Grad Chat - Queen's School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs

Wrestling was the first non-running event added to the ancient Olympics in the 18th Olympiad in 708 BCE. Wrestling continued to appear in Greek and Roman art and literature all the way up to the end of antiquity, leaving behind a large archaeological legacy over a period of a thousand years. This long history reflects a level of importance and prestige associated with the sport that is deserving of further study. By applying a modern and practical understanding of grappling sports to the descriptions and images found in the ancient world, this research aims to illuminate further details about the sport. 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

Today we talk about opportunities that graduate students have during their graduate journey. We all know that for the specific degree there are certain academic requirements – comprehensive exams and ultimately the thesis and defense. But there are other opportunities that graduate students can sign up for if they wish to. We are going to talk about some of those opportunities today and why should they consider them. 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

In Ghana, education has been considered the potential driver to achieving sustainable development and reducing systemic inequalities (Ghana Education Service, 2019). Equitable access to inclusive education is inextricably connected to all the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UNESCO, 2020). For several decades, there have been attempts by the government to transform Ghana’s educational system. Nonetheless, key evidence from the Ministry of Education (2018) indicates that, although primary school learners stay in schools between 4 and 7 hours every day for six years, most learners are not achieving the minimum proficiency in basic numeracy and scientific inquiry. 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

My research explores the role of ecological farmer training programs in supporting the development of new farm entrants through an in-depth case study of the Kingston and Area Farmer Training Program. 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

Polymeric materials are used for personal care products, drugs, tissues, organs, sensors, batteries, coatings among numerous applications. Currently, these products are made in organic solvents (e.g., methanol, butanol), which are toxic and incompatible for human use. Therefore, there is a need to make these products in water, which is biocompatible and environmentally friendly. The mass production of these materials will make these products accessible for public use. Water-soluble materials make the world greener and can replace products from these solvents. 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  

Mental health services in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut for children aged 0-5 are fragmented. Supporting mental wellness during the first years of life positively impacts mental and physical health all along the life course. Inuit families experience mental health challenges at higher rates than non-Indigenous Canadians. Utilizing a determinants of health lens to examine the domains that influence early childhood mental health, this research will examine the lived experience of families, caregivers, Elders, service providers and community knowledge holders in Cambridge Bay in accessing services impacting early childhood mental health. The research is meant to map existing supports, identify areas to be developed and describe the degree to which separate program areas ought to be integrated. 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

Why is there need for affordable housing and how can policies assist? 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 the unprecedented events around COVID Mona decided to leverage her polymer knowledge and apply it to better understand the Corona virus. 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

The effects of infertility, mode of conception and endometriosis on congenital anomalies are unknown. The overall objective of this study is to fill this knowledge gap and delineate the effects of infertility, mode of conception and endometriosis on the risk of congenital anomalies using population-based administrative data in Ontario.

Education Development Associates (EDAs) are graduate students who work closely with an Educational Developer at the Centre of Teaching and Learning (CTL) to design and deliver programming to support graduate students’ and post-doctoral fellows’ ongoing professional development as educators. In this episode of grad chat, Karalyn McRae and Clarissa de Leon from the EDA team will share the wide variety of ways graduate students and post-doctoral fellows can connect with the CTL. Specifically, they will be sharing information about two recently launched online modules on Indigenizing and decolonizing teaching and learning and anti-racist learning environments. 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

Grad Chat -Suyin Olguin & Colette Steer: What to Expect in 2023

Grad Chat: X-Mas Wrap-Up with Suyin Olguin and Colette Steer

Ali Sheikh (Mechanical & Materials Engineering) -Acoustics and the Aviation Industry. Synopsis of Research: A novel acoustic panel that allows for sub-wavelength attenuation of specific, tunable frequencies at ultra-thin depths.

Paulina Finak — Environmental Factors Related to Literacy Development for People with Physical Disabilities who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Supervised by Dr. Beata Batorowicz

Two students in very different fields of research (Cancer Research and Biomedical Engineering) discuss the opportunities of being a part of the S2BN.

Assessing how to guide the selection of appropriate treatments using polymers for environmental remediation. 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

Isabella’s research stems from a desire to learn more about the biological basis of narcolepsy, a sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and “sleep attacks”. The cause of narcolepsy has previously been linked to a neuropeptide called orexin that is involved in keeping us awake. When orexin signalling is disrupted, either by altering orexin itself or its receptors, the result is narcoleptic behaviour. Model organisms provide researchers with a simplified system in which complex disorders can be studied. One such organisms widely used in genetic studies is Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), a small, soil-dwelling nematode worm. 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

Ozlem investigates five Trump Era narratives of irregular migration from Central America and Mexico to the United States with respect to their discussion of justice. 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

Our lab studies immune dysfunction within the female gynecological disease of endometriosis. My specific project is looking at the relationship between a protein called interleukin 33, or IL-33, and a type of immune cell known as group 2 innate lymphoid cells, and how their contributing to disease severity and symptomology. 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

Ever wondered what it means for students to practice presenting and talking about their research? Then this session runs through just that. 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

I research how humans perceive liminal animals in Western society – which is very negatively – and how we could improve this. To establish that this perception is rooted within our cultural understanding of liminal animals, I built on personal experience of living in multiple countries all over the world as well as research done by other scholars as to why the same liminal animals are perceived differently around the world. Confirming that there is indeed a cultural bias against liminal animals, I establish a framework for how these animals are perceived negatively and what can be done to change these (often wrong) perceptions. 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

OR in other words – Precisely and Reliably Capturing Tiny Liquid Volumes The challenge of pipetting small volumes, i.e., sub-microliter amounts, is ubiquitous among the fields of biology, chemistry, and engineering. While accurately and precisely pipetting at the sub-microliter level is indeed a dilemma, the issue is further compounded when dealing with non-aqueous solutions, e.g., biofluids, non-volatile organics, and volatile organics, especially at non-ambient conditions, i.e., elevated or lowered temperatures. Furthermore, given a suitable sub-microliter pipetting technique that accommodates these challenging liquids and their idiosyncrasies, the technique should be potentially automatable, or integrable with automation, for use with assay development and high-throughput screening. My research project aims to circumvent some of the issues associated with handling small volumes of challenging liquids in a manner that is compatible with existing automation systems, namely modified 3D printers and a commercially-available pipetting robot. By using cheap stock materials and pre-existing automation systems, this project will develop a novel “pipetting” technique that reproducibly meters nanoliter-scale liquid volumes for subsequent proof-of-concept testing with an automated well plate-based assay

Everyone’s immune systems work a bit differently. Many Canadians have allergic diseases such as asthma, food allergy and allergic rhinitis. These people are subject to Th2 skewing which is when there is more Th2 cytokines in their body. It is unknown if underlying Th2 skewing impacts one’s response to the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. Understanding the antibody responses of this specific population s could allow us to make suggestions on vaccine schedules for this population. Further the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted those with chronic illness, including allergic disease, which we will also investigate.   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

Interprofessional education (IPE) activities have occurred in health education institutions in over 40 countries worldwide (Herath et al., 2017). The World Health Organization (2010) defines interprofessional education as students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chap webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

Overview of the tapestry of Canadian law that governs privacy, especially around photo/video gathering and use at higher education institutions in Canada. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat  

The aim of this dissertation is to address notable gaps in the literature on social prescribing, namely the lack of an agreed definition of social prescribing and the lack of evidence around social prescribing for children and youth. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chap webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

CJ the DJ chats with Caitlin Muhl in this episode.

In this episode of Grad Chat, host Colette Steer sits down with Julia Hale who just defended her Master of Education thesis on the “Connection between physical coordination and school success in high school students.” Hale’s work was supervised by Dr. Kristy Timmons.

India, over 6 million primary school-age children do not attend school, and among them, children with disabilities are disproportionately represented. The school’s built environment is one important aspect that influences access to education as it can enable or restrict the participation of children with disabilities.

As with the rest of the world, University life is ever changing and not just because of COVID-19. Suyin talks about how school has changed for her, how her aspirations have changed and how she has managed to balance her studies and her personal life.

Alyssa studies the indirect victims of workplace safety incidents, from family members to leaders at work. Her goal is to gain an understanding of how best we can support leaders and families when severe safety incidents and tragedies occur.

Yiyi’s research engages in a critical dialogue between contemporary environmental writing and ecocriticism in China and the Asian North American context. Specifically, she introduces recent scholarly developments in contemporary Chinese ecocriticism, including increasing interest in Chinese North American environmental literature, to Western academe. The overall objective is to promote knowledge mobility in general, and international ecocritical dialogue in particular, between East and West, with a focus on the intersection of the environment and race as represented in literary works.

A geochemical and mineralogical study of drill core fracture coatings from the Oberon gold deposit, Northern Territory, Australia. Understanding how elements move around near ore systems and how those signatures are recorded within the surrounding rocks and overburden is very important for reducing the search space in mineral exploration, which in term reduces the cost associated with ore discovery.

This doctoral research-creation project uses an embodied auto-ethnographic methodology to investigate how comics about sexual violence can reduce survivors’ risk of reception (the risk of being triggered) through the implementation of distancing narrative features (aesthetics that provide emotional distance). Melanie has also co-authored a book called “The Bum Drum Conundrum” that teaches children about consent and that it is ok to say “no”. Warning – The following episode of Grad Chat will discuss sexual violence, which some listeners might find troubling and/or triggering. Discretion is advised.

University researchers from the Beaty Water Research Centre (BWRC) with universities and utility companies across Ontario are collaborating through the Wastewater Surveillance Initiative (WSI). Through the collaborative efforts of scientists, engineers and epidemiologists, wastewater surveillance of COVID-19 RNA has rapidly evolved.

In cadaveric biomechanics, fresh-frozen (FF) thawed specimens are considered the industry standard; maintaining high fidelity to in vivo counterparts. However, longevity concerns associated with rapid decomposition of soft tissues result in low reproducibility of testing and a short working window for these specimens. There are alternatives, but which is best?

Using an interdisciplinary approach, Bryan questions how farmers in our region are coping with some of the agriculture sectors biggest risks; climate change, environmental degradation, and market volatility. Studying a diverse set of farmers, ranging from small scale organic vegetable farmers to large scale corn and soy farmers, reveals varying ideas of what exactly makes up a resilient farm.

  Exploring how those involved in parasport learn about classification so as to develop, implement, and evaluate an educational tool to teach parasport stakeholders about classification.

While the young climate movement has gained increasing attention in popular media, the movement is still largely absent from the climate literature. The studies that have been done tend to focus on one type of activism and not include the voices of activists themselves. This research aims to understand what motivations lie behind these organizations and how that may differ between them based on perceptions, goals, and objectives.

I examine what affective change towards an ethical space, process and practice of engagement can be achieved in polar bear research and management through aesthetic action? For more information on Saskia’s work go to her website – https://www.gingertheworld.com/

Situating itself within the context of the COVID-19 outbreak that crystallizes the blurring separation between life and work, this paper explores how young graduates living in the urban in Turkey navigate uncertainty in the face of the shifting the meaning of work and education, increasing precarity and the rise of mental health issues associated with the loss of safety nets and the prolonged exposure to social and physical isolation.

Studying accessible and inclusive design practices in the apparel industry. For more information on Emily’s start up where she is putting theory into practice go to her website – Emske Designs

In an era of connectivity and automation, the vehicle industry is adopting various technologies to transfer driver-centric vehicles to intelligent mechanical devices driven by software components. However, software integration and network connectivity inherit numerous security issues. Despite the raised necessity to adopt security methodologies during the development of automotive systems, we notice a lack of studies recognizing the importance of security during vehicle software engineering. Our research strives to provide practical and comprehensive solutions that manage the unique architecture of Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) and strengthen the security of automotive software systems, making CAVs more resilient to cyberattacks.

What’s happening in 2022 for the School of Graduate Studies, our graduate students and our postdoctoral fellows

Wrapping up 2021, the 2nd year of the pandemic did not stop our graduate students and their research.

What does it mean to have sound recordings of extinct birds, and how do they alter/ impact the ways that we remember and mourn lost species.

People experiencing psychosis identify intimate/romantic/sexual relationships as integral to their well-being, quality of life, and recovery. However, the experience of psychotic symptoms, cognitive deficits, and stigma during early episode psychosis disrupts one’s ability to develop the interpersonal skills, mastery, and confidence necessary to form these relationships.

I aim to identify prototype pan-coronavirus attachment inhibitors to enhance our pandemic preparedness For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chap webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies website – https://www.queensu.ca/sgs/grad-chat

Line will discuss her research, and her journey as a graduate student to prepare for the job market.

Starting off with discussing Queen’s recent Digitalization Conference and then how the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically shifted the ways in which we understand and engage with the workplace.