GradCast

534 | Midwives on the Frontline of Maternal Mental Health Care

In this week's episode, hosts Anthony Cruz and Bruno Mesquita interview Shahnaz Shahid Ali, a PhD student in Nursing under the supervision of Dr. Panagiota Tryphonopoulos. Shahnaz's research explore midwives' experiences providing physical and mental health care to women during pregnancy, childbirth, and afterbirth. Tune in to learn how sociocultural factors shape midwifery practice, where gaps exist in screening and referral pathways, and how improved training and structured mental health care systems can lead to better outcomes for mothers and families.

Follow this link to learn more about Shanaz.

Recorded on Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Produced by Milan Mammen
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

533 | #Inspiring Minds 13: Accessibility by Design: Musical Instruments in Student Hands

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview Ran Jiang, a PhD candidate in Music Education, in Western's Don Wright Faculty of Music.  In her research, Ran explores how certain norms sometimes go unquestioned in music; especially, by non-disabled people.  Music-making is sometimes associated with an "ideal" body, such as having above-average dexterity.  In her field work, Ran works with secondary school students in China who use computer software and DIY electronics to expand what musical instruments are and who they are for.

In their conversation, Ryan, Mark, and Ran also discuss piano music and what it is like at Western's music faculty, as a place for research in music, music-making, and as a community. 

Ran's supervisor is adam patrick bell, who, in addition to teaching at Western, is also the Canada Research Chair in Music, Inclusion, and Accessibility.  

Recorded on Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Produced by Mark Ambrogio and Ryan Baxter
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

532 | Taking a Close Look at Protein Oxidation Using Mass Spectrometry

In this week's episode, hosts Anthony Cruz and Milan Mammen interview Evelyn MacKay-Barr, a third year PhD student in Physical/Analytical Chemistry. Evelyn is studying the effects of oxidation on protein structures and dynamics. Though her lab studies small model proteins, their findings have big implications for larger protein therapeutics! Tune in to learn how they use mass spectrometry and other techniques to study protein behaviour.

Evelyn, Anthony, and Milan also discuss finding the right research group for you and the importance of having a supportive research environment.

Follow these links to learn more about Evelyn's research and her supervisor, Dr. Lars Konermann, and his research group! 

Recorded on Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

531 | #Inspiring Minds 12: Walking to the Beat: Music, Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, and Parkinson’s

In this week's episode, hosts Kelly Wang and Mark Ambrogio speak with Marina de Oliveira Emerick, a PhD candidate in Neuroscience. Marina's research looks at the relationship between music and cognition; more specifically, how music and non-invasive brain stimulation can affect walking patterns (gait) in healthy older adults and those with Parkinson's Disease. 

Although walking feels automatic, it relies on brain systems that help us start moving and keep a steady rhythm, which can be disrupted by aging and Parkinson’s. Early studies with young adults show promising improvements in step rhythm when people synchronize their steps to music. Marina is now expanding this work to older adults and those with Parkinson's, which means she is working directly with a clinical population.

In addition to being found on LinkedIn, Marina has a ResearchGate profile. Marina's supervisor is Dr. Jessica Grahn, a cognitive neuroscientist who studies music.

Those in the broader London area may find more information and community support from the Parkinson Society of Southwestern Ontario.



Recorded on Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Produced by Mark Ambrogio and Kelly Wang
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

530 | Changing Minds: Improving Hiring Practices with Growth Mindset Messaging

This week, hosts Garth Casbourn and Maris Schneider speak to Sarah Capellaro, a master's student in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Sarah is developing methods to reduce bias against autistic people seeking to enter the workforce. Her particular focus is on promoting a growth mindset amongst hiring managers via carefully prepared infographic interventions. She studies how viewing these interventions affects managers' attitudes towards autistic applicants.

 

Sarah has been able to recruit a very impressive 400 participants in her experiment and shows us that it is possible to change, or at least momentarily influence, people's biases to create more fair hiring practices.

Recorded on Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr

Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by White Hot)  

529 | #Inspiring Minds 11: We Were Saying This All Along: Person-Centered Long Term Care and Small Homes

In this week's episode, hosts Milan Mammen and Kelly Wang interview Denise Bedard, a PhD candidate in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (Health and Aging). Denise shares with us her immense professional and academic experience in long term care, including reimagining person-centered care in small home service areas. Denise also kindly shares the difficult lessons learned about long term care through the COVID pandemic and its many impacts, especially on older adults in long term care; please consider this a content warning if this is a particularly sensitive subject for you.

Denise is part of the Caregiving Research (CARE) Lab at Western University.

 

Recorded on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.
Produced by kirstyn seanor.
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot).

#BookCast 9 | People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

For this edition of #BookCast, your hosts Garth Casbourn, Meghan Voll, and Scott Walters cover the unique writing of People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, a tale based on a real and highly important Jewish prayer book told through fictional vignettes of its history. Hanna is a book conservator tasked with restoring a famous (and very real) copy of the Haggadah Jewish text that has experienced a tumultuous past. Blending actual history with fictional accounts of the text's origins and mysterious migrations through time, and telling the stories of the people, both real and imagined, that brought it to the present. We discuss the uncommon structure of this novel, the historic foundations of Brooks sweeping epic, and several of the principal themes. Join us in exploring what has been described as "an erudite Davinci Code".

This episode was recorded on June 4, 2025

Produced by Scott Walters

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

528 | #InspiringMinds 10: Caravaggio with a Cellphone: Merging Tradition With Digital Identity

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview Natasha Beaudoin, a student in the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program.  The MFA has both academic and production elements, which enables Natasha to pursue her interests, mixing traditional painting techniques with influences from social media, gaming, and digital culture.  Natasha is inspired by the use of light in the works of the Italian renaissance painter Caravaggio (1571- 1610).  While portraiture is sometimes associated with the past, Natasha would like to see this tradition continue.

Natasha can be found on Instagram and her website is:  https://tashaskates.wixsite.com/mysite 

Some of Natasha's paintings will be featured at Western's McIntosh Gallery, from June 6 to July 4, 2026.  



Recorded on Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Produced by Mark Ambrogio
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

527 | STEM Teacher Retention and our Sense of Belonging in Education

This week, hosts Anthony Cruz and Mark Ambrogio interview Aoife Hawthorne, a master's student in Western's Curriculum Studies program in the Faculty of Education. Aoife's research focuses on teacher attrition and how different factors like courses taught, funding, and even postal code affect likelihood to remain in a teaching position. 

On top of her research, Aoife, Mark, and Anthony discuss their experiences in elementary and high school, the Irish teaching system, and how getting involved on campus can lead to a greater sense of belonging in our own educational environments. Tune in to learn more!

Recorded on Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr

Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by White Hot) 

526 | #InspiringMinds 9: Relations, Not Relationships: Values, Algorithms, and Dating Platforms

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview Meghan Voll, a PhD candidate in Media Studies here at Western University. GradCast listeners will recognize Meghan's voice, as Meghan served as a long-time host and Social Media Manager for this show.  This is Meghan's second time with us as a guest, as she approaches the conclusion of her doctorate, for those interested, Meghan's first episode, as a guest, can be heard here.

Meghan studies the interaction between economic value and values on mobile dating platforms such as Tinder, Hinge, and Coffee Meets Bagel, drawing from the political economy of communication, mobile dating studies (MDS) and critical data studies (CDS). Ryan and Mark engage with Meghan on these ideas, asking about the intersection between so-called "soft values" (such as honesty and loyalty) and economic value ($). They also ask Meghan about her field research, interviewing human subjects, and the steps involved in obtaining ethics approval.

Recorded on Tuesday, November 5, 2025
Produced by Mark Ambrogio and Kelly Wang
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)