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Peatlands are wetland ecosystems that are home to at-risk species, tremendous biodiversity, and are responsible for storing huge amounts of carbon. In fact, peatlands are the largest natural carbon source in the world, making them instrumental in mitigating the effects of global warming. However, being a large carbon sink is a double-edged sword because these peatlands release large amounts of carbon when they burn through wildfires. Evidently, it is important to understand the factors that may make peatlands more vulnerable to wildfires to potentially intervene and even restore these ecosystems. But, what are these factors?

Burnout - a state of exhaustion, stress, and disillusionment - has increased across the workforce, especially in healthcare providers. In these settings, burnout can lead to poor outcomes for patient care, safety, and retention. In order to have the best outcomes for patients, healthcare providers must understand what factors can increase their morale and prevent burnout. But, what are those factors? Nicole Rakowski, a 2nd year PhD student in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Degroote School of Business, aims to identify factors that can create strong and healthy teams among healthcare providers to ultimately provide the best patient experience possible. Tune in to learn more abut Nicole's research and its important implications!

The North is warming at a much faster rate compared to the rest of the world through a process known as Arctic amplification. In Canada, particularly in Yukon, this warming has resulted in more precipitation falling as rain rather than snow. These precipitation changes have several consequences, including changes in vegetation. Erin Nicholls, a 4th year PhD Candidate in the School of Earth, Environment, and Society, is interested in understanding how these changes in the types of vegetation can impact the water cycle. Tune in to learn more about Erin's impactful research and her academic journey towards her PhD! 

Our immune response becomes less effective as we age and makes us more susceptible to infections. For instance, macrophages - white blood cells that eat up foreign pathogens - not only become slower and less effective at destroying these pathogens, but can also cause a chronic, pro-inflammatory state in the body. But, what are the mechanisms underlying poor macrophage function and susceptibility to lung infections in older adults? Kevin Zhao, a 1st year PhD student in the Department of Medicine, aims to understand these mechanisms and also examine potential drug candidates that can improve macrophage function, and thus protect against lung infections. Tune in to learn more about Kevin's research, the MD/PhD program at McMaster, and his interest in sci-fi!

For the second year in a row, McMaster is back with its GradFlix competition! GradFlix is a university-wide competition for graduate students where they create a 60 second video showcasing their research.

Interested? Nervous? On the fence? Fret not! Dr. John Bandler, who has mentored hundreds of students in these competitions, and Megan Vierhout, a PhD student and finalist in last year's GradFlix competition, are here to help! Tune in to learn more about the upcoming GradFlix competition, the workshop that Dr. Bandler and Megan are leading on February 8, and how you can make GradFlix part of your academic journey!

Other GradFlix-related resources include: Connecting with your audience, delivering your best (Part 1 and Part 2) and Competitive presentations & competitive speaking: a personal perspective

The deadline to register for GradFlix is February 25, 2022. You can register here. To learn more about GradFlix, click here.

Free electrons are responsible for a metal's conductive properties. When light hits these free electrons, they collectively oscillate to create a 'surface plasmon'. Surface plasmons can harvest and focus light on the nanoscale, allowing for an enhancement of light-matter interactions. Milenka, a 3rd year PhD student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, is investigating plasmonic properties in semiconductors and how the addition of certain elements to semiconductors can optimize their plasmonic properties. Tune in to learn more about Milenka's research, her research goals, and her favourite bike trail in Hamilton!

Joe Muise is a physics teacher at St. Thomas More Collegiate in Burnaby, BC, a CAP, NSTA, Vernier & Prime Minister’s Award Winner, and Step Up Ambassador. On this week's episode, Adam talks to Joe about teaching physics, changing the way students think of a physics education (interested in finance or medicine? You might like physics), and the Canadian Undergraduate Physics Conference panel he was a part of.   

Follow Joe on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/jm_muise 

Check out the Step Up physics program: https://engage.aps.org/stepup/home 

Students on the Beamlines, hosted by Canadian Light Sources: https://www.lightsource.ca/public/education/programs/students-on-the-beamline.php  

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this, please share! And if you can, please consider supporting us on www.Patreon.com/scican . Each like, share, and subscribe helps us make interviews, articles, and projects like this one happen.   

See ya next time!

Historically, people with menstrual cycles have been excluded from scientific studies due to concerns about how hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle may affect research findings. This exclusion and underrepresentation in the health literature have significant implications as research suggests that there are important sex differences in health and wellness, including response to exercise. When our muscle cells are exposed to exercise, it causes micro tears which stimulates muscle cells to repair and regenerate. One important player in the process of muscle cell regeneration are satellite cells which are muscle stem cells. While research has shown that there are sex differences in the post-exercise satellite cell response, the underlying mechanisms that may be causing these differences remain unknown. Mai Wageh, a 3rd year PhD Candidate in the Department of Kinesiology, explains how hormones, specifically estrogen and progesterone, may contribute to these observed differences. Tune in to learn more about satellite cells and the important implications that Mai’s research has!

You can follow Mai on twitter here

P.S. if you’re interested in learning more about how women have largely been understudied in scientific research, you can check out Angela Saini’s book, Inferior

Antibiotics are compounds that fight bacterial infections by either slowing the growth of bacteria or killing them. Antibiotics generally work by inhibiting processes and pathways needed for bacterial growth and/or survival. Enzymes necessary for bacterial growth/virulence (which are absent in mammals) are promising antimicrobial targets. But, how do we know what this inhibitor should look like?  

Pallavi Mukherjee, a 3rd year PhD Candidate in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, aims to answer this question with her research! Tune in to learn more about what the transition state of a reaction is, why isolating its structure can inform the development of antibiotics, and the tools used to study the transition state! You’ll also learn how Pallavi spends her time outside the lab!

This week:

That’s it for this episode. If you have comments or questions, find me on Twitter at AdamFortais or email me at [email protected] .

Find more of Jessie de Haan on Twitter @deHaanJ , and make sure to follow them on Twitch at justjessieD.

Our music was provided by my friends from the band Boonie. Find them at boonie.rocks .

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