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In this episode of GradCast, hosts Anthony Cruz and Rafaela Platkin are joined by Kat Newman-Seymour, a PhD student in Western's Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies. In their PhD research, Kat examines the experiences of transgender people in Houston, Texas, and Toronto, Ontario, as they navigate climate change and environmental conditions. Their research draws parallels between environmental racism and the comparatively less well-studied experiences of transgender individuals. Kat draws on ideas such as minority stress theory, environmental justice, and queer and trans ecologies. Listen to learn more!     Recorded on Tuesday, October 27th, 2026. Produced by Anika Bushra Theme tune "Feelin Good" provided by FreeBeats.io (produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Kuljeet Chohan and Mark Ambrogio interview Ehsan Ur Rahman Mohammed, a PhD candidate in Computer Science. In their conversation, Kuljeet and Mark explore Ehsan's interest in "adversarial robustness," which relates to how well an AI model performs at object recognition and image generation. A graduate of India's Kakatiya Institute of Technology and Science, Ehsan did his master's research at the University of Windsor.  In their conversation, Ehsan discusses his affection for both Windsor and London, his attention to public policy surrounding AI, and the many interests that enrich his graduate experience. Ehsan serves Western's Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) as the Chair of the Sustainability Committee. Ehsan's LinkedIn     Recorded on Tuesday, October 20th, 2026. Produced by Anika Bushra Theme tune "Feelin Good" provided by FreeBeats.io (produced by WhiteHot)

We often assume that reality is objective, but as researchers, how do we tackle perceived reality in our subjects? For psychology master’s student Isaac Withers, this is a key question in designing virtual reality (VR) spaces. Can VR simulate the experience of a psychedelic drug trip in a controlled setting? What is the process of assembling reference material to create such a simulation?  Isaac, being a proponent of multidisciplinary approaches, divides his research time between the psychedelics work and work on understanding categorization. In the latter research, he probes how our brains learn to place things into categories, and how categorization influences our personal biases. Listen with Kelly Wang and Victor Lau as they discuss with Isaac about building a graduate journey that emphasizes collaborating with others, learning from many different sources, and overall building a well-rounded life to help diversify thinking in the research space. Links: https://mindalab.com/ Recorded on Tuesday, October 13th, 2026. Produced by Garth Casbourn Theme tune "Feelin Good" provided by FreeBeats.io (produced by WhiteHot)

This week, hosts Anthony Cruz and Bruno Mesquita are joined by Sara Varon Echeverri, a PhD student in Western University's Department of Philosophy studying social and scientific problems related to climate change. Enrolled in Western's collaborative specialization in environment and sustainability, Sara is trying to determine the best ways to study climate change that can lead to effective responses from the public. Sara believes in the importance of bringing people together and was involved in planning the 2026 Rotman Graduate Student Conference, bringing international students to Western to discuss the philosophy of science. In this episode, Sara discusses her research in philosophy and provides tips on how to plan a conference! Recorded on Tuesday, October 6, 2026 Produced by Ella Siciliano and Anthony Cruz Theme tune “Feelin Good” provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

This week, MSc (PhD-intended!) candidate Alexander Gain talks about his research on modelling and testing immune responses to different HIV vaccines. Although current treatments help keep the virus at bay, this requires people living with HIV to take anti-viral medication for the rest of their lives. Building a preventative vaccine could allow for people to experience a better quality of life, but requires a lot of tricky planning and overcoming experimental constraints. How does one even start to design HIV vaccines that can hopefully work across different HIV variants? What sort of models can be used to examine the immune response following vaccination? What technical challenges exist before such questions can be properly tested, and how does one pace themselves better over such a marathon of a research endeavour? Join Bruno Mesquita and Victor Lau as they hear more about Alex tackling a career path that aligns with his values, and for an episode that has both fun details and takes into account a larger picture. To find out more about Alex and his research, please check out his labs! https://artslab.ca/enter/  https://kerfootlab.com/ Recorded on Tuesday, September 29, 2026 Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr Theme tune “Feelin Good” provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

This week, PhD student Bright Ofori talks about his research on HIV stigma and mental health among older adults living with HIV. With advances in treatment, people living with HIV are living longer. However, this raises new questions about what aging with HIV looks like; what happens when the social impacts of HIV (including stigma, shame, and fear of disclosure) last after diagnosis? Bright’s research compares the experiences of older adults living with HIV across two different settings: the Ashanti Region of Ghana and African, Caribbean, and Black communities in Ontario. How do culture, community, and social support shape experiences of HIV stigma? How can stigma affect mental health, including experiences of depression and anxiety? And how can researchers capture these experiences while ensuring that the people and communities affected have a meaningful role in building a stronger voice for affected individuals? Join Kuljeet Chohan and Victor Lau as they hear more about Bright’s methodologies and tackling how stigma exists, to understand a little more about the prevalence of HIV stigma and persisting through with mental health challenges. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bright-ofori-phd Instagram: @i.am.bryt  ---------------------------------------- Recorded on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 Produced by Kuljeet Chohan Theme tune “Feelin Good” provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

We’re back with our mini-series, chatting with folks on campus who support graduate students in every aspect of life!  This week, your hosts, Maris Schneider and Garth Casbourn, are chatting with Melanie Molnar, the Ombudsperson at Western University. Melanie is a professional mediator who supports graduate students as they move through their programs and learn to navigate complex relationships with supervisors and advisors. Tune in to learn more about Melanie’s role in graduate life and how you can use the Ombudsperson to support your academic journey. If you would like to learn more about the Ombudsperson or access their services, you can find all of the information here https://www.uwo.ca/ombuds/index.html.   Recorded on Tuesday, Sep 15, 2026 Produced by Kuljeet Chohan Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview Rory Succee as he graduates with his MA in Archaeology and Biological Anthropology.  A newly-minted Western graduate, Rory is about to begin a PhD in Art History – also here at Western. Congratulations, Rory! In their conversation, Ryan and Mark ask Rory about research he undertook at St. Dominic's Cemetery in D'Hanis, Texas — a cemetery of German heritage.  Rory shares anecdotes about his fieldwork at the cemetery, as well as how he learned from oral history and archival research, not to mention enjoying the famous "southern hospitality" from the local Texans. As he enters his PhD, Rory is interested in the work of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, as well as other noteworthy Latin American artists, including Frida Kahlo, Poty Lazzarotto, Candido Portinari, and Fernando Botero.     Recorded on Tuesday, September 8th, 2026 Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by White Hot)

In this episode, hosts Anthony Cruz and Ryan Baxter are joined by neuroscience PhD student Nima Zargarnezhad. An amateur musician from an early age, Nima relates how, as an undergraduate in electrical engineering, he developed a fascination with how the human brain works. For his Master's research, Nima was able to combine the strands of his musicianship, his computational skills, and his neurological interests, and bring all three to bear on a project at Western's Centre for Brain and Mind. Using a sound equipment array known as the audiodome, he created virtual sound spaces to study how the human brain interprets positional information from the sounds in its environment. You can learn more about Nima and his research at the following links: https://nimazargarnezhad.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nima-zargarnezhad/     Recorded on Tuesday, September 1st, 2026 Produced by Garth Casbourn Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by White Hot)

This week, freshly-graduated MA Cristina Lama talks about her research, and why it’s cool to be studying human bones.  Why can the tibia be a better candidate than other bones, when doing research in bioanthropology? What sort of problems and models can we take from the literature, and use that to develop hypotheses and investigate our own questions? What are some of the complexities in working with human samples?   Join Mark Ambrogio and Victor Lau as they hear more about some of the richness of Cristina’s investigations into the literature, and how she’s used that to translate her rigour and scientific approach to analyzing scans in the human tibia.    Listen to hear about some of the fascinating methods Cristina is applying, as well as how she considers ethical questions around handling human samples in a respectful manner! Finally, Cristina shares a little about her upcoming doctoral studies at the University of Toronto.   Links: PAVElab (https://www.pavelab.ca/)  SchroederLab (https://www.laurenschroederlab.com/)       Recorded on Tuesday, August 25th, 2026 Produced by Ella Siciliano Theme tune "Feelin Good" provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Anthony Cruz and Anika Bushra interview Stephanie Brocca, a master’s graduate in Health and Rehabilitation Science. Stephanie researches how current methods of communicating health information can be a barrier to health literacy, patient activation, and health competencies in individuals with specific learning disorders, a field not well studied. Outside of research, Stephanie is passionate about mental health awareness and has written a book of poetry on trauma, stigma, and mental health called The Pains of Living, taking inspiration from true stories across the GTA. Tune in to learn more about the health literacy, patient activation, and the importance of accessible communication in the health field!   Anyone interested can reach out to Stephanie via Linkedin at www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-brocca   Recorded on Tuesday, August 18, 2026 Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview GradCast's own Garth Casbourn, a PhD candidate in Biology.  In his research, Garth studies how an animal's internal physiology shapes its behaviour, looking at the influence of testosterone on the song sparrow, a migratory bird.     The changes in behaviour that Garth studies are chiefly migration-related, looking at both adult males and juvenile sparrows.  Garth is studying two related hypotheses:  First, the gonadal hypothesis is the idea that sex hormones, including testosterone, are actually what causes migratory behaviour to develop.  Secondly, it is hypothesized that migration in sexually mature birds may have evolved from the dispersal behaviour of juveniles.   During his PhD, Garth has been an active member of GradCast, serving as both a host and as a producer.     Garth's research has been conducted through Western's Advanced Facility for Avian Research and the Centre for Animals on the Move.     Recorded on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 Produced by Anika Bushra Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

This week on GradCast, hosts Anthony Cruz and Milan Mammen are joined by Jordan Sellers, a PhD student in Library & Information Science (LIS). Jordan researches sustainable digitization practices in community archives, challenging the traditional narrative that full digitization is the only way to accessibly and sustainably archive materials. Her long-term goal is to create an online toolkit to help community archivists figure out the best way to steward their knowledge. Tune in for a fun conversation about the way we store information! Recorded on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, host Mark Ambrogio interviews GradCast alumna Amalie Hutchinson, a PhD candidate in Biology. Amalie was a GradCast host and producer, ultimately serving two terms as Chair and Managing Editor. She returns to GradCast as she prepares to enter the fourth year  of her program (after a maternal leave – congratulations, by the way!). In her research, Amalie studies how hummingbirds use torpor, a state of inactivity characterized by a lowered body temperature and decreased metabolic rate, to preserve energy at night. While this phenomenon is not entirely unique to hummingbirds, the extreme temperature they lower their body to is. Amalie is currently looking at the energy demands of migration, using the wind tunnel at Western's Advanced Facility for Avian Research to study how hummingbirds consume energy over long-distance flights. In their conversation, Amalie and Mark also discuss their shared history with GradCast as well as ways of staying grounded as graduate students. Anyone interested in Amalie's research may contact her at: [email protected]     Recorded on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

This week, PhD candidate Mila Strelnikova gives a crash course into adapting the scientific spirit, and exploring problems in electrochemistry with a basic science focus (and pioneering steps towards making novel, state-of-the-art microscopy approaches usable across Ontario’s nuclear ecosystem!).  What is pitting corrosion? Why is it something that’s harder to catch when we’re inspecting metal equipment breaking down, and why is this important? How are these problems being tackled and broken down in the lab? Join Chrishma Perera and Victor Lau as they hear more on Mila’s journey in learning about and building at the edge of this field. Come to hear about the electrochemistry and how she’s been supported by a great group of lab mates, and stay a bit longer to hear about her involvements as a grad student outside her research. People can reach out to Mila via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/liudmila-strelnikova/ ; And find more about the Gateman lab at https://sites.google.com/view/gatemanresearchgroup/home . Recorded on Tuesday, July 21st, 2026 Produced by Anika Bushra Theme tune "Feelin Good" provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)