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Season 5 Episode 2
What does it take to turn research into life-saving change for millions? Host Michael Benarroch speaks with Dr. Marissa Becker—physician, researcher and executive director of the University of Manitoba’s Institute for Global Public Health—about the institute’s extraordinary global impact, from supporting programs that reach 6.5 million pregnant women annually in India to strengthening public health in Kenya. Tracing HIV prevention work from South India to Kenya, Pakistan, and Nigeria, she emphasizes community empowerment alongside biomedical prevention. Becker speaks of the urgent need to support community-led health efforts both globally and locally, arguing that meaningful research with marginalized communities starts with listening and responding to community priorities.
About Marissa Becker
· Professor, infectious diseases physician and researcher at the University of Manitoba, College of Community and Global Health, Max Rady College of Medicine.
· Executive director at the Institute for Global Public Health, providing leadership to programs in India focused on maternal, child health and health systems strengthening.
· Uses a program science framework for her research in Manitoba, India, Kenya and Ukraine.
· Research focuses on understanding HIV and other infectious disease risk, vulnerability and outcomes among marginalized populations, with a specific focus on adolescent girls, young women and female sex workers.
About What’s the Big Idea?
What’s the Big Idea? is an award-winning podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. Each episode features conversations with big thinkers from the UM community who are contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of people everywhere. It is produced by the University of Manitoba in partnership with Everything Podcasts.
Links and Resources
· College of Community and Global Health – Marissa Becker
· Avahan The India AIDS Initiative: The Business of HIV Prevention at Scale
· Partners for Health and Development in Africa
· CIHR Pan-Canadian Network for HIV and STBBI Clinical Trials Research
· University of Manitoba: Discover programs and opportunities
· Alumni Relations: Stay connected with UM
· UM News: Read more about UM events and research
Help make big ideas possible
Research at the University of Manitoba is driven by curiosity and made possible through partnership and philanthropy.If this conversation sparked your curiosity, we’d love to connect you with opportunities to support world-class research and discovery at UM. Learn more or get in touch today.
Music
Adrenaline Rush by Will Bonness, Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music.
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Help us spread the big ideas from the UM community.
In this episode we hear why supporting parenting should be treated as a public health priority rather than an individual family matter. Psychologist, associate professor and co-host of the “You’re Doing It Right” podcast Dr. Leslie Roos addresses the mental health pressures facing parents and children today, as they navigate screens, social media and AI and the need for more evidence-based parenting advice than what can be found on social media. She suggests ways we might invest earlier in parenting support, through prenatal and postpartum mental health care, and describes BEAM, a dual-generation mental health and parenting program that combines evidence-based content with peer coaching and moderated parent forums. In this discussion with UM’s Michael Benarroch, Roos calls for health system transformation: funding prevention and community-based care before families reach a crisis point.
About Leslie Roos
· Clinician-scientist and Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba and licensed clinical psychologist
· Co-leader of the PRIME (Partnering for Research Innovation in Mental Health Initiative) at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba
· CIHR Chair in Implementation Science, advancing eHealth and culturally grounded interventions co-designed with Indigenous, newcomer and immigrant communities.
About What’s the Big Idea?
What’s the Big Idea? is an award-winning podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. Each episode features conversations with big thinkers from the UM community who are contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of people everywhere. It is produced by the University of Manitoba in partnership with Everything Podcasts.
Links and Resources
· Dr. Leslie E. Roos
· You’re Doing It Right (podcast) – Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba
· Leslie Roos | Kids Brain Health Network - Réseau pour la santé du cerveau des enfants
· Closing the gap: Helping families access high quality mental health services sooner
· University of Manitoba: Discover programs and opportunities
· Alumni Relations: Stay connected with UM
· UM News: Read more about UM events and research
Help make big ideas possible
Research at the University of Manitoba is driven by curiosity and made possible through partnership and philanthropy.If this conversation sparked your curiosity, we’d love to connect you with opportunities to support world-class research and discovery at UM. Learn more or get in touch today.
Music
Adrenaline Rush by Will Bonness, Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music.
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Help us spread the big ideas from the UM community.
#podcast
What’s the Big Idea? — Season 5
As the University of Manitoba looks ahead to UM150 in 2027, Season 5 of What’s the Big Idea? explores the questions, discoveries and ideas that are shaping what comes next.
Hosted by UM President Michael Benarroch, the season brings together researchers, experts and thought leaders tackling some of today’s biggest challenges—from supporting families (clinician-scientist and podcast host Leslie Roos) and improving health around the world (global public health expert Marissa Becker), to transforming patient care (hematologist Ryan Zarychanski), navigating an increasingly volatile global landscape (former Canadian ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman), and confronting difficult chapters in our shared history (Niigaan Sinclair and Sean Carleton, authors of Truth Before Reconciliation: Confronting Residential School Denialism).
These conversations reflect the spirit of a university built on asking questions and pursuing ideas that can make a difference. And as we prepare for UM150—a year of both celebration and commemoration— Season 5 invites us to get ready for what’s ahead—and to keep asking the question at the heart of it all: What’s the big idea?
A thought-provoking discussion with Dr. David Gerhard, a leading AI researcher and computer scientist on the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, its potential to transform society, and the ethical challenges that come with it. In this conversation, interspersed with excerpts from AI pioneer and Nobel Laureate, Geoffrey Hinton’s Knight Distinguished Lecture, we hear how AI's decision-making processes differ from human cognition, about the risks and benefits of large language models, the role of governance, regulation, and international cooperation in shaping AI development, and the importance of designing AI to serve human values.
About David Gerhard:
About Geoffrey Hinton
About Michael Benarroch
About What’s the Big Idea?
What’s the Big Idea? is an award-winning podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. Each episode features conversations with big thinkers from the UM community who are contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of people everywhere. It is produced by the University of Manitoba in partnership with Everything Podcasts.
Links and Resources
Help make big ideas possible
Research at the University of Manitoba is driven by curiosity and made possible through partnership and philanthropy. If this conversation sparked your curiosity, we’d love to connect you with opportunities to support world-class research and discovery at UM.
Learn more or get in touch today.
Music
Adrenaline Rush by Will Bonness, Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music.
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Help us spread the big ideas from the UM community.
#podcast #Education
Season 4, Episode 6
Episode Summary:
Our guest is Andrea Charron, Director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies and an academic working closely with the Canadian Armed forces. In conversation with UM’s President Michael Bennaroch, she discusses the evolving security landscape facing North America and Canada's crucial role in Arctic security and U.S. defense needs. Charron details security risks such as cyber threats and foreign interference and sheds light concerning NORAD modernization and the importance of international partnerships, including with Greenland, Denmark, the UK and Mexico.
About Andrea Charron:
About What’s the Big Idea?
What’s the Big Idea? is an award-winning podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. Each episode features conversations with big thinkers from the UM community who are contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of people everywhere. It is produced by the University of Manitoba in partnership with Everything Podcasts.
Links and Resources
Help make big ideas possible
Research at the University of Manitoba is driven by curiosity and made possible through partnership and philanthropy. If this conversation sparked your curiosity, we’d love to connect you with opportunities to support world-class research and discovery at UM.
Learn more or get in touch today.
Music
Adrenaline Rush by Will Bonness, Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music.
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Help us spread the big ideas from the UM community.
Season 4, Episode 5
Zahra Moussavi discusses her findings into using non-pharmaceutical interventions for Alzheimer's and dementia. With a background in electrical engineering, Moussavi’s groundbreaking research highlights the role of synapses and brain activity in cognitive health. Her innovative treatment strategies include electrical stimulation, VR navigation, and neurorehabilitation. These have shown success in potentially slowing, stabilizing, and reversing cognitive decline. In her conversation with UM President Michael Bennaroch, she emphasizes the importance of early detection and the need for innovative approaches to manage dementia as a chronic condition rather than a progressive one.
About Zahra Moussavi:
About What’s the Big Idea?
What’s the Big Idea? is an award-winning podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. Each episode features conversations with big thinkers from the UM community who are contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of people everywhere. It is produced by the University of Manitoba in partnership with Everything Podcasts.
Links and Resources
Help make big ideas possible
Research at the University of Manitoba is driven by curiosity and made possible through partnership and philanthropy. If this conversation sparked your curiosity, we’d love to connect you with opportunities to support world-class research and discovery at UM.
Learn more or get in touch today.
Music
Adrenaline Rush by Will Bonness, Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music.
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Help us spread the big ideas from the UM community.
Season 4, Episode 4
Episode Summary:
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, globally. In conversation with the Director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and former Canada Research Chair in Molecular Cardiology, Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, this episode explores the significant differences in heart disease between men and women and the need for tailored research and treatment approaches. Dr. Kirshenbaum is a proud University of Manitoba researcher, and a major focus of his research is understanding the underlying sex specific difference in heart failure. He describes some of these mechanisms, the role of specific proteins in heart health and cancer treatment, and how research from NASA space flights provided unique insights into heart health. Also highlighted are the importance of holistic approaches to women's heart health and the impact of local research initiatives in Manitoba.
About Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum:
About What’s the Big Idea?
What’s the Big Idea? is an award-winning podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. Each episode features conversations with big thinkers from the UM community who are contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of people everywhere. It is produced by the University of Manitoba in partnership with Everything Podcasts.
Links and Resources
Help make big ideas possible
Research at the University of Manitoba is driven by curiosity and made possible through partnership and philanthropy. If this conversation sparked your curiosity, we’d love to connect you with opportunities to support world-class research and discovery at UM.
Learn more or get in touch today.
Music
Adrenaline Rush by Will Bonness, Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music.
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Help us spread the big ideas from the UM community.
Season 4, Episode 3
Episode Summary:
What are the challenges and the opportunities in creating a just and inclusive economic future? Hosted by Angie Bruce, Vice President (Indigenous) at the University of Manitoba, this episode of "What's the Big Idea?" explores the theme of economic reconciliation. Featured are Indigenous leaders and experts, Diane Roussin, a member of Skownan First Nation and project director of the Winnipeg Boldness Project, Kathleen BlueSky, a Cree Ikwe from Nisichiwasik Cree Nation and CEO of Treaty One Development Corporation, and Dr. Peter Pomart, a member of Mathias Cologne First Nation, an Asper School of Business lecturer and the former director of Indigenous Business Education Partners. Their public conversation considers the impact of racist policies like the Indian Act, the complexity of building Canadian sovereignty without infringing on Indigenous rights, the Carney government’s Bill C-5 or Building Canada Act and the relationship-building that is fundamental to successful economic reconciliation.
Host and panelists:
About Angie Bruce:
About Diane Roussin:
Kathleen BlueSky:
About Peter Pomart:
About What’s the Big Idea?
What’s the Big Idea? is an award-winning podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. Each episode features conversations with big thinkers from the UM community who are contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of people everywhere. It is produced by the University of Manitoba in partnership with Everything Podcasts.
Links and Resources
Help make big ideas possible
Research at the University of Manitoba is driven by curiosity and made possible through partnership and philanthropy. If this conversation sparked your curiosity, we’d love to connect you with opportunities to support world-class research and discovery at UM.
Learn more or get in touch today.
Music
Adrenaline Rush by Will Bonness, Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music.
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Help us spread the big ideas from the UM community.
What’s the Big Idea? is a University of Manitoba production, created in partnership with Everything Podcasts.
Season 4, Episode 2
Episode Summary:
In a world where the wealth gap continues to widen, with the richest 5% reaping the vast majority of globalization's financial gains, it's crucial to rethink how businesses operate. This episode challenges the status quo, urging a shift towards business models that prioritize the well-being of society and the environment over mere profit maximization.
In this episode Bruno Dick, the Norman Frohlich Professor in Business Sustainability at the Asper School of Business, discusses the concept of Social and Ecological Thought Management (SET) and its implications for reimagining the purpose of business. In conversation with UM President Michael Bennaroch, Dyck explores how businesses can prioritize social and ecological well-being over profit maximization and welcomes the role the Chiu Center for Business Serving Community will play in promoting these ideas.
About Bruno Dyck:
About What’s the Big Idea?
What’s the Big Idea? is an award-winning podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. Each episode features conversations with big thinkers from the UM community who are contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of people everywhere. It is produced by the University of Manitoba in partnership with Everything Podcasts.
Links and Resources
Help make big ideas possible
Research at the University of Manitoba is driven by curiosity and made possible through partnership and philanthropy. If this conversation sparked your curiosity, we’d love to connect you with opportunities to support world-class research and discovery at UM.
Learn more or get in touch today.
Music
Adrenaline Rush by Will Bonness, Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music.
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Help us spread the big ideas from the UM community.
What’s the Big Idea? is a University of Manitoba production, created in partnership with Everything Podcasts.
Season 4, Episode 1
Episode Summary:
No longer just a frontier for governments and billionaires, space is a shared environment that needs protection. As companies like SpaceX and Amazon launch mega-constellations of satellites, the risk to our atmosphere and orbital space grows. How can we ensure that the future of space is sustainable, inclusive, and serving communities on Earth?
In this episode, Philip Fergusson, an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, President of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, and Director of the University of Manitoba’s STARlab, joins President Benarroch to discuss his big idea. From co-developing satellites with Arctic communities to designing drone airships for northern connectivity, we explore how responsible innovation, reconciliation, and a focus on local needs can shape a better future for space exploration.
About Philip Fergusson:
About What’s the Big Idea?
What’s the Big Idea? is an award-winning podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. Each episode features conversations with big thinkers from the UM community who are contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of people everywhere. It is produced by the University of Manitoba in partnership with Everything Podcasts.
Links and Resources
Help make big ideas possible
Research at the University of Manitoba is driven by curiosity and made possible through partnership and philanthropy. If this conversation sparked your curiosity, we’d love to connect you with opportunities to support world-class research and discovery at UM.
Learn more or get in touch today.
Music
Adrenaline Rush by Will Bonness, Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music.
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Help us spread the big ideas from the UM community.
What’s the Big Idea? is a University of Manitoba production, created in partnership with Everything Podcasts.
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