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

Starting off with discussing Queen’s first International Education Week and why this event was such a good match to Rubaiyat’s own research. The purpose of her study is to investigate the influence of first language (L1) and individual culture of multilingual international undergraduate students (MIUS) on their academic English language (L2) writing, and how best to support them to become successful L2 writers in the Canadian academic context.

Laura’s research at Queen’s combines numerical modeling, remote sensing, and in-situ observational data to offer a more comprehensive understanding of the coastal nearshore environment especially during coastal storm events, such as hurricanes. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chap webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Stud ies website – https://www.queensu.ca/sgs/grad-chat

Canada has the highest prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the world; 1 in 140 Canadians suffer from the disease. One of the most common and debilitating symptoms of IBD is abdominal pain. Traditionally, opioids are used to manage pain. While effective, they are accompanied by severe side effects (e.g., addiction and increased risk of death). Thus, there is an unmet need for safe and effective strategies to manage pain in IBD, without the adverse side effects associated with conventional opioid treatment. The legalization of cannabis in Canada may increase the number of patients with IBD who choose to use cannabis to manage pain. 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

Homecoming and the importance of alumni connections, what an IDP can do to help you in your journey, our new professional development framework and why we wanted to change it. To find out what’s coming up next go to

When you see barriers to getting involved in field research, what do you do about it? Emily and Kristen share their passion that resulted in the formation of QOFEI (pronounced Coffee). To see upcoming Grad Chats go to – https://www.queensu.ca/sgs/grad-chat    

Overview: My research topic is around the foreign body reaction (FBR) which describes a patient’s biological response to an implanted material or device, and includes tissue injury, blood-material interactions, provisional matrix formation, acute and chronic inflammation, and fibrous matrix deposition surrounding the implant. The inflammatory response to the implant can impair its performance and lifespan. This research focus is on strategies to attenuate the foreign body response (FBR) towards implanted biomaterial without losing the protection of host immune system. 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

Overview: I am interested in understanding how and why people walk the way they do. I leverage robotic exoskeletons to change people’s natural way of walking, and I investigate how they adapt to this new environment. I am also the manager of the Queen’s Ergonomics Consulting Program (QECP), and we conduct ergonomic assessments for Queen’s staff and faculty members. Recently, we conducted a survey to investigate how everyone adapted to working from home To see more upcoming Grad Chats visit the Queen’s School of Graduate Studies website.

“In response to ongoing and systemic Racism in both Canada and the United States, students within the Queen’s University Department of Public Health Sciences expressed interest in improving our understanding of Racist Policy in epidemiology and public health. With this, we decided to form the Racial Considerations in Epidemiology (RaCE) Task Force, where we could meet to develop, share, and express our ideas and understanding of the literature on this topic.” For more episodes of Grad Chat go to Queen’s University, School of Graduate Studies website

Topic: What’s happening in Fall 2021! Overview: Looking at professional development workshops, the new Individual Development Plan, Career Week and more

A look into Queen’s PHD-Community Initiative – Team United talks about their project titled “Resilient Kingston” Presented by Team United – Emma, Nancy, Skylar, Philip and mentor Jane

CJ the DJ talks to Kim Krezenozki from the School of Graduate Studies on a new initiative for grad students, the Summer Wellness Series.

Topic: Wrap up for the Winter term Overview: Bloopers, wellness, technology, community. Listen in to find out how we have all fared over the past year and what’s install for summer. Here about our students resiliency.

Topic: How does a Resident in Anesthesiology fit in time to do a masters and what is the connection? Overview: Daenis comes from a nursing background, is now an MD and doing his residency in Anesthesiology, it is no wonder he wants to contribute in other areas. The MSc in Healthcare Quality, helps improve healthcare quality, risk and safety in Canada and worldwide. Daenis explains how.

Topic: Storytelling as Medicine: Autoethnography of a Two-Spirit Anishinaabe Nurse Practitioner. Overview: Looking at decolonising health care practices, Zongwe’s research will explore the use of a ceremonial self-reflective practice to promote resilience and address compassion fatigue in nurses. Zongwe creates social change through storytelling in her podcast, “Under the Same Stars” and weekly radio show, “Zee’s Place” on CILU 102.7FM. Want to learn more? Go to Zongwe’s website – https://www.zongwebinesikwe.com/

Topic: Queen’s Annual Northern Research Symposium. Overview: What is the Northern Research Symposium and why it is important to all of us. Learn more and how to participate on the Symposium website

Topic: “How does the coordination of your lower body change based on how high you jump?”. Overview: By understanding the lower extremity coordination patterns that people use to jump to submaximal and maximal heights, my research can help further knowledge in how to train athletes to jump higher and how to help athletes recover following injury. If you are interested in finding out more about Robert’s work, follow his twitter account – www.twitter.com/RobMackowiak

Topic: Understanding the lived experiences of spouses who are separated in long-term care facilities. . Overview: The aim of my research is to explore the lived experiences of older adults who are separated from their partners in two separate long-term care facilities – specifically in relation to feelings of loneliness and isolation

Topic: Women’s Representation in New Democracies: Underrepresentation of Ethnic Minority Women in Burmese Politics. Overview: My research will investigate how political parties’ actions and attitudes contribute to this underrepresentation, particularly in regions with high concentrations of ethnic minorities.

Topic: Zambian Political History. Overview: I am studying the Chona Commission, a constitutional review commission that ushered in the era of the single party state in post colonial Zambia, 1972/3

Topic: Racialized sexual attractions and sexual responses Overview: I’m specifically interested in examining Black people’s sexual responses relative to white people’s.

Topic: ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) in the Canadian energy sector Overview: I am taking a deep dive into sustainability reporting for major Canadian energy companies to identify gaps and key areas that are material to their business, which may help to de-risk some of the social, political, and technological issues as well as public perception related to different types of energy development (fossil fuels, nuclear, renewables etc.).

Topic: The Double Minority Dilemma and Conflict Settlement Negotiations in Cyprus and Northern Ireland. Overview: My research outlines the theory of the Double Minority Dilemma (DMD) which argues that each community’s security dilemma is defined by their perception of their own minority status both domestically and in combination with the geopolitical environment of third-party actors, which serves to justify their “cause.”.

Topic: Retinal Implants. Overview: My research looks at ways to lower the cost of retinal implants for people with age-related macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa, two of the most common outer retinal degenerative problems and the predominant cause of most blind related diseases.

Topic: Changing the landscape: A critical race informed narrative inquiry of a Canadian University told by racialized students.. Overview: The proposed research study will use community based participatory research principle that prioritize racialized student experiences to design, conduct and assess a training resource to progress diversity , equity and inclusion from a state of awareness to action for faculty and staff.

Topic: The Galaxy Manifold: A statistical and systematic analysis of intrinsic galaxy properties. Overview: I am exploring a multi-dimensional approach to galaxy modeling. Most traditional analysis is performed on correlations of two parameters at a time. I am developing a framework for examining trends in any number of parameters simultaneously. I use machine learning models and techniques to fully extract all available information. By determining which parameters are fundamentally linked to each other, I can connect models of galaxy formation to real observations and possibly learn about the nature of dark matter. Listen to Fast Radio Bursts on podcast, bring exciting space news hot off the telescope into your ears.

Topic: The long-term ecological consequences of gold mining operations, urbanization, and climatic changes on sub-Arctic lakes near Yellowknife (Northwest Territories, Canada). Overview: The lack of long-term environmental monitoring data poses significant challenges to understanding the impacts of past anthropogenic activities on freshwater ecosystems. However, we can use natural archives (e.g. lake sediments that accumulate continuously) to fill this knowledge gap.

Topic: Using paleolimnology to reconstruct past seabird populations. Overview: Most seabird populations are in decline. However, because of sparse monitoring it is impossible to know when the population began to decline. My research uses lake sediments to address this lack in delivery. I am to answer key questions in conservation biology, such as “What are the drivers of seabird decline” and “what is natural, before human interference?”

Topic: Ideology, Production, and Reproduction in the work of Virginia Woolf, Marie Stopes, and H.D. Overview: My research looks at how the emergence of debates in the 1920s and 30s regarding reproduction and sexuality influenced the work of three modernist writers.

Topic: What’s Up 2021! Overview: Suyin (aka DJ Bear), asks CJ the DJ what to expect in 2021.

Topic: Diet, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Pain Overview: My research looks at how a popular food additive, monosodium glutamate (MSG), can cause pain in a pre-clinical model of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). The goal is to provide a neuronal mechanism that underlies MSG’s ability to trigger pain in this patient group.

Topic: The rold of women orchestral conductors, particularly within the Canadian context. Overview: Although in the early stages of my research, my current focus has been identifying some of the ways in which women are excluded from orchestral conducting at the highest levels. This includes mentorship and educational shortfalls, gender bias and media representation.

Topic: Towards improving the education that mental health professionals receive about transgender-spectrum health Overview: Sofia’s Master’s thesis aims to develop an instrument that measures mental health professionals’ knowledge, skills, and awareness (KSA) about trans health. Having this instrument is an essential starting point for the design of better educational practices that will improve mental health trainees’ KSA towards trans healthcare. Her work on this project is funded through the Ontario Women’s Health Scholars award and the Canadian Graduate Scholar Master’s level award (SSHRC).

Topic: Grad Student, Parent, Teacher – Coping with Covid Overview: Join CJ the DJ and Suyin Olguin as they chat about a grad students life during the pandemic. How you balance your own work, with parenting and teaching duties.

Topic: Life Skills Training For Therapy Assistant Students Overview: College students often struggle with basic life skills such as coping skills and managing finances, leading to challenges with coping, academic performance, practicum, and employability. Rehabilitation students who are expected to work on life skills with clients can face particular challenges if they lack experience or competence in these areas themselves, so this research targets students in rehabilitation diploma programs. The purpose of this study is to improve therapy assistant students’ life skills to improve their short-term success as students and long-term success in launching their careers.

Topic: Studying bird-window collisions on the Queen’s University main campus Overview: Aiming to estimate the number of annual collisions on main campus and test the effectiveness of collision mitigation film so it can be incorporated into campus planning.

Topic: The Lives of Monkeys in Costa Rican Sanctuaries Overview: Despite Costa Ricas’ ‘green’ reputation, their monkey populations are at risk. My work addresses the call for interdisciplinary in tourism research by drawing on animal welfare, conservation, tourism and animal studies to understand the entangled lives of monkeys and humans, and what a ‘good life’ looks like for a monkey in a sanctuary.

Topic: Microfluidics for cell studies Overview: The microfluidic devices are well suited for the study of individual cells since the small scale of operation allows for the manipulation of these cells. Microfluidic devices can be used to sort and isolate individual cells for analysis as well as to create different on-chip conditions to study the cells’ responses. In my research, I design these devices, computationally simulate the conditions in the device, and fabricate these devices for experimentation with the cells.

Topic: Queen’s Reads – Other Side of the Game Overview: Clarissa will explain this year’s programming for Queen’s Read book, the Other Side of the Game, by Amanda Parris.

Topic: Queen’s Grad Students In Action – Part 2 Overview: Want to know what some of our graduate students do on the side! Three grad students will talk about their research and volunteering with tours recently during Doors Open Kingston at the Lower Burial Ground.

Topic: Queen’s Grad Students In Action – Part 1 Overview: Want to know what some of our graduate students do on the side! Listen to 3 grad students talk about their research and volunteering with tours recently during Doors Open Kingston at the Lower Burial Ground.

Topic: How planners can help Cities and Towns even during a pandemic Overview: Claire talks about “Public transportation Covid-19 response and recovery” and Stephan talks about the “Quite Streets Pilot in Kingston”

Topic: Asian Mixed Race Identity Creation in Contemporary North American Literature. Overview: I am interested in looking at genres and forms of literature to see how multiracial people with Asian heritage construct their identities. These forms include the novel, memoir/creative non-fiction, and poetry

Topic: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Polar Bear Co-Management in a Changing Arctic. Overview: Polar bears are a species of significance to Inuit culturally, spiritually, economically, and for subsistence. This makes including Inuit understandings of polar bear health under changing climatic conditions of great importance to the co-management of polar bears across the Canadian Arctic..

Topic: Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of A Community-based Water Exercise Transition Program for Individuals with Chronic Stroke. Overview: Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability in Canada. By designing a step-down exercise program to bridge the gap between formal rehabilitation and community exercise, I hope to demonstrate a feasible and acceptable option to manage and support chronic stroke survivors in our communities. 

Topic: How perceptions of Greco-Roman cults affected the development and use of music in Early Christianity Overview: Throughout my research, I hope to show a lineage of how trance and altered states of consciousness (ASCs) induced through music function within the religious experience of Dionysian rituals and how it leads to how early Christians either accepted or rejected specific musical practices throughout their own rituals and worship, especially surrounding percussive instruments and dance. 

Topic: Foreign Relations: Contemporary Travel Writing and the Unsettling Poetics of Foreign Space Overview: Robyn studies contemporary travel writing and how it shapes our ideas about what it means for a person, place, or thing to be ‘foreign’ in the world today. 

Topic: Celestial Bodies and Spiritual Possessions Overview: Jhordan's thesis explores the representation of religion and superstition in the work of two Jamaican novelists Kei Miller and Marlon James. Through that exploration he also uncovers new perspectives on the colonial and postcolonial histories of Jamaica that continue to shape ideas of race, gender, and violence throughout the  Caribbean Diaspora. In his research he reveals pathways to self-possession that complicate ideas of religious freedom, poetic faith, and the praxis of being human Volume 90%00:00

Topic: The cultural production of Muslim youth of the 1.5 and second generation Overview: My research is interested in the identity construction of Muslim youth who grew up in the shadow of 9/11 and more importantly the global war on terror. I examine art by and about Muslim youth to analyze how the ongoing social and political discussion around Islam and Muslims shaped the identity of young Muslims who have not known a world prior to the events of 9/11. 

Topic: Scholars of Colour in Watson Hall Overview: Join CJ the DJ for a conversation with Scholars of Colour at Watson Hall. Safa Moussoud, Jhordan Layne, Suyin Olguin (PhD English), & recent graduate Dr. Aprajita Sarcar (PhD History will be discussing their academic research and their experiences of being graduate students of colour at Queen's. Web page - https://scholarsofcolourwatsonhall.wordpress.com/ Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/2137437043038266/posts/3032486900199938/?vh=e&d=n

Topic: Land reconciliation, a new critical geography of peace in the Ecuadorian Amazon: Empowering Shuar resilience and resurgence through two-eyed learning. Overview: This research will work in collaboration with the Shuar community in Ecuador, specifically with the community of Chiriap, Shuar family lineage who are seeking to conserve and preserve both their ancestral knowledge and land against rising mining interests in their territory. For more information and to help this community go to the crowdfunding campaign