WISEST STEM Podcast

Welcome back to the WISEST STEM podcast, where we feature interviews with experts, researchers, educators, and enthusiasts who share their knowledge and experiences about STEM education and careers. Tune in for each episode as we delve into the latest in STEM— from cutting-edge research to the remarkable stories of trailblazing women and gender-diverse folks making their mark. 

For the next few episodes, we will be in the Mentor Lab. The Mentor Lab is a space where we share stories that reveal the science of the world around us and explore the relationships that make us who we are. 

This episode wraps up our Navigating the Pandemic mini series! We dive into how to have hard conversations, especially when misinformation is at the centre of it. We sit down with two experts, Dr. Krishana Sankar and Timothy Caulfield. Dr. Krishana Sankar is the Science Advisor and Community Partnerships lead at ScienceUpFirst, a national initiative that works with a collective of independent scientists, researchers, health care experts and science communicators to debunk misinformation online.  Timothy Caulfield is the Canada Research Chair in Health law and Policy, a professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of public health and research director of the health law institute at the University of Alberta and a member of the Executive Advisory Team at ScienceUpFirst. In this episode, we discuss tips and strategies on how we can approach hard conversations, especially related to the pandemic.

We mention a few resources in the episode. At the beginning of the episode, we suggest that you learn more about the 94 calls to action laid out in the Truth and Reconciliation. Here is the website that Helen was referring to where you can get more information about what those calls to action are, and the progress Canada has made to fulfill each one. https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform-single/beyond-94?&cta=1

It has been over two years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We asked students what their concerns are at this stage of the pandemic, and we received responses ranging from student mental health to how to listen to and talk to people with differing views, to how to navigate these times of uncertainty and also how to recognize fake news on social media especially around public health measures, vaccine information and of COVID prognoses. This episode is the second episode of a 3 part mini-series diving into the topic of student wellness.

In this episode, we sit down with Christine Cabildo from the Wellness Supports Team at the University of Alberta to talk about what strategies students can employ to help manage their wellbeing. Joining us, we also have student guests, Krishna Patel, Simran Pherwani, Hannah Bayne, and Peyton deMoissac who talk about what they did to nurture their mental health and overall wellbeing during the pandemic.

It has been over two years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We asked students what their concerns are at this stage of the pandemic, and we received responses ranging from student mental health to how to listen to and talk to people with differing views, to how to navigate these times of uncertainty and also how to recognize fake news on social media especially around public health measures, vaccine information and of COVID prognoses. With this episode, we’re launching a new mini-series to dive into a few of the topics of concern shared by our students.

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Veena Netrakanti, a physician who is currently contracted by Google Health to support Google in prioritizing medically sound information on the search engine regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. She shares tips and tricks for how we can cultivate a more critical lens in how we approach information shared online, and how we can ensure that we don’t feed into the spread of misinformation.

We're re-releasing this episode just in time for this year's Summer Research Program! If you're a grade 11 student contemplating applying for the program or are someone who is in the process of putting together your application already, we encourage you to listen to this episode! Join Helen (WISEST Outreach Coordinator) and Bridget (WISEST Program Coordinator) as they discuss what it takes to put together a polished application!

In our new mini-series, we’re diving into the topic of pivoting in your STEM career. In today’s society, pivoting in a career often feels like failure because you end up somewhere you didn’t necessarily set out to be in the first place. However, this happens more often than not, but is rarely ever talked about. So, we’re trying to flip the script by shedding light on the many reasons that influence someone to pivot in their career.

To kick off the new academic year, we’re rolling out a new mini-series! For the next three episodes, we’re going to be diving into the topic of pivoting in your STEM career. In today’s society, pivoting in a career often feels like failure because you end up somewhere you didn’t necessarily set out to be in the first place. However, this happens more often than not, but is rarely ever talked about. So, we’re trying to flip the script by shedding light on the many reasons that influence someone to pivot in their career. In this episode, join us as we sit down with Brittany Conradi, an environmental consultant, who made a number of pivots in her career due to changing life circumstances. She shares about the challenges she faced, the support she had and ultimately how she found her place in STEM.

AJ Stadnyk takes on the role as host this episode as they interview Luam Araya, a Biochemistry Masters student at the University of Alberta on their journey in navigating the science world as a queer scientist. We ask them about what it’s like finding spaces of belonging, what the STEM world can do to make spaces more inclusive for queer folks and the importance of having successful queer folks to look up to.

Join us as we sit down with Nicole Baker, nêhiyaw iskwew (Cree woman) from Red Pheasant Cree Nation, and a former Summer Research Program participant, to talk about her story of how she found belonging through STEM as an Indigenous woman.

In this episode, Nicole shares her experience in the WISEST Summer Research Program, and all the things that followed which ultimately led her to pursuing a career in relationship building with Indigenous communities. She shares candidly about some of the challenges she faced, how she overcame them and what she's most proud of. Nicole now works as the Indigenous Business Relations Coordinator with BIRD Construction Ltd. where her role is to create meaningful relationships among Indigenous communities that contribute to successful economic development, employment, and infrastructure projects.

We haven’t skipped a beat with the pandemic because we’re running our 37th consecutive Summer Research Program this summer! Join us in this episode as we sit down with WISEST Program Coordinator, Bridget Fraser, to learn more about the program and to discuss what it takes to put together a polished application. After reviewing hundreds upon hundreds of applications, she shares tips on how to make your application stand out!

Building off of our last episode, join us in this episode as we learn about the stories of WISEST board member,  Dr. Lisa Willis (Assistant Professor) and SRP alumna, Samantha Jones (Electrical and Instrumentation Engineer), two successful STEM professionals, about their experience pursuing STEM while growing up in rural towns. They give a candid interview about the struggles they faced, how they persisted, and where that led them.

Join us in this episode as we learn more about the stories of Ehlam Iftikhar and Milan Cuthbert, two former WISEST Summer Research Program  students, who both spent time growing up in rural parts of Alberta. We ask them what it’s like to pursue STEM growing up in a rural town, the  challenges they faced, the opportunities they took advantage of, and what they’re doing now!