GradCast

In part 1 of GradCast's coverage of the 2019 Western Research forum, Roger Hudson and Yimin Chen bring you conversations with mechanical and material engineering master's student Sara Holland, master's of education student Bella Wang, and health and rehabilitation PhD student Humberto Omana. Hosts: Yimin Chen & Roger Hudson Produced by Gregory Robinson

In this episode, hosts Roger Hudson and Monica Molinaro talk to Dr. Mariya Goncheva, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Our hosts and Mariya talk about the infamous Staphylococcus aureus. They discuss the mutant purr gene that Mariya studies, how antibiotics work, and her experience finishing her PhD and starting her post-doc as an international student in Can...

The humble spider-mite is a cousin of the spider with an incredibly diverse diet, letting them live and feast on plants all over the world. In their talk with master's student David Letwin - hosts Connor Chato and Nikol Posnov get down to the genetic code that makes these tiny critters and what it's like to share a lab with thousands of them. We learn about the evolutionary factors that allow anim...

The Society for Neuroscience annual conference remains the largest international conference for neuroscience research, hosting upwards of 25,000 neuroscientists each year. GradCast had the opportunity to interview two conference attendees about their cutting-edge research for Neuroscience 2018. In part 2 of this 2-part series, hosts Viki Tellios and Joyla Furlano discuss effective MRI image analys...

In this entertaining episode, GradCast hosts Chantal and Nikol talk with masters student in biology Zoran Culo and his partner-in-crime, Peanut, about the spider-mite research labs at western. Zoran explains why the tiny spider-mite is a big pest for plant lovers, and what western researchers are doing to develop alternative pest control strategies for sustainable agriculture.   http://www.spiderm...

The Society for Neuroscience annual conference remains the largest international conference for neuroscience research, hosting upwards of 25,000 neuroscientists each year. GradCast had the opportunity to interview two conference attendees about their cutting-edge research for Neuroscience 2018. In part 1 of this 2-part series, hosts Roger Hudson and Viki Tellios learn about novel methods associate...

Did you know there are an estimated 1 million species of mites? They are found on every continent. They can live on both plants and animals, and you have microscopic mites living on your face right now (that are harmless, hopefully!) And yet, mites are often overlooked and poorly studied. To date, only 50,000 species of mites have been described. Luckily, you can learn more about the mighty mite w...

How do different regions of the brain work together to recognize and make sense of the sounds that you hear? Our guest today is Sonia Varma, who is completing her Master's in neuroscience investigating auditory processing. Hosts Monica Molinaro and Yimin Chen get a crash course in how hearing works, plus some surprising insights into the film preferences of hearing research participants. You can c...

This week we’re bringing you our very first #Gradlife episode! Based on popular demand, our first episode is on Impostor Syndrome! Impostor Syndrome, or feeling like you are a fraud, affects many graduate students, regardless of their success or accomplishments. In this episode, hosts Viki Telios, Monica Molinaro, and Gavin Tolometti discuss their experiences of feeling like frauds in their time i...

Ever heard of the kudzu? Depending on where you're from, you might have a different idea of this dubious plant. Introduced as a way to nourish Southern US soil, it quickly spread throughout much of the eastern coast. Now, it is everywhere from Georgia to New York State. On today's episode, hosts Nick Handfield-Jones and Roger Hudson interview Master's student Kenny Reilly about the kudzu vine. He...

You may have heard the work of Academy Award nominated composer Phillip Glass referred to as "Minimalism," but what does that mean? Martin Ross , PhD candidate in music theory, joins GradCast hosts Joyla and Yimin to discuss what might be the most influential musical movement of the 20th century. On this episode, we learn what blinking turn signals, mathematics, and four minutes and thirty-three s...

In order for microbial life to develop and grow it needs an environment and world that can habit them. Presence of an energy source, liquid water or another solvent, appropriate temperature conditions, and protection from outside harm. In this episode, hosts Gavin Tolometti and Connor Chato talk with Earth Science PhD student Josh Hedgepeth about Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and the mystery and c...

Today’s unique episode features science graduate student John Palmer, who provides undergraduate student Aida Noorbakhsh with advice on transitioning to grad school. For those of you interested in learning more about what first year of grad school is all about, including helpful graduate resources available on campus, this episode is for you! Hosts: Connor Chato & Joyla Furlano    Producer: Gavin...

We’re welcoming our newest host and GradCast Committee member, Monica Molinaro! Monica is a PhD Candidate in the Health Promotion stream of the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences graduate program, and a qualitative health researcher. In this episode, hosts Roger Hudson and Gavin Tolometti talk with Monica about the use of narrative methodology to understand the experiences of health care providers...

You may know them from Westerns, spy flicks, or film noir. But did you know that there is a rich history of telegraphs? Ever wonder about telegraphy, the art of using telegraph? And what about the people who used it? This week, hosts Nick Handfield-Jones and Roger Hudson interview Michael Feagan, who tells us about telegraph culture in Canada during the 1800s. He tells us about the unique characte...

In this episode, hosts Monica Molinaro and Gavin Tolometti talk with Earth and Planetary Science PhD student Nicolas Garroni about meteorite impacts and their effect on carbonate rocks, and what it’s like to work out in the field. Hosts: Monica Molinaro & Gavin Tolometti Produced by Gregory Robinson

Hosts Gavin Tolometti and Joyla Furlano talk with Earth Science MSc student Nikol Posnov about the search for extinct microbial life on Mars. Nikol studies the minerals in bioalterated volcanic rocks in Brazilian impact structures, and the Martian environment to infer where in craters on Mars microbial life may have sparked and thrived. Hosts:  Gavin Tolometti & Joyla Furlano Produced by Gregory R...

On this special episode of gradcast, listen as our host Chantal Lemire sits down to chat with Taniya Nagpal and Susan Anthony about pregnancy. As a phd student studying exercise during pregnancy, Taniya comes equipped with knowledge about how to lead a healthy lifestyle when expecting. Complimenting this, Susan brings her own personal experience as a pregnant student.  It makes for cool opportunit...

Hosts Roger Hudson and Gregory Robinson talk to Drew Bowman, masters student in Health Geography, about what high school students eat and how the advertisements that surround them can influence their decision making when it comes to food. A researcher in the Human Environment Analysis Laboratory at Western University, Drew discusses some of the unique insights she gains from conducting her researc...

How do arachnids handle freezing temperatures? Susan Anthony, a PhD candidate in the biology department and past chair of GradCast, tells Gavin Tolometti and Ariel Frame the answer to this elusive question. Susan discusses the difficulty researchers have studying in the field during winter and about some of her favourite animals, including red velvet spider mites , pseudoscorpions, tarantulas and...

This week, GradCast continues its interview with students studying eusocial insects, this time exploring the incredible social structures of honeybees. Hosts Roger Hudson and Nick Handfield-Jones interview Anthony Gallo, from the Department of Biology, about his research into honeybee genetics. Specifically, he wonders how genes make certain types of bees have ovaries, and some not. Don't miss thi...

Eusociality is the highest level of social organization found in nature and is one of the reasons behind the evolutionary success of insects like bees and ants, but also termites. This week, biology master's student Anna Chernyshova takes us through the intricacies of termite society and the novel evolutionary adaptations that have allowed these normally-tropical critters to successful invade Cana...

Consider ants. Only the queen ant reproduces and passes on her genetic sequences. The worker ants do not. This creates a great paradox of evolution: if the worker ants don't pass on their genes, then how do they keep popping up? This week, hosts Nick Handfield-Jones and Connor Chato interview Vonica Flear, from the Department of Biology, who is working on a mathematical model to solve this puzzlin...

In this episode Cory Goldstein, PhD student at Rotman Institute of Philosophy, discusses how clinical trials of different styles need or need not obtain informed consent. Cory tells Ariel Frame and Gavin Tolometti about his work with an interdisciplinary group of professionals and patients. To contact Cory for more information you can find him on Twitter @coryegoldstein or read his most recent wor...

Hosts Gregory Robinson and Gavin Tolometti talk with PhD candidate in the Department of Geography, Rebecca Doyle about lake sediments and how their isotopic chemistry provides us a glance on how the lake climate has changed for the last 1000 years. For more info, check out Rebecca's blog  https://lakenerd.com/  or twitter account  @lake_nerd . Hosts: Gregory Robinson & Gavin Tolometti Produced by...