. We also chat about COVID-19 and how it has deeply impacted Jason's research.  To find out more from Jason, check out his person...

In this special episode, Julia Albert sits down with Elizabeth Mohler and Ariel Frame to tell us about the capsules she produced as a part of Power & Global Health Day 2020 . These capsules focus on the work faculty are doing around how inequity has been amplified for marginalized community’s during COVID-19. Julia is an undergraduate student in the School for Advanced Studies in the Arts and Huma...

Being an international grad student is an incredibly rewarding adventure but one consisting of a unique set of challenges. In a brand-new series debuting on GradCast during UWO International Week, hosts Liam Clifford, Nikol Posnov, and Rhys Paterson speak with Brazilian Political Science MA Ricardo Moll about the international student experience and what we can all learn from it. As the subsequent...

Kendra Cotton (MSc. Nursing) joins hosts Yousuf Hasan and Elizabeth Mohler to chat about her research on technology and information flow among health care professions. Kendra tells us why health information exchange among professionals is important for effective patient care. She also chats about how social media is a great tool for caregivers to facilitate communication especially amid the pandem...

Do you want to know what it takes to work in the field of gold exploration in the Canadian Yukon Territory? An Arts degree, a failed calculus course, four exploration field seasons and a Masters in Geology. JUST KIDDING! It takes believing in yourself and a properly guided passion. Tune in to this week's GradCast episode with James Alexander to learn more about "best-friend" elements and minerals,...

As humans, we often underestimate how important bipedal movement is to our lives. And according to recent Pedorthics program graduate and Kinesiology alumnus Ashley Njeru, there is much we can do to prioritize its wellbeing. And as hosts Liam Clifford and Viki Tellios learn more about lower limb health, orthotics, and orthopaedics, it becomes clear that this is something we should be taking more s...