Grad Chat - Queen's School Of Graduate Studies

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.