Grad Chat - Queen's School Of Graduate Studies

My research focuses on looking at black holes. Some black holes are so energetic, that they tear up the bright hot matter spinning around them and funnel it into jets shooting out their top and bottom. And once in a while, we luck out and a few black holes are oriented so that the jets are pointed straight towards the earth! We call these kinds of black holes Blazars, and it’s my job to look at their most energetic and extreme cases and try to figure out if there are any neutrinos in those jets! If we can find neutrinos coming out of them, we can follow their trail back to what in the jet created them and learn more about black holes themselves! For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

This research explores the interplay of social and political imaginaries in Mexico, both secular and religious, during the twentieth century. It uses archival research and discourse analysis to examine how liberal and revolutionary political leaders and various Catholic groups have interacted, how they have handled their contradictions, how their relationships and imaginaries have evolved, and what role these imaginaries have played in building Mexico as a modern nation. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website

Machine learning is very popular nowadays for solving problems in many fields, including wireless networks such as 5G networks that we use to make calls and connect to the internet using our phones. Next-generation wireless networks (NGWNs), such as 6G networks, will include more diverse devices and applications that make them more complex to control, even using machine learning approaches. In my Ph.D. thesis, I addressed some of the practical challenges of applying machine learning approaches, specifically reinforcement learning, in real deployments of NGWNs. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website

Between 5-10% of breast and 20-25% of ovarian cancers are inherited. The majority of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer cases are caused by deleterious mutations (variants) in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which normally prevent cancer through protecting and repairing our DNA. Genetic testing is used to identify pathogenic BRCA carriers who would subsequently benefit from personalized screening, preventative and management plans. However, its widespread implementation has resulted in a significant increase in findings of variants of uncertain significance (VUS) – DNA sequence variants with uncertain effects on disease risk. VUSs pose a critical clinical challenge as they limit clinicians’ ability to effectively interpret genetic test results. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a significant complication linked to uncontrolled inflammation, which not only causes immediate distress but also heightens risks in future pregnancies. It is hypothesized that inflammation during pregnancy induces long-term changes in maternal immune cells, altering their responses in subsequent pregnancies and increasing complications. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website

This session talks about the PhD-Community Initiative program at Queen’s University and one of the projects with a community partner (KFL&A Public Health) to provide a Program Evaluation of the Efforts to Prevent Invasive Meningococcal Disease in Kingston. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Rooted in Victorian England as a response to a number of social and religious factors, Muscular Christianity is a set of beliefs that revolves around contact sports, the physicality of the male body, and a return to a “traditional” masculinity (a term always fraught), much writing has been done on Muscular Christianity in it’s heyday during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. What my research aims to do then is to examine the role that it plays in the 21st century through the lens of American sports culture and American colleges, and how Muscular Christianity is shaping a new generation of men. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Zebra mussels are some of the most high profile and impactful invasive species in Canada, and have transformed the Great Lakes watershed in the past three decades. Voracious feeders that consume all algae, they have clarified our lakes, caked our beaches with their sharp shells, and denied other species precious food. Interactions between zebra mussels and algal blooms, another notorious nuisance, are largely unknown. My research uses environmental DNA, an emerging technology, to examine what factors make an ecosystem resilient to zebra mussel invasion, how native mollusk communities react to zebra mussels, and if they help or hinder algal blooms. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

A look at what graduate events are coming up in 2025 from GRADflix to the Three Minute Thesis. 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

Reflecting on this years interviews. 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

Triphenyl phosphate is used as a flame retardant and plasticizer in a wide variety of consumer and industrial products in Canada. TPhP is also an environmental pollutant found in air, water and soil. TPhP has been shown to act as an Endocrine Disrupting Chemical, meaning it interferes with normal hormonal signalling. I’m investigating how epigenetic modifications may lead to changes in hormonal and metabolic pathways during embryonic development. 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

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an immune disorder leading to chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. It affects 0.8% of the Canadian population with a recent increased prevalence in the pediatric population. 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-cha

Hemophilia A (HA) is an X-linked bleeding disorder caused by a mutation in the factor 8 (F8) gene that codes for FVIII coagulation protein. FVIII is naturally synthesized in the liver and the mutation results in the loss of function of FVIII protein which is critical in the blood clotting cascades. HA occurs is 1 to 5000 male births and it is estimated that there are a total of 3000 patients with HA in Canada. Currently, HA patients are treated with replacement therapy of the deficient factor. However, this approach is transient because of the short half-life of recombinant or plasma derived FVIII and is insufficient due to the formation of anti-drug antibodies. The alternative approach which is curative and promises a long-lasting expression of FVIII protein is gene therapy. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website .

Although tech platform companies often claim in their advertisements and public relations efforts that they represent the public interest, as private companies, their primary goal is to maximize their own profits. Equating private interests with public interests not only overlooks the issues arising from the increasingly blurred lines between the two but also worsens the damage that conflicts of interest can cause to sustainable public systems. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

The Queen’s chapter and why be part of the American Chemical Society will be hosting the “Celebrating the Late Dr. Alfred R. Bader: A 100th Birthday Symposium” on Monday, November 18th, 2024. This interviews highlights the work of Dr Bader and how Queen’s will showcase his love for chemistry and the arts.  To round it off we delve a little bit into Max’s own research- Combining Quantum Chemistry Concepts and Machine Learning for Drug Discovery. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.  

The coastal zone is shaped by sea level change, wave action, geological characteristics, and human decisions. These processes are spatially continuous, therefore techniques that monitor larger regions, such as remote sensing and numerical modeling, allow for a more detailed understanding of the drivers of coastal change. In Laura’s research, she applies these techniques to understand how waves and shoreline erosion evolve during storm events. Her main area of focus is the sandy beaches of the Outer Banks, North Carolina, USA. Here, the rate of erosion is so high that local infrastructure is critically threatened and her research informs better approaches to mitigate local-scale coastal risk. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website

The plant Cannabis sativa L. has historically served as a herbal remedy, garnering a considerable surge in both recreational and medicinal domains in contemporary times. However, this increased application has not aligned with our clinical awareness regarding the disturbances associated with cannabis. This assumes heightened significance in the context of palliative care for cancer patients, as the parameters controlling the interactions between cannabis and cancer have remained poorly defined. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Over 2,000 garbage trucks worth of plastic waste enter our oceans, lakes, rivers, and estuaries every day. Of the 300 million tons of plastic produced annually, only 10% is recycled. Due to the inertness and durability of plastic materials, current industrial recycling processes employ energetically demanding processes such as combustion and melting which further the global climate crisis by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. As such, enzymatic degradation of plastic has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional plastic recycling approaches since enzymes operate under significantly milder and less energetically demanding conditions. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Jessica discusses the characteristics of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic (fat build up) liver disease (MASLD) in the Canadian context. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Taylor is a structural geologist, which means I study the architecture and processes behind the development of mountain systems. As a structural geologist, I need to factor in all the different aspects of a mountain system to effectively study it and create a comprehensive tectonic model to explain the evolution of the mountain system. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website.