Naturally Speaking

In this episode, Paddy McCleave is joined by three amazing guests, Raheema Chunara, Maarya Omar, and Abimbola Abodunrin, to discuss racial inequality in academia.

PART 1: 

PART 2:

Racial inequality has been present in science throughout history and continues to be a widespread issue today. The belief that this is a thing of the past is incorrect. Today, research originating in countries where the primary language is not English continues to have lower acceptance rates into high-impact journals. This stems from the widespread use of English and the lack of appropriate measures for those whose first language is not English. A recent report by the Royal Society of Chemistry found that black scientists are unfairly disadvantaged when applying for funding.

These issues are present in all areas of academia including STEM, social science, and arts. Recently, as issues of race and inclusion continue to be at the forefront of academia, several Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion groups have taken action across universities and Schools, Including the School of Biodiversity One Health and Veterinary Medicine Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) group. 

Across the two parts of this episode, we discuss the role of EDI groups across the University, diversity at the University of Glasgow, and what the next steps are for tackling racial inequality to ensure we are not having the same conversations in 10 years time.

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Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]

Conferences are a major part of life in academia: they allow us to share our work, build collaborations, and find out more about the interesting work in our field. However, conferences aren’t always easy to navigate and can involve public speaking nerves and awkward interactions.

A panel of ‘Conference Survivors’, including Professor Shaun Killen and Dr David Bailey, explored the ins and outs of conference success (and misadventure) in an episode aired over 10 years ago! In this current episode, two PhD students, Mar Pineda and Graeme Cullen, bring their supervisors back for a discussion on what has stayed the same, what has changed, and most importantly how to continue surviving conferences.

Tune in for discussions of technological developments and the rise of the virtual conference as well as the dos and don’ts of networking, and as expected, some chaotic anecdotes.

Episode Podcast:

Following the podcast, our Conference Survivors were also asked to predict what the future of conferences will look like; which you can see below:

“In 10 years, I’m sure we will be able to attend conferences virtually and appear as whatever officially licensed or sponsored avatar we want. So you could give a talk as Darth Vader, King Kong, or Ronald McDonald. Whatever you want. My dream is to give a talk as Donatello of the Ninja Turtles.” – Professor Shaun Killen

Feature image: AI image generated in Canva.

Post: Mar Pineda and Graeme Cullen.

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Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]

Most of us will be familiar with the concept of ‘rewilding’, but what about ‘seawilding’? In this episode of Naturally Speaking, we are joined by SBOHVM’s very own Dr Anna McGregor to discuss her very exciting, important and interdisciplinary Scottish native oyster (Ostrea edulis) restoration project. She tells us about how Gaelic place names are being used in conjunction with cutting edge environmental science to help rescue Scotland’s marine biodiversity.

Anna is a key member of the aquatic sciences teaching team here in the department. She teaches on a huge range of marine and freshwater subjects. She also supervises numerous undergraduate and Masters student dissertations, as well as carrying out her own research. Anna’s research focuses on the use and understanding of sound in marine environments; for example, understanding the sounds of marine mammals and impacts from anthropogenic sounds on a variety of species.

All images courtesy of Dr Anna McGregor

Post: Graeme Cullen

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Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]

In this episode, Mar Pineda and Nic Strowbridge are joined by Professor Matthew Cobb from the University of Manchester. Professor Cobb is a researcher, author, and scientific communicator. He was voted as our postgraduate students’ number 1 choice for our 2023 Darwin Day speaker. He kindly accepted our invitation and presented a fantastic talk on chemical communication and smell.

His scientific work predominantly focuses on the evolution of smell, using examples of behaviour, genetics, and chemical communication. Alongside his scientific research, he has published many popular science books. Professor Cobb is also a contributing writer for the New Scientist and the Guardian, as well as a frequent guest on BBC Radio 4. A summary can be found here.

In this podcast, we mention some of Professor Cobb’s latest work looking into the history of the DNA double helix founders, James Watson, Francis Crick and Rosalind Franklin. Be sure to check it out here.

Feature image: Noses of the Hunterian Zoology Museum, taken by Mike Rutherford and Nic Strowbridge.

Post: Mar Pineda and Nic Strowbridge.

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Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]

Science communication is a vitally important component of research. It encourages community engagement and sharing of new discoveries, making exciting science accessible to the wider public. However, it is also a skill that can be difficult to master – how do we make science approachable to everyone?

In this episode, we have a conversation with Mariel ten Doeschate, a PhD student at SBOHVM studying statistical modelling techniques for marine animal strandings data. In addition to her PhD, Mariel works for the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) where a huge component of her work is helping to run their volunteer network and manage the citizen science aspect of the scheme. She also plays a leading role in delivering the annual SMASS Marine forum as well as various outreach events including talks, podcasts (like this one!) and workshops. As the winner of this year’s MVLS ‘Public Engagement: Engaged Early Career Researcher’ award, Mariel talks about her experiences with science communication and discusses how important it is for delivering effective citizen science projects. She also shares her top tips for when it comes to making research interesting and engaging to the public.

Feature image courtesy of SMASS.

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Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]

In this episode, Taya Forde and Paddy McCleave are joined by Thierry Boulinier, a director of research at CNRS Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive at the Université Montpellier. Thierry’s research focuses on the dispersal and dynamics of seabirds and their parasites, where he works with a range of collaborators, such as the French Polar Institute and, more recently, researchers here at The University of Glasgow. Here we talk about a range of topics, including the removal of invasive species, vaccination against avian cholera, and some of the challenges of working in remote areas.

Feature image courtesy of Thierry Boulinier, 2013.

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Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]

As consumers, we hope that the animals that provide our meat, milk, eggs, etc. are well cared-for and are kept in good welfare conditions. But what does this really mean in practice? This is the second of a pair of episodes that explore different aspects of farm animal welfare. In this episode, Naturally Speaking’s Taya Forde speaks with farmers Sarah and Steve Burchell who raise sheep on a hill farm in southwest Scotland. Tune in to hear about life on the farm, and the many different considerations for raising sheep under optimal conditions. This interview was conducted in late February, 2022.

Feature image courtesy of Eleanor Duncan, 2022

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Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod[CC BY 3.0]

Have you ever wondered what animal internet would look like? In this episode, Naturally Speaking’s Mohammad Saiful Islam Sajib and Taya Forde interview Dr. Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, a Lecturer in the School of Computing Science, and an associate at IBAHCM. Here, they talk about Ilyena’s work on Animal Connected Interfaces and how technology can play an important role in animal welfare. Intriguing topics of discussion include the “Dog phone”, a system that allows her dog, Zack, to make video calls whenever he is playing with his favorite toy.

For students interested in AACI projects
Website: https: //ilyena.com/opportunities/
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @Ilyena

Credits 

Feature image: Original artwork courtesy of Eleanor Duncan, 2022© 

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Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]

Feature image courtesy of Eleanor Duncan, 2022

Don’t forget you can subscribe to automatically receive all our latest content, or just our podcasts. We are also available on iTunes and other podcast catchers.

Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod[CC BY 3.0]

Ever wondered what it’s like inside a dead whale? In this podcast Masters student Sreedevi Gummuluri and Senior Research Fellow, Lucy Gilbert talk to Dr. Andrew Brownlow, a Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Epidemiology at IBAHCM. To celebrate Andrew’s 1st Anniversary at IBAHCM, he entertains us with tales from his lead role in the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS). Tune in to hear about the fascinating research and surveillance of large marine animals (such as whales, dolphins, seals, turtles, and basking sharks) that strand around the coast of Scotland. You can even contribute to the research by downloading the Beach Track App so that next time you’re walking along any part of the beautiful Scottish coastline, you can report whether or not you see a stranded animal (zeros are just as important!).

Beach Track App

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.natural_apptitude.strandings&hl=en (android)

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/apple-store/id1438498205 (Apple store)

#IBAHCMprojects are available for #PGTstudents – if interested, get in touch!

Feature image courtesy of Andrew Brownlow, SMASS 2019 ©

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Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod[CC BY 3.0]