Join Kana Ogawa (Translational Medicine) for a discussion of her Master’s research on the generation of alternative transcripts as a means of regulating phosphorylation in sonic hedgehog medulloblastoma.  For more information check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

Join Mateus Karvat Camara this week for a discussion of his Master’s thesis exploring how collaborative perception can be used to improve autonomous vehicle operation under adverse weather conditions.  For more information check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

This week, join Alicia Cuzner for a discussion of her Master of Education research on decolonizing education in the classroom, specifically in the National Capital Region. For more information check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

Join Sarvenaz Heirani Moghaddam (Kinesiology) for a discussion of her PhD research on how the human nervous system is able to adapt and learn in novel environments using robotics and virtual reality environments. For more information check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

Join CJ the DJ for a very special episode with Queen’s University Chancellor Shelagh Rogers! The show focuses on the importance of strong communication skills, storytelling, and being a good listener. Chancellor Rogers also shares about her career in radio and TV which all started at CFRC. For more information check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat Photo by: Johnny C.Y. Lam.

Join Jessica Caravaggio (English) for a discussion of her research Fantasy, Fandom, and Feminist Community-Building which explores the connections of young adult fiction, feminist theory, and fandom studies in different communities of readers. For more information check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

This week join Amy Parks (Cultural Studies) and Sam Gene (Biology) for a discussion of their research and the Queen’s Swing Dance Club which they both help run. For more information check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

This week join Izzah Wahab for a discussion of her research on estrogren, specifically E1, and how it uses he GPCR signaling paradigm in relation to cancer progression. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat  

This week we have Kim Hill-Tout, Paul Akpomuje, and Hebtalla Ouda discuss their roles as Educational Development Associates at the Centre for Teaching and Learning. They discuss supports available to graduate student educators and how to get involved. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

This week’s show is hosted by Suyin the DJ Bear. Suyin the DJ Bear interviews CJ the DJ, Colette Steer, and KM on the FM, Katie-Marie McNeill, about Grad Chat’s history and future. As you may have heard, CJ the DJ is retiring from her role at Queen’s University, and she has passed hosting duties of Grad Chat to her colleague KM on the FM. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

A social choice represents the collective decision of the individuals based on their preferences over the alternatives. There are societal services operated by governmental or non-governmental organizations which implement a social choice model. For example, the allocation of shelters to homeless individuals considers both the preferences of homeless individuals and the shelters. However, the preferences of such vulnerable populations may not be as structured as required in the system for them to receive an effective service. Peash’s research focus is on building a unified preference system to reflect the unconventionality in the natural preferences of the vulnerable attempting to access such services. The novel fairness criteria are defined as an end goal of such allocation of services to improve the service for more individuals and broader communities. Peash designs algorithmic solutions to satisfy such fairness requirements on unified preference models. The research outcome has the potential to improve the operational efficiency of ongoing societal services by providing services to more individuals as required. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

With Canada’s aging population and rising immigration rates, this research explores the unique transportation challenges faced by older adult women—both local-born and immigrants—in mid-sized Canadian cities. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Nithikaa looks at the effect of the Parent-Administered Sensorimotor Intervention (PASI) on the developmental outcomes in infants born preterm at 18 months of age and to determine the long-term impact of this program. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Nikta’s research for my dissertation, titled “Queer Remembering: Fractured Memory and Haunted Futures in Contemporary Novels of the Black Diaspora,” focuses on the contemporary re-imagining of archiving Black pasts and futures in Afrofuturist, diasporic, fantasy novels. The authors and texts that I examine refuse the fluidity of time and truth, opting for fantastical representations of space and history. These alternative representations range from ghosts and possessions, to imagining a dystopic life in space. I call these alternative modes of memory, imagination, and geography queer re-membering in the Black diaspora. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Danielle studies triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive breast cancer subtype associated with poor survival. Unlike other subtypes for which there are targeted therapies, treatment options for TNBC are limited. In order to better understand the biology underlying TNBC, she studies a family of proteins called calpains. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

The Arctic is host to cold, hypersaline, perennial springs that flow through 600m of permafrost.  I studied 44 samples from cores, sediments, filtrates and microbial mats from these springs. Surficial life at these springs has been studied for decades, but this is the first investigation that looks at the deep subsurface life. This is of interest as a Mars analogue site for deep subsurface life on Mars. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Canadian provincial education systems play a vital role in developing the social and academic interests of youth who, typically, spend over thirty hours in classrooms per week. Yet, significant consistency in terms of provincial guidelines and teacher booklists restrict these classrooms’ approaches to diverse literary content. The lack of both diverse content and representative teachers can skew ongoing perceptions of identity, academic success, and later socio-economic security, especially for racialized students. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Alyssa’s research focuses on nuances in observer perceptions and treatment of tattooed colleagues based on tattoo content. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Lara is looking at Canadian documentary film through both a contemporary and historical lens, as well as the limits of radical pedagogy and activism. Some of the themes that interest her include environmental racism, Indigenous sovereignty and food security. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.  

My research focuses on looking at black holes. Some black holes are so energetic, that they tear up the bright hot matter spinning around them and funnel it into jets shooting out their top and bottom. And once in a while, we luck out and a few black holes are oriented so that the jets are pointed straight towards the earth! We call these kinds of black holes Blazars, and it’s my job to look at their most energetic and extreme cases and try to figure out if there are any neutrinos in those jets! If we can find neutrinos coming out of them, we can follow their trail back to what in the jet created them and learn more about black holes themselves! For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.