Gradcast

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 abilities to become the best of who we can be. Some students became fallen soldiers who lost the momentum and motivation to conduct research at a rate they could maintain while being in-person, while others thrived staying at home and kept in a safer and less crowded environment.   In this episode of #GradLife, hosts Gavin Tolometti, Danica Facca, and Laura Muñoz Baena talk about their experiences with the pandemic and how it has effected their research progress and lifestyle. Who is a fallen soldier? What did everyone miss out on because of COVID-19? Do we think the virtual education system will keep some aspects

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 13, 2021 Produced by Laura Munoz Baena Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 topics including her research, the state of Alzheimer's in Canada and her life outside academics. Recorded on Apr 6, 2021 Produced by Ariel Frame Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 vaccine, and its importance on future farming practices and overall health of chickens.  To learn more about Carly’s research, you can email her at ccharro5@uwo.ca or find her on Facebook and Instagram.  Full video available on YouTube Recorded March 23, 2021  Produced by Rhys Paterson  Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 hosts Yimin Chen and Elizabeth Mohler as we learn about the poopy origins of modern epidemiology and more! To get in touch with Kestra, you can find her on Instagram @baragalog Recorded on March 30, 2021. Produced by Hira Nadeem. Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot.

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?", and "Are their services on campus that can help me improve my résumé and CV?". These are questions that #GradLife what answered as well, and host Gavin Tolometti has reached out to find those answers.   In this episode, Gavin speaks with Teresa Boere and Heather Wakely who work in the Careers & Experience department's Career Education unit at Western University. Teresa is a career educator and Heather is the acting team lead of the Career Education unit team. They share insight into how graduate students at Western can gain invaluable advice and practice to prepare for job interviews, writing resumes, and expa

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 experience truly special. You can follow Cindy on Twitter and Instagram. Recorded on March 25, 2021 Produced by Liam Clifford Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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  Recorded on March 6, 2021 Produced by Yousuf Hasan Intro theme song produced by Mathew Becker Outro theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 YouTube  Recorded on March 6, 2021 Produced by Yousuf Hasan Intro theme song produced by Mathew Becker Outro theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 an overview of the mentorship program she co-founded, Zenith Canada Pathways Foundation. To find out more from Hira, follow her on Twitter @HiraInSpace Recorded on Mar 16, 2021 Full video available on YouTube Produced by Ariel Frame Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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.    Recorded on March 2nd, 2021 Produced by Laura Munoz Baena “Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot”

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 conversation continues, it becomes clear that jollof rice and good banter are the keys to fostering community amongst grad students. If you would like to connect with Max, you can find him on Twitter at @BogpeneMax Recorded on March 4, 2021 Produced by Liam Clifford Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 a special experience for Western University graduate students.  Full Video on YouTube  Recorded on Feb 5, 2021 Produced by Ariel Frame Intro theme song produced by Mathew Becker Outro theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 hopes to uncover in the future. To find out more from Rosemary, follow her on Instagram @rosemary_giles  Full video available on YouTube Recorded on Feb 23, 2021 Produced by Ariel Frame Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 birds consume MeHg contaminants while experiencing food stress? Does this contaminant worsen the physiology of birds when under food stress or does it somehow counteract the effect? Biology PhD student Claire Bottini talks about her research on this topic with hosts Gavin Tolometti and Laura Munoz. Claire tells the hosts how she studies the effects that food stress and MeHg exposure have on the song sparrow species Melospiza melodia, and how she plans to continue her experiments through the pandemic. To learn more about Claire's research, check out her twitter account @ClaireBottini Recorded on Feb 16, 2021 Produce

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 gay rights advocate especially in the Stonewall uprising in 1969. Hosts Elizabeth Mohler and Yousuf Hasan asked questions about Marsha's impact, mysterious death, and why Johnson chose "Marsha P. Johnson" as her drag queen name.  Hear more about SOGS Advocacy on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SOGS.Advocacy and check out their upcoming online event on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021 AT 11 AM EST – 12:30 PM EST Anti-Racism and EDI in Higher Education with Dr. Kaniki https://www.facebook.com/events/535326700761000/ Denise Kamyuka is available by email at racial.equity@sogs.ca and Shannon-Thomas Carnahan is avail

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 events on Mars are deposited on the surface. Now, she starts her PhD research studying the icy moons in our outer solar system! As a bonus! We talk about the Mars Perseverance rover mission, the newest NASA rover to land on the surface of Mars and collect samples that will be returned to Earth by another mission in the future. If you would like to learn more about Leah's work on Mars and Icy Moons you can check out her website, Leah Sacks - Planetary Geologist (leahinspace.com) or follow her on Twitter @LithicLeah Full video available on YouTube Recorded on Feb 9, 2021 Produced by Gavin Tolometti “Theme song pro

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 when it's exposed to ionizing radiation to be sure we understand how the copper layer will behave in this environment. If you would like to learn more about Canada's permanent plan to store nuclear waste and Lindsay's lab research you can visit the NWMO and RAMPS website, or you can follow Lindsay on Twitter @drlinds Full video available on YouTube Recorded on Feb 9, 2021 Produced by Gavin Tolometti Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

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 ResearchGate or email him at lbrow55@uwo.ca Recorded on Feb 2, 2021 Produced by Ariel Frame Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot