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

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)

How do artistic and scientific ways of thinking meet, overlap, and challenge each other?

In this special Arts & Sciences mini-series episode of GradCast, hosts Ryan Baxter and Riya Sidhu are joined by Rebekka Lagace Cusiac, a PhD student in Psychology studying music and numerical cognition, and Seyed Mohammad Tonkaboni, a DMA student in music composition whose work engages with Persian literature and Iranian musical traditions.

Together, they explore how different disciplines approach the study of music, and how creative and analytical perspectives can inform one another.

Recorded on August 12th, 2025 Produced by Bruno Mesquita Theme tune "Feelin Good" provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

PhD candidate Catherine George joins hosts Milan Mammen and Mark Ambrogio to discuss her research on falls and their risk factors among stroke survivors aged 30–65 living in the community. Guided by supervisors Joy MacDermid and Janelle Unger, Catherine uses a community-based participatory action research approach to center the voices of individuals with lived experience of stroke. Listen to this episode to find out more!

To learn more about Catherine, explore the links below:

Catherine’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-george-262168221

Dr Joy MacDermid, HULC Clinical Research Lab: https://www.sjhc.london.on.ca/research/hulc/meet-the-team

Dr Janelle Unger, RED Neuro Lab: https://junger61.wixsite.com/redneuro

Recorded on Tuesday, April 21st, 2026

Produced by Victor Lau

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