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In this episode, Hannah McGurk, (she/her) who completed her Masters degree in the Applied Politics program at Laurier, shares her research findings from a report that analyses municipal responses to homeless encampments. The report emerged from a community-engaged research project with the Region of Waterloo and provides a comparison of encampment protocols among six municipalities, through a human rights lens. As part of her graduate degree, McGurk specialized in Canadian housing policy and co-authored an article on the regulation of unsheltered homelessness in Canada. McGurk’s research has been sought after by the Region of Waterloo and non-profit organizations, including the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness.

In this episode, Emily Kraemer (she/her), who completed her Masters degree in the Applied Politics program at Laurier, shares her research findings from an Equity Diversity and Inclusion study completed in partnership with the Region of Waterloo. Emily’s research focused on diversity in municipal policy settings and how diversity enriches good decision-making at the municipal level.

Hari KC, (he/him) is a Post-doctoral Fellow working at the Balsillie School of International Affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University. In this episode, he explains his recently completed PhD research that explored international migration flows, centred on Nepal. His work examines and makes recommendations for changes in international labour migration, through the lens of Nepali women migrant domestic workers. His work details existing gender inequalities in Nepal that are perpetrated by Nepalese migration policies. He is affiliated with the International Migration Research Centre.

This episode features S. Ali Hosseini, (he/him), a PhD student in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. The program is a joint program between Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Waterloo and the Centre for International Governance Innovation. He speaks about his experience working in the United Nations Human Rights Program in Afghanistan which has informed his research focusing on the failure of the international community to assist Afghanistan citizens in accepting democratic values.

In this episode, Carolyn Brown, (she/her) a PhD student in the Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences at Laurier. Her research focuses on making Environmental Impact Assessments as valuable and informative as possible to address developments' environmental, social, and economic impacts. Specifically, she focuses on fish health near the Mactaquac Electric Generation Station (MGS), upstream of Fredericton, New Brunswick on the Wolastoq | Saint John River.

In this episode, Carla Johnston, (she/her) a PhD student in Global Governance at the School of International Policy and Governance at Laurier and member of the Northern Food Systems Research Group, Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, describes her ongoing research. Her work examines the link between global and local food policy and ensures Indigenous knowledge and voices are included at all levels of food policy discussions.

Hiromichi Kato, (he/him) a PhD student in the Department of Mathematics uses the power of math to inform financial market decisions. Hiro uses mathematical models to calculate accurate derivative values. By providing more accurate derivative values, stock market traders have a better way of assessing credit risks. This ensures that mathematical models that are used to calculate credit risks, as part of risk assessments, better reflect today's real markets and are as useful and accurate as possible tools for financial decision-making.

In this episode, Patrícia Ferreira, (she/her) a PhD student in the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences and 2022 WinS Hypatia winner, explains that not all animals have a stomach. Her research explores why the stomach evolved and tries to explain what it does. Her research uses the power of CRISPR gene editing to create fish that have no stomachs and then uses these animal models to explore why organisms have stomachs and what the implications are of having a stomach, or not.

This episode interviews Gabe Massarotto, (he/him) a Masters candidate in the Department of Kinesiology at Laurier. His research focuses on the effect of high-intensity exercise on learning and memory. This research, which uses 3D technology to test memory recall, may help explain why high-intensity exercise can benefit memory and navigation recall.

In this episode, Seth McCarthy, (he/him) a PhD student in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at Laurier, and is part of Dr. Tom Hazell’s Energy Metabolism Research Laboratory. His research focuses on the role of lactate, a substance produced in the body when we exercise, and when/if/how we experience hunger after exercising.

The final season 2 episode of Research Chat features Rosemary Dupuis, pronouns she/her, a human rights advocate and feminist pursuing her Ph.D. in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University interviewing Tin Vo, an equity-focused researcher and public health practitioner who is pursuing a PhD in Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work. They have a mutual research interest in safe spaces and inclusion, discrimination, intersectionality and well-being.

This episode of Research Chat features Caitlyn Lyons, a northern ecologist and environmentalist passionate about sustainability and science communication who is pursuing a PhD in Biological and Chemical Sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University, interviewed by Gifty Attiah, an international student pursuing a PhD in Geography, and has a particular interest in using geospatial tools to solve environmental and climate issues. Caitlyn and Gifty are both completing their field work in the Northwest Territories.