GradCast

REBROADCAST #GradLife Episode I: Impostor Syndrome and Feeling Like Garbage

This week we’re bringing you our very first #Gradlife episode! Based on popular demand, our first episode is on Impostor Syndrome! Impostor Syndrome, or feeling like you are a fraud, affects many graduate students, regardless of their success or accomplishments. In this episode, hosts Viki Telios, Monica Molinaro, and Gavin Tolometti discuss their experiences of feeling like frauds in their time in graduate school, and talk about what helps them when they experience peaks of impostor syndrome. They also discuss triggers and tricks for impostor syndrome submitted by other graduate students.

YouTube video version available here.

SOGs resources page: http://sogs.ca/resources/

Mental Health Resource Guide: http://studentexperience.uwo.ca/student_experience/wellness_initiatives/mental_health_resource_guide.html

Western's Mental Wellbeing Resource: https://www.uwo.ca/health/mental_wellbeing/resources.html

CMHA Middlesex: https://cmhamiddlesex.ca/

Produced by Gregory Robinson

 

#GradLife On Holiday Episode IV: “When are you done?" And Other Annoying Questions

Twas the night before Christmas,

And all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring,

Except the worried grad student who has a grant application due Dec.27th

In this episode, Monica, Viki, Gavin and Greg discuss their experiences over the winter holiday, the questions they (repeatedly) get asked, and how guilty they feel taking a break.

Produced by Baby Greg on a boat

249 | Many Stories of the Trans Identity

On tonight’s exciting episode, hosts Connor Chato and Joyla Furlano are joined by Anthropology master’s student Evelyn Newland. Evelyn's ethnographic work examines the lives of transgender people from a medical, political and cultural perspective, and explores topics such as self-conceptions and pre-conceptions within the transgender community.

Produced by Gavin Tolometti

248 | Caring for Caregivers

Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's can make everyday tasks like getting dressed and going to the bathroom immensely challenging, which is why most people with the disease rely on informal caregivers, often family members, to help maintain their quality of living. But what's it like to be a caregiver for someone with a long-term illness? Lisa Moszczynski, master's student in Health and Rehabilitation Science, has been researching the difficulties caregivers face - feelings of invisibility, lack of agency, and inability to access support - in order to work towards providing more effective resources to these invaluable informal workers. This week, hosts Connor Chato and Yimin Chen learn about the frequently-invisible family labour involved in living with Parkinson's disease.

Produced By Gavin Tolometti

247 | Rock Hard for Hard Rocks

Russell Ashton has been a working man since he was 10; first running his own very successful neighborhood lawn services business, and now working as a Mechanical Engineer at a Junior Mineral Exploration Company. So why is Russel even in school doing his Masters? Tune in and listen to hosts Greg and Nik pick his brain about how to get your job to pay for your education. 

Produced by Gregory Robinson

246 | The Graveyard of Scientific Theories

Yousuf Hasan, PhD student at Rotman Institute of Philosophy, tells hosts Ariel Frame and Gavin Tolometti about his research on 20th century history of science and mathematics. Yousuf discusses how scientists need think about current best theories given how many past theories have gone from being considered the best to completely falsified. In addition, Yousuf explains how empiricists explain mathematical knowledge. To find out more about Yousuf, go to the Rotman UWO website.

Produced by Nick Handfield-Jones

245 | Trouble making our cellular toolkit

Proteins are some of the most fundamental tools in our cells. In many cases they are not just the metaphorical "bread and butter" of our biochemistry, but also the butter-knife and the hand that holds it. On this episode of gradcast, hosts Nikol Posnov and Connor Chato speak with Josh Isaacson, a researcher of one of the fundamental tools that assembles these proteins: tRNA. Tune in for a talk about this biochemical starting point, and what can go wrong when it doesn't work quite as expected. To find out more about Josh you can follow him on Twitter @JoshIsaacson

Produced by Laura Munoz

Special Episode: BGRF 2019 - Mutant Flies & Model Bees

This episode, hosts Joyla Furlano and Gregory Robinson interview two guests from the Biology Graduate Research Forum (BGRF) on October 18^th, 2019. Josh Isaacson, the first guest, talks about his research on mutating tRNAs in Drosophila, which are important building blocks of proteins. Our second guest, Vonica Flear, shares with us her research on modelling altruistic behaviour as seen in bee colonies. Tune in to learn more!

Produced by Gavin Tolometti and Gregory Robinson

244 | The musical animal: Why are we such a musical species?

Nathan Oesch is a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Jessica Grahn's laboratory at Western University. Nathan informs Connor Chato and Ariel Frame about his research determining how music contributes to group cohesion. Using techniques informed by evolutionary psychology, Nathan's work spreads across various disciplines and provides us with some important answers about how music impacts humans on a social level.

 

Produced by Laura Munoz

243 | Transitioning From graduate work to Research in STEM

Today’s unique episode features Professor David Smith, who provides some context on life as a full-time researcher in STEM. Here to represent the graduate student perspective is Viral genome researcher Laura Munoz. If your curious about the next steps after grad school, be sure to tune in! 

Hosts: Connor Chato & Nikol Posnov

Produced By Connor Chato