Launched in 2020, Research Chat is a podcast showcasing graduate students' research and experiences at Wilfrid Laurier University. Each episode features two students exploring similar areas of interest, who interview each other across episodes.
Each podcast is complemented by an article and supplementary materials which provides more detail about the students’ research amd topic of discussion. Graduate student participants are trained and coached through writing a clear language article about their research and how to interview each other, and speak about their research. If you are interested in participating in future seasons, please email Paula Fletcher at pfletcher@wlu.ca.
The previous seasons of Research Chat is also available, which features graduate students discussing a variety of topics including: risk management by insurance companies, climate change action, improving hiring practices, babies without birth registration, a recreation program for disabled kids, and giving voice to the voiceless.
Research Chat is a partnership between the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, WLU Library/WLUPress and the Office of Research, and was recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnawbe and Haudenosaunee peoples.
"The plain language and conversational format of Research Chat provides an excellent venue for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to reach both traditional and non-traditional audiences, and a means to enhance the impact of their research and findings."
Brent Wolfe, Associate Vice-President and Dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
In this episode, Seth McCarthy (he/him), a PhD student in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at Laurier, and works in Dr. Tom Hazell’s Energy Metabolism Research Laboratory. His research focuses on the role of lactate, a substance produced in the body when we exercise, and when/if/how we experience hunger after exercising.
This episode interviews Gabe Massarotto (he/him), an MSc student in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at Laurier. His research focuses on the effect of high-intensity exercise on learning and memory. This research, which uses 3D technology to test memory recall, may help explain why high-intensity exercise can benefit memory and navigation recall.
In this episode, Patrícia Ferreira (she/her), a PhD student in Biological and Chemical Sciences and 2022 WinS Hypatia winner, explains that not all animals have a stomach. Her research explores why the stomach evolved and tries to explain what it does. Her research uses the power of CRISPR gene editing to create fish that have no stomachs and then uses these animal models to explore why organisms have stomachs and what the implications are of having a stomach, or not.
Hiromichi Kato (he/him), a PhD student in the Department of Mathematics uses the power of math to inform financial market decisions. Hiro uses mathematical models to calculate accurate derivative values. By providing more accurate derivative values, stock market traders have a better way of assessing credit risks. This ensures that mathematical models that are used to calculate credit risks, as part of risk assessments, better reflect today's real markets and are as useful and accurate as possible tools for financial decision-making.
In this episode, Carla Johnston (she/her), a PhD student in Global Governance at the School of International Policy and Governance at Laurier and member of the Northern Food Systems Research Group, Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, describes her ongoing research. Her work examines the link between global and local food policy and ensures Indigenous knowledge and voices are included at all levels of food policy discussions.
This episode interviews, Carolyn Brown (she/her), a PhD student in the Biological and Chemical Sciences program at Laurier. Her research focuses on making Environmental Impact Assessments as valuable and informative as possible to address developments' environmental impacts. Specifically, she focuses on fish health near the Mactaquac Hydroelectric Generation Station (MGS), upstream of Fredericton, New Brunswick on the Wolastoq | Saint John River, as part of the Mactaquac Aquatic Ecosystem Study.
This episode interviews Ali Hosseini (he/him), a PhD student in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. The program is a joint program between Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Waterloo and the Centre for International Governance Innovation Think Tank. He speaks about his experience working in the United Nations Human Rights Program in Afghanistan which has informed his research focusing on the failure of the international community to assist Afghanistan citizens in accepting democratic values.
Hari KC (he/him), is a Postdoctoral Fellow working at the Balsillie School of International Affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University. In this episode, he explains his recently completed PhD research that explored international migration flows, centred on Nepal. His work examines and makes recommendations for changes in international labour migration, through the lens of Nepali women migrant domestic workers. His work details existing gender inequalities in Nepal that are perpetrated by Nepalese migration policies. He is affiliated with the International Migration Research Centre.
In this episode, Emily Kraemer (she/her), who completed her Master of Applied Politics degree at Laurier, shares her research findings from an Equity Diversity and Inclusion study completed in partnership with the Region of Waterloo. Emily’s research focused on diversity in municipal policy settings and how diversity enriches good decision-making at the municipal level.
In this episode, Hannah McGurk (she/her), who completed her Master of Applied Politics degree at Laurier, shares her research findings from a report that analyses municipal responses to homeless encampments. The report emerged from a community-engaged research project with the Region of Waterloo and provides a comparison of encampment protocols among six municipalities, through a human rights lens. As part of her graduate degree, McGurk specialized in Canadian housing policy and co-authored an article on the regulation of unsheltered homelessness in Canada. McGurk’s research has been sought after by the Region of Waterloo and non-profit organizations, including the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness.
Research Chat would not be possible without the following contributors:
"I hope that Research Chat builds our sense of conducting research as a part of a community of scholars and brings out the human element of research in a way that other forms of research communications cannot."
Jonathan Newman, Vice-President: Research
