GradCast

516 | How are your Knees? Understanding Injury-induced Osteoarthritis

Hosts Ryan Baxter and Maris Schneider chat with Geneva Herold, a MSc student in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. Geneva studies patients who are at high risk of developing osteoarthritis in their knees due to a previous injury, like an ACL tear. She is studying the cells in a special tissue in the joint called the synovium, which she hopes will help us better understand why some patients develop osteoarthritis and why some don’t.  

Geneva discusses graduate student life, both in and out of the lab, with Ryan and Maris.

Learn more about the lab Geneva works in! https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/appletonlab/  



Rcorded on Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Produced by Mark Ambrogio
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

515 | The Price of Precision: Are Surgical Robots Worth It?

In this week's episode, hosts Anthony Cruz and Riya Sidhu interview Anthony Tannous, an incoming PhD student in Physical Therapy. Anthony is going to study whether robotic surgical assistants can improve patient satisfaction while saving healthcare dollars. Tune in for a look at how technology might reshape recovery—and the healthcare system.

Recorded on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
Produced by Riya Sidhu and kirstyn seanor.
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

514 | I'm an Adult Now: Supporting Young Adults With a Rare Disease

In this episode, hosts Ryan Baxter and Mark Ambrogio interview Dima Kassem, a PhD student in Anthropology on her research in the field of Sociocultural Anthropology.  More specifically, Dima is studying the assistance provided for People Living with a Rare Disease (PLWRD).  Entering the second year of her PhD, Dima is furthering her research on this subject, continuing work she did in her Master's degree.  In this conversation, Ryan and Mark learn about the support networks available for PLWRD -- and where support may be lacking; especially, as youth transition into legal adulthood.  

An important part of the conversation is the awareness that human "subjects" not only need to be treated with dignity, but also that their voices need to be heard.  Dima's supervisor is Dr. Pamela Block.  You can follow Dima on Twitter / X.  



Recorded on Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Produced by Mark Ambrogio
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by White Hot)

513 | It's Just Me and Millions of Tax Records

In this week's episode, hosts Chrishma Perera and kirstyn seanor interview Ian O'Donnell, a PhD student in Economics. Ian discusses how he's analyzing tax records available through Statistics Canada to better understand income trajectories over time, especially of immigrant workers in Canada.

Recorded on Tuesday, July 08, 2025.
Produced by kirstyn seanor.
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

512 | Reaching, Grasping, and Research Abroad

This week on GradCast, hosts Maris Schneider and Mark Ambrogio sit down with Linda Rosbach, a visiting research student from the University of Regensburg. Linda studies how the brain controls everyday actions, such as reaching and grasping. Her research explores whether our brains function the same way in the real world as they do in virtual reality. Tune in to learn more about her fascinating work and what it’s like to conduct research abroad in a brand-new environment. 

Recorded on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
Produced by Anthony Cruz and Chrishma Perera.
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot).

511 | Mapping It Out: The Cerebellum in Action

In this week's episode, hosts Anthony Cruz and Ryan Baxter interview Ince Husain, a PhD student in Neuroscience. Ince discusses  her research on mapping the actions and impacts of the cerebellum, as well as her contributions to the London community as a local journalist.

Recorded on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.
Produced by kirstyn seanor.
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

 

510 | Music and Math? You don't know the half of it!

In this week's episode, hosts Bruno Mesquita and Anthony Cruz interview Rebekka Lagacé-Cusiac, a PhD candidate in Psychology. Rebekka discusses her PhD research on ratio processing, her passion projects, and how music and math may have more in common than you think.

Recorded on Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Produced by Riya Sidhu
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by White Hot)

509 | The Pursuit of Science: Implanted Materials and the Human Body

In this week's episode, hosts Garth Casbourn and Mark Ambrogio interview Zoltan Richter-Bisson, a PhD candidate in Chemistry.  Zoltan is studying the interaction between proteins, abundant in the human body, and the breakdown of implanted medical devices.  While there are a large number of such devices, Zoltan is specifically interested in hip and knee implants.  Tune in to learn about efforts to minimize the deleterious effects of device breakdown inside the human body.

Zoltan, Garth, and Mark also discuss science communication and the benefits of being involved in the graduate student community.

To learn more about Zoltan's supervisor: Dr. Yolanda Hedberg and her lab.



Recorded on Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Produced by Garth Casbourn & Mark Ambrogio
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by White Hot)

508 | AI; or, Another Modern Prometheus.

Hosts Garth Casbourn and Kirstyn Seanor are joined by Rawan El Moghrabi, a student in the master's program in computer science.

How can human attitudes, behaviors, and expectations influence the internal representation and behaviors of AI? In this quite topical episode, Rawan offers some insight into the behind-the-scenes of large language models, as well as discussing her research project on AI safety and alignment. 

 

Recorded on May 27, 2025.

Produced by Bruno Mesquita.

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

 

507 | Teen Spirit: Growing Up in 1950s Windsor

Hosts Maris Schneider and Mark Ambrogio interview Taylor Northwood, a Master's student in Public History.  Taylor is interested in exploring the experience of teens in the past, particularly teens living in Windsor, Ontario, during the 1950s.  Taylor shares her insights into how teens navigated a postwar world shaped by shifting cultural values, emerging youth identities, and the growing influence of American media just across the border.  She uses oral histories, a method of research that focuses on the perspective of her interviewees, which offers a uniquely personal insight into the lived experiences of people from the 50s.

To learn more about Taylor’s work, be sure to check out her project: https://tnorthwo.wixsite.com/thearchivedive



Recorded on Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Produced by Mark Ambrogio
Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by White Hot)