GradCast

In this week's episode, hosts Chrishma Perera and Mark Ambrogio interview Pilar Rodriguez Mata, a PhD Student in Digital Humanities and Hispanic Studies. Pilar is studying Spanish-language tweets written from 2009 to 2022. Rooted in the humanities, Pilar studies the digital form, utilizing coding – to study the more than 3.5 million tweets she collected, with a focus on learning what enormous amounts of data can tell us about feminism in the Spanish-speaking world.

Chrishma and Mark talk with Pilar about what brought her to Western, her journey learning computational tools for her research, and how therapeutic music and reading can be for graduate students.

UWO Cultureplex Lab:  https://cultureplex.ca

Pilar's linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pilarrodriguezmata?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_android

Recorded on Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Produced by Kuljeet Chohan
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

Doing science is never about a single approach. Join hosts Bruno Mesquita and Rafaela Platkin as they chat with guest Camdyn Holmes, a MSc student in Biochemistry whose research compares two different approaches in examining what makes us human. Most people know that our DNA is an important part of who we are, but not all genes are active everywhere in our body. How do scientists study and measure the different ways our genes express throughout our cells?

 

Recorded on Friday, June 9, 2026

Produced by Milan Mammen and Zoe Kallenekos
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

Hosts Garth Casbourn and Milan Mammen are joined this week by psychology student and member of the Psychobiology of Eating and Related Disorders (PEAR) Lab, Taylor Nicole Breddy.

 

Taylor is in the first year of her Master of Clinical Psychology, though she already has multiple years under her belt as a member of Western’s research community. We learn first about her current focus on individual approaches to exercise and how these might relate to mental health issues. The conversation then expands to Taylor’s other, wide-ranging research interests, and the links between psychology and other fields like neuroscience and forensics.

 

To learn more about the PEAR Lab and their research, visit: pearlabuwo.wixsite.com/mysite

Instagram handles:

@uwopearlab

@taylorenicolee

Recorded on Friday, June 5, 2026
Produced by Victor Lau
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview Jasmine Proctor, a PhD candidate in Media Studies, in Western's Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS).  Jasmine ("Jazz") is interested in how queer K-pop fan communities negotiate gender and sexuality through transcultural networked fan labour across digital platforms.  Ryan and Mark ask Jazz about the emergence of K-pop and the interesting phenomenon of K-pop's mass appeal to a North American audience.  More broadly, they discuss fandom, popular music, and popular culture.  

Jasmine also discusses the PhD program in Media Studies and helpful ways of de-stressing, including running, listening to music (of course), and reading.

For further information on Jasmine's research:  Jasmine Proctor Profile 
Jasmine's doctoral supervisor is Dr. Norma Coates, cross-listed between FIMS and Western's Faculty of Music.



Recorded on Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Produced by Mark Ambrogio, with help from Ryan Baxter
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

GradCast heads to the Western Research Forum! Get a glimpse into Western's largest multidisciplinary graduate research conference as hosts Chrishma Perera, Victor Lau, Maris Schneider, Milan Mammen, and Anthony Cruz conduct short interviews with the graduate student presenters. This year's conference featured over 100 different presentations from across Western's 11 faculties. See below for timestamps.

Funding for the 40th Annual Western Research Forum was provided by Western's Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) and the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS). The venue and technical support were graciously provided by Western Libraries.

Recorded on March 6, 2026.
Produced by Anthony Cruz.
Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

Timestamps:
01:00 - Joey Butler
02:26 - Reshika Rohan
04:20 - Seth MacKenzie
05:50 - Kelly Wang
09:36 - Alessandra Walsh
11:26 - Abdul Moiz Noqui
12:28 - Alejandra Varela
13:24 - Aditi Satsangi
14:42 - Robyn Lewis
16:08 - Rameeza Rashed
17:06 - Emma Tassinari
18:40 - Mark Kwok
19:59 - Sara Varón Echeverri
21:11 - Sohini Chatterjee
24:01 - Haiyi Yan

This week, hosts Anthony Cruz and Mark Ambrogio are joined by Marc Lalonde, the longtime manager of The Grad Club and recent recipient of the Western Award of Excellence. For over 20 years, Marc has played a central role in shaping The Grad Club as a community space for graduate students, faculty, and staff. In this episode, Marc discusses his journey from Canadore College to Lake Louise, the West Coast, and finally to London. Listen to learn about Marc’s career, how The Grad Club has evolved over the past two decades, and maybe even a few teasers about what’s coming to The Grad Club this summer. 

Follow The Grad Club on Instagram: @uwogradclub

The Grad Club

The Grad Club

Western News

Keri Ferguson

Western Award of Excellence recipients support campus community –...

Seven individuals and one interdisciplinary team are recipients of the 2025 Western Award of Excellence, a top honour for Western University employees.

 

 

Recorded on Tuesday, May 19th, 2026

Produced by Anika Bushra

Theme tune "Feelin Good" provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

This week, PhD candidate (Nursing) Azmat Jehan shines a light on older adults and their experiences in long-term care. How are they supported by family, or by other care partners? How do cultural practices intersect with the healthcare system to make individuals feel more heard, cared for, and respected? What are some of the potential barriers that remain, hindering the realization of what's been termed culturally safe care?

Join Kelly Wang and Victor Lau as they learn more about Azmat’s journey in interviewing and hearing stories from this age-friendly community. Discover a bit more about how communication can make a difference - both within, and outside of the time spent with individuals making up an important part of our community.

You can find Azmat on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/azmat-jehan-928399309

Recorded on Tuesday, May 12th, 2026

Produced by Garth Casbourn

Theme tune "Feelin Good" provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In honour of International Nurses' Day (on Tuesday, May 12), hosts Chrisma Perera and Mark Ambrogio interview Mehtab Jaffer, a PhD candidate in Nursing here at Western University.  While many topics of study are divided between practitioners and researchers, Mehtab is uniquely positioned as both, as she is a registered nurse here in Ontario studying the place of Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) in Ontario hospitals.

In their conversation, Mehtab speaks to her use of in-depth interviews with both IENs and key informants in Ontario hospitals. They discuss Mehtab's research into the lived experiences of IENs, as they navigate their journey into the Canadian healthcare system, touching upon topics such as the influence of organizational culture and identity orientation, capturing the professional, cultural, social, emotional, and psychological aspects that define and shape IENs' journeys.

 

Mehtab's Social Media

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mehtab.jaffer/

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/mehtab-jaffer

Instagram @mehtab.jaffer

 

Other links from the episode

Western University Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing PhD

Society Of Internationally Educated Nurses (SIENNA) 

Registered Nurses of Ontario (RNAO)

International Nursing Interest Group (INIG) 

Trent University (Alumni IENs) 

Aga Khan University School of Nursing, (AKU-SONAM)- Karachi, Pakistan 

 

Recorded on Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Produced by Ella Siciliano
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

BookCast is an ongoing series where we delve into novels set in an academic context.  For the 10th edition of BookCast, Garth Casbourn, Milan Mamman, and Mark Ambrogio discuss the 2006 novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics is a darkly hilarious coming-of-age tale and a richly plotted suspense story, told with dazzling intelligence and wit.  This novel won the inaugural John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize in 2006.

In their discussion, Garth, Milan and Mark share their analysis of the novel, combined with some first-hand experience of academic life.



Recorded on Friday, February 27, 2026
Produced by Mark Ambrogio
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, PhD student Hannah Corenblum joins hosts Rafaela Platkin and Spencer Schmitz to talk about her research on abstract mental state concepts. Hannah is interested in understanding the individual differences in mentalizing abilities and how these relate to people's capacities to process cognitive concepts. Mentalizing is the ability to understand one's own and others' mental states. Hannah hopes her clinical research will help improve how mentalization is measured, with the goal of identifying impairments and developing ways to better target and treat them across a wide range of clinical populations.

Recorded on Tuesday, April 26, 2026
Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)