Host:Barry Kaplan Synopsis:Dr. Amy Wu is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Queen’s University. She leads the Biomechanics x Robotics Laboratory (BxRL) and is a member of the Queen’s Ingenuity Labs Research Institute. Her research interests include mechatronics, human biomechanics, and wearable and assistive devices. One of Dr. Wu’s projects, Rando the Robot, is a low-cost bipedal walking robot with an open-source mindset, to expand accessibility to and involvement in walking robot education and research. She has demonstrated this project at Queen’s Park in Toronto, Maker Faire Rome, and Science Rendezvous Kingston.In this episode, Dr. Wu discusses her work at BxRL and the first-principles approach in understanding the mechanics and energies of human movement for robot design and biomechanics. Shealso explains the motivation for constructing Rando the Robot with an open-source mindset to encourage cost-efficient robotics research.Please visit the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering for more information about Dr.Wu’s research.

Xiaodan Zhu, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ingenuity Labs Research Institute Teaching language to computers

Host:Barry Kaplan Synopsis:Dr. Xiaodan Zhu is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen’s,where he leads the Text Analytics and Machine Learning Lab (TAML). He is also a member of the Ingenuity Labs Research Institute and is an affiliated expert with Queen’s Conflict Analytics Lab. He is associate editor of the journal Computational Intelligence and serves as the program co-chair of the 33rd Canadian Conference on Artificial Intelligence.His research interests include machine learning, natural language processing, deep learning, and artificial intelligence.Prior to joining Queen’s in 2017, Dr. Zhu was a research officer at the National Research Council of Canada.In this episode, Dr. Zhu discusses how his research, at the frontier of artificial intelligence, is helping computers better understand language, with wide ranging applications. He also explains the intersections of law and AI with his work at the Queen’s Conflict Analytics Lab.Please visit the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering for more information about Dr. Zhu’s research

Shideh Kabiri AmeriAssistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering E-tattoos and healthcare: nano materials for superior wearable tech

Host:Barry Kaplan Synopsis:Dr. Shideh Kabiri Ameri is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Queen’s University. Her research focuses on 2D material-based electronic devices and their applications in wearable, bioelectronics, human machine interface, electronic tattoos, internet of things, and mobile healthcare. She leads the Ameri Nano Research Group interested in looking for innovative and novel solutions for technological challenges by applying nano-sciences to Engineering. In 2017, Dr. Ameri was awarded the Rising Star in EECE. In this episode, Dr. Ameri discusses her research on e-tattoos and their application on humans. She also mentions the work conducted at the Ameri Nano Research Group,which uses 2D and nano-materials to develop superior and minimally visible sensors and electronics for wearable healthcare technology.Please visit the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering for more information about Dr. Ameri’s research.

What’s in a Grade?

Host: Barry Kaplan Synopsis: Dr. Liying Cheng is a professor of teaching English as a second/foreign language and Peer Research Consultant in the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University. She is also the director of the Assessment and Evaluation Group at Queen’s and was a recipient of the 2017 Prize for Excellence in Research, Queen’s signature internal research honour. Her research interests include the impact of large-scale testing on instruction, the relationship between assessment and instruction, and teaching and learning English for academic purposes. She has obtained research funding totalling more than $1.7 million and conducted more than 220 conference presentations with more than 140 publications.In this episode, Dr. Cheng discusses her project, “What’s in a Grade? A Multiple Perspective Validity Study on Grading Policies, Practices, Values, and Consequences.” She discusses the importance of understanding the teaching and learning values embedded into a given grade. Her project focuses on China and the interpretation of grades by multiple stakeholders with a comparison to a Canadian context.Please visit the Faculty of Education for more information about Dr. Cheng’s research.

Samuel Dahan Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Queen’s National Scholar

Algorithms and Precedent: How AI Can Provide Open-Access Legal Resources

Host: Barry Kaplan Synopsis: Dr. Samuel Dahan is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Law and a Queen’s National Scholar. He is the director of the Conflict Analytics Lab at Queen’s University, a LegalTech global consortium on the application of data analytics and AI to dispute resolution and negotiation. Dr. Dahan has worked as a legal secretary to the Court of Justice of the European Union and as a legal advisor for the Comparative Law Unit of the French Administrative Supreme Court. His research focuses on regulatory responses to the euro crisis from an empirical data perspective. He is also a nationally medaled athlete in Taekwondo.

In this episode, Dr. Dahan discusses the Conflict Analytics Lab and his open-access work training machines to read law texts and extract the relevant information, typically the precedent, to assist lawyers and self-represented litigants in their research. He also discusses the limitations of algorithms in predicting subjective outcomes in judicial decision making.

Please visit the Faculty of Law for more information about Dr. Dahan’s research

Host: Barry Kaplan Synopsis: Dr. Fahim Quadir is the Vice-Provost and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Queen’s University and a Professor in the Department of Global Development Studies. His research explores international development, international relations, and international political economy. In particular, Dr. Quadir focuses on South-South cooperation, emerging donors, aid effectiveness, good governance, democratic consolidation, transnational social movements, and human security. Aligning his research and administrative interests, he has served as the President of the Canadian Consortium for University Programs in International Development. In this episode, Dr. Quadir discusses how his research focuses on producing new knowledge to address some of the pressing challenges facing the world today. He also explores how the concepts of civil society, cosmopolitan citizenship, and realistic utopia contribute to the role of post-secondary education in society. Please visit the School of Graduate Studies for more information about Dr. Quadir’s research

Janet Jull, Occupational Therapist and Assistant Professor, School of Rehabilitation Therapy Shared decision-making: a partnership for client-centred healthcare

Host:Barry Kaplan Synopsis:Dr. Janet Jull is an occupational therapist and Assistant Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Therapy in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating shared decision-making tools and approaches to support client-centred care, with a particular focus on cancer care. In all of her research, Dr. Jull works in collaboration with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis researchers and communities. She also investigates how research is conducted in partnerships; specifically when those who are engaged in the production of research, partner with those who contend with the real-world needs and constraints of health systems and their users. In this episode, Dr. Jull discusses the process of shared decision-making and the collaboration and partnership needed between the healthcare provider and the client. She also explains the four major steps involved in a shared decision-making model. Please visit the School of Rehabilitation Therapy for more information about Dr. Jull’s research.

Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity Professor, Department of Political Studies and Department of Philosophy

The People, the Land, and the Government

Host: Barry Kaplan

Synopsis: Dr. Margaret Moore is the Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity at Queen’s University, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and a professor in the department of Political Studies with a cross-appointment in Philosophy where she teaches in the Master’s in Political and Legal Theory program. Her research focuses on justice, nationalism, and the territorial rights of peoples and states. She is the author of A Political Theory of Territory, which won the Canadian Philosophical Association’s biannual book prize for 2017, and most recently Who Should Own Natural Resources?. She is also a recipient of the 2019 Prize for Excellence in Research, Queen’s signature internal research honour. 

In this episode, Dr. Moore discusses A Political Theory of Territory and its examination of the geographical domain of the state and the rights associated with territorial jurisdiction. In her book, she puts three things into relationship: the people, the land, and the government to understand the moral significance associated with plans and attachments of place. Dr. Moore also explains how her latest book, Who Should Own Natural Resources, is a deeper dive into the relationship between natural resources and claims of ownership. 

Please visit the Department of Political Studies for more information about Dr. Moore’s research.

Missed the broadcast? Listen to the podcast here!

Gianluigi Bisleri 

Associate Professor, Department of Surgery Clinician-scientist, Kingston Health Sciences Centre

Matters of the Heart: Less-invasive Approaches to Cardiac Surgery

Host: Barry Kaplan

Synopsis: Dr. Gianluigi Bisleri is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Queen’s University and a Clinician-scientist at the Kingston Health Sciences Centre. His research focuses on developing and expanding the use of new treatments and novel, less-invasive procedures for cardiac surgery. Dr. Bisleri’s work also includes economic analysis of these new approaches to assess their impact on outcomes such as shorter recovery times and more effective use of hospital resources. Additionally, he is working with the Departments of Biological and Molecular Sciences and Mechanical Engineering to better understand the mechanical properties of the aorta, and to uncover new electrical signalling information from the heart. He also holds two US patents for novel endoscopic surgical tools. 

In this episode, Dr. Bisleri discusses his research on developing less-invasive approaches in cardiac surgery to minimize the need for large incisions or the opening of the breastbone. He explains how the development of precision tools has advanced the ability to perform complex cardiac surgeries with minimal invasiveness. Dr. Bisleri also discusses his team-based approach to cardiac surgery that is critical to surgical success and novel, less traumatic procedures. 

Please visit the School of Medicine for more information about Dr. Bisleri’s research.

Associate Professor, Department of Surgery Neurosurgeon, Kingston Health Sciences Centre Network Connectivity: Rewiring Lost Brain Functions Host: Barry Kaplan

Synopsis: Dr. DJ Cook is a Neurosurgeon at Kingston Health Sciences Centre and an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Queen’s University. In 2018, he was named Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 and recognized for his work in developing minimally invasive surgical procedures for complex brain disorders and for his innovative research focusing on therapy and treatments to enhance recovery for patients who have suffered a stroke. His Translational Stroke Research Lab has received funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. In his spare time, he runs Otter Creek Farms where he incorporates a scientific approach to raising Japanese wagyu cattle. 

In this episode, Dr. Cook discusses what happens to the brain after a stroke and the treatments and strategies for recovery. He also describes the interdisciplinary components of this field of research and how his lab focuses on the brain’s response to injury and the changes in its process of recovery through such methods as multimodal MRI. Dr. Cook also discusses his work with elite athletes as his research helps them overcome neurological shortcomings through training of the brain.  Please visit the School of Medicine for more information about Dr. Cook's research.

Tandy ThomasAssociate Professor of Marketing and Distinguished Faculty Fellow of Marketing, Smith School of Business Navigating the Consumer Marketplace Host: Barry Kaplan

Synopsis: Dr. Tandy Thomas is an Associate Professor of Marketing and Distinguished Faculty Fellow of Marketing at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. Her research interests explore the intersection of consumer culture theory and social psychology, looking at the interplay between consumers, their social contexts, and marketing activities. Her current projects explore perceptions of advertisements and how these are socially embedded, how consumption communities influence consumption practices, and how consumers navigate marketplace decision making.

In this episode, Dr. Thomas discusses the social elements of consumption and consumer behaviour along with their impact on the individual consumer and their relationships with marketers and retailers. She explores the complexities of these relationships through her work researching collective identities or communities, such as a running group. She also discusses her research into consumption products and how they are used in particular instances to better an individual’s life through a community setting, such as in a book club. Please visit the Smith School of Business for more information about Dr. Thomas's research.

Microinteractions and how gender functions in a particular space

Dr. Lee Airton is an Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies in Education with the Faculty of Education. Their research program explores the micropolitics of gender and sexual diversity accommodation in K-12 and teacher education, with particular emphasis on the issues facing transgender and/or non-binary people in those settings. They recently published a popular press book entitled Gender: Your Guide – A gender-friendly primer on what to say, what to know, and what to do in the new gender culture. As an advocate, Dr. Airton founded They is My Pronoun and the No Big Deal Campaign. In 2017, they received the Youth Role Model of the Year Award from the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity.

In this episode, Dr. Airton discusses their book Gender: Your Guide as a resource for public education and advice for someone unfamiliar with the new gender culture. They also comment on the history of transgender activism and the issues facing non-binary people, such as advocacy for access. Dr. Airton also explains their research into the implementation of legal protections against gender discrimination in the policies governing schools at the provincial and board level.

https://educ.queensu.ca/lee-airton

https://www.leeairton.com/

http://www.theyismypronoun.com

https://www.nbdcampaign.ca/

www.genderyourguide.com

Associate Director, Centre for Health Services and Policy Research

A Conversation on Spirituality and Health Studies

Dr. Mary Ann McColl is a Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Therapy and in the Department of Public Health Sciences, as well as the Associate Director of the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research at Queen’s University. She is also the Academic Lead for the Canadian Disability Policy Alliance, an association of academic, community and policy partners committed to understanding and enhancing disability policy in Canada. Dr. McColl’s research examines access to health services for people with disabilities, disability policy, spirituality and health, primary care for special populations, and community integration and social support.

In this episode, Dr. McColl explores the concept of spirituality, which she defines as a human trait related to the extent to which one is able to or wishes to perceive of something beyond which we can experience with our five senses and our brain, as it relates to disability and health studies. She also explains the development of disability studies, and in particular appreciative inquiry, in teaching future healthcare professionals.

https://www.rehab.queensu.ca/mary-ann-mccoll

https://www.queensu.ca/cspc/about-us/contact-us/mary-mccoll

Design vs. Nature: Building Infrastructure to Withstand Environmental Disasters 

Dr. Katerina Genikomsou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. She is a member of the American Concrete Institute, the American Society of Civil Engineers, la Fédération international du béton, and the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering. Her research on the maintenance of built infrastructure and the development of new sustainable materials and processes has global and local implications in potentially improving the lifespan of structures, particularly during environmental disasters.

In this episode, Dr. Genikomsou discusses her research on shear failure and its role in the collapse of buildings during environmental disasters, such as which occurred in Ottawa in September 2018. She also advocates for civil engineers to play a role in the construction of networks of resiliency in design provisions. This would assist engineers in considering such aspects as the effects of climate change and the needs of community members.

https://civil.queensu.ca/Research/Structural/Katerina-Genikomsou/

“Nothing Burns Down:” A History and a Career in Theatre Lighting Design

Dr. Tim Fort is a Professor and Chair of Graduate Programs in the Dan School of Drama and Music at Queen’s. He received his PhD from the University of Toronto's Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama, and much of his research examines late nineteenth-century lighting design and staging. Dr. Fort has designed lighting and/or scenery for over 200 productions, including the world premieres of And All For Love at the National Arts Centre and Judith Thompson’s Hothouse at The Isabel Bader Centre. In Kingston, he recently directed and designed Unity (1918), Candide, and The House of Martin Guerre in the Rotunda Theatre. Dr. Fort has also served as the Producing Director at the Weston Playhouse in Vermont since 1988, a hub for many Broadway and regional designers and performers. At Weston, he has directed over 60 productions, including Les Misérables and Avenue Q. In this episode, he discusses his early career fascination with lighting design as his inspiration to study its history. Dr. Fort also discusses the place of authenticity and representation in modern theatre.

https://sdm.queensu.ca/dan-school-faculty-and-staff/tim-fort/

Professor, Canada Research Chair in Bioresources Engineering and Director of Beaty Water Research Center

Dr. Pascale Champagne is the Canada Research Chair in Bioresource Engineering and a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Queen’s. She is also the Director of the Beaty Water Research Centre, which brings together faculty across disciplines to collaborate on research into water-related issues. Dr. Champagne’s research focuses on the development of alternate water and waste management strategies and environmentally sustainable approaches. She has collaborated widely to develop new integrated bioresource management practices, to introduce alternate aqueous and solid waste management approaches, and to create unique opportunities for the bioenergy and bioproducts sectors. She is a member of several prestigious societies, including the RSC College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists and the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers, and she received the Queen’s Prize for Excellence in Research in 2017. In this episode, Dr. Champagne discusses integrated bioresource engineering as a method to redirect waste to generate energy, effectively recycle, and reduce treatment costs. She explains that multidisciplinary methods, as well as the integration of student involvement, are progressing our understanding of bioresource engineering to allow policymakers to make informed choices.

https://civil.queensu.ca/Research/Environmental/Pascale-Champagne/index.html

Dark Matter and What Goes Bump in the Night

Dr. Joseph Bramante is an Assistant Professor at in the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the Perimeter Institute and a member of the new, Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astro-Particle Physics Research Institute at Queen’s. His research focuses on constructing theories that describe fundamental physics and finding new ways for humans to test those theories. He held postdoctoral fellowships at the Perimeter Institute and the University of Notre Dame, and received his doctorate from the University of Hawaii for work on “Dark Particles and Primordial Perturbations.” In this episode, he discusses the new McDonald Institute’s network of researchers and students whose central aim is to make new discoveries and advance the frontier of knowledge related to astro particle physics. Dr. Bramante also explains how his research on fundamental theories of dark matter has progressed through experimentation at SNOLAB.

https://www.queensu.ca/physics/joe-bramante

David Murakami Wood, Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Surveillance Studies

Midori Ogasawara, PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology

From the Babysitter to Alexa: Surveillance is All Around

Dr. David Lyon is Director of the Surveillance Studies Centre and Professor of Sociology and Law at Queen’s University. Dr. Lyon is credited with spearheading the field of “surveillance studies,” and he has produced a steady stream of books and articles on the subject. His most recent book, The Culture of Surveillance: Watching as a Way of Life, looks at the imaginaries and practices of everyday surveillance. Dr. Lyon is also the Principal Investigator of the “Big Data Surveillance” project, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. This study examines the relationship between big data and surveillance in security, marketing and governance.

Dr. David Murakami Wood is the Canada Research Chair in Surveillance Studies at Queen’s. He is a widely published specialist in the sociology and geography of surveillance and security in cities from a global comparative perspective, with a particular focus on Japan, Brazil, Canada and the UK. His current research focuses on security and surveillance in smart cities. Dr. Murakami Wood is also the Editor-in-Chief of the international, open-access, peer-reviewed journal, Surveillance & Society, and a co-investigator of the “Big Data Surveillance” project.

Midori Ogasawara is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology. Midori’s current doctoral project focuses on the colonial origins and consequences of “identification” technologies, such as ID cards and biometrics, in northeastern China under the Japanese occupation of the 1920s. Midori worked as a staff writer for Asahi Shimbun — Japan’s national newspaper, for 10 years. She was awarded the Fulbright Journalist Scholarship and John S. Knight Professional Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University in 2004-2005. In May 2016, she was the first Japanese journalist to interview the NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden, and she published a number of articles.

In this special panel episode, the scholars discuss the changing nature of surveillance studies. Dr. Lyon explains his concept of “social sorting” as dividing a population into groups so that they can be seen and treated differently. Ogasawara explores the colonial roots of the Japanese biometric ID system, arguing that it was grounded in perceptions of Chinese labour and internal resistance. While Dr. Murakami Wood explains that cities have always been mechanisms for surveillance with current iterations such as smart cities allowing private companies to integrate themselves into government and gain mass data. Together, they discuss the future of the regulation and accountability of mass data collection in an ever-increasing multinational process.

https://www.queensu.ca/sociology/people/faculty/david-lyon

https://www.queensu.ca/sociology/people/faculty/david-murakami-wood

https://www.queensu.ca/sociology/people/graduate-students/midori-ogasawara

Caitlin Yeo, Chief Resident in General Surgery, School of Medicine

Flying Blindly vs. GPS Navigation in Surgical Procedures

Dr. Gabor Fichtinger is the Canada Research Chair in Computer-Assisted Surgery and a Professor in the School of Computing at Queen’s. His research focuses on computer-assisted surgery and interventions, specifically on integrating and translating medical imaging, image computing, scientific visualization, surgical planning and navigation, robotics, and biosensors into clinical use. He also specializes in minimally invasive percutaneous interventions performed under image guidance, with primary applications in the detection and treatment of cancer. He has an active lab filled with many undergraduate and graduate student researchers, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Dr. Caitlin Yeo is the incoming Chief Resident in Surgery, and a past Post-Doctoral Fellow with the Lab for Percutaneous Surgery under the supervision of Dr. Fichtinger. She has been a Resident in General Surgery at Queen’s since 2013, and she completed her Master’s of Medical Education at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Dr. Yeo collaborates closely with the PerkLab and other members of the School of Computing and Department of Surgery to bring innovative surgical techniques to patients.

In this episode, they discuss the innovative NaviKnife, a miniature GPS system for surgeries in the operating room, as an improvement to the current guidewire in use. It provides a 3D virtual image that is more precise in the process of removing cancerous tissues than the current 2D method.

http://research.cs.queensu.ca/~gabor/

http://perk.cs.queensu.ca/users/yeo

Is Treating the Death Penalty as a Medical Procedure Due Diligence to Avoid Pain?

Dr. Lisa Guenther is the Queen’s National Scholar in Political Philosophy and Critical Prison Studies, jointly appointed in the Department of Philosophy and the Cultural Studies Program. Dr. Guenther’s research focuses on the intersection of phenomenology, political philosophy, and critical prison studies, with further specializations in feminism and philosophy of race. She is a public philosopher, publishing her work both in academic journals and in major media outlets including The New York Times and CBC’s “Ideas.” She is the author of the renowned 2013 book Solitary Confinement: Social Death and its Afterlives and is currently working on a book about incarceration, reproductive politics, and settler colonialism in Canada, Australia, and the United States. In this episode, Dr. Guenther discusses the medical effectiveness of the death penalty in the United States, the only Western country to practice capital punishment in the twenty-first century.

https://www.queensu.ca/philosophy/guenther-lisa

“The Business of Justice Delivering the Justice of Business:” Arbitration within International Commerce

Dr. Joshua Karton is an Associate Professor and the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research in the Faculty of Law at Queen’s. His research is interdisciplinary, focusing on international arbitration, comparative and international contract law, uniform law, globalization and law, international legal theory, and sociological analysis of law. His writing explores what happens when private actors from different backgrounds – legal, cultural, and linguistic – meet in the international legal arena. In between receiving his JD from Columbia Law School and his PhD in International Law from Cambridge, he practiced in litigation and arbitration in the New York office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. Dr. Karton has also held visiting positions at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the National Taiwan University, and Wuhan University (China). In this episode, he discusses how interdisciplinary approaches to researching law as a social institution are the best methods to understand how it reflects the organization of society. In particular, Dr. Karton researches how private arbitration, as a procedural choice, impacts the substance of actual disputes compared to a public court venue. He also explores how language affects the international arbitration system within legal law understandings.

https://law.queensu.ca/directory/joshua-karton

David Carruthers, PhD Candidate, Department of English Language and Literature

The Bitterness of Indulging: Dark Ecology and the State of Environmental Mega-Risks

Dr. Molly Wallace is an Associate Professor and the Graduate Chair in the Department of English Language and Literature at Queen’s. Her research interests lie in contemporary literature, eco-criticism and eco-cultural studies. Dr. Wallace has published extensively on these topics, including her most recent book Risk Criticism: Precautionary Reading in an Age of Environmental Uncertainty.

David Carruthers is a PhD candidate in the Department of English Language and Literature at Queen’s where he studies the environmental humanities, particularly ‘dark ecology’ and eco-phenomenology. His doctoral research looks at eco-phenomenological, plant-human intersections as represented in post-Cold War literature and their relationship to understandings of ecological crisis. Carruthers co-edited a book with Wallace entitled, Perma/Culture: Imagining Alternatives in an Age of Crisis.

In this episode, Carruthers discuss dark ecology and eco-phenomenology as concepts that situate ecology and the environment at the centre of thinking about the complex relationship between human and plant actors. While Dr. Wallace explains that her research examines how we understand living in a state of mega-risks, such as climate change and nuclear threat, related to the environment.

https://www.queensu.ca/english/m-wallace

https://www.queensu.ca/english/doctoral-students

Evolving Clinical Trials through Collaboration

Dr. Janet Dancey is the Director of the Canadian Cancer Trials Group, also known as the CCTG, and a Professor in the Department of Oncology at Queen’s. She is also the Director of the High Impact Clinical Trials Program at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. The CCTG has over 80 member institutions, comprising over 2100 Canadian investigators who have facilitated over 500 trials in more than 40 countries. They are also the only non-American partner of the US National Clinical Trials Network. Prior to joining the CCTG, Dr. Dancey was Senior Clinical Investigator in the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program at the US National Cancer Institute and then Associate Chief of the Investigational Drug Branch. Her expertise lies in anti-cancer drug development, linking drug and biomarker development, and associated clinical trials methodology. In this episode, she discusses the importance of clinical trials and breaks down their evolved and enhanced process for drug development and delivery. Dr. Dancey also explains that the collaborative study of medical interventions in the treatment of cancer have expanded to also investigate how lifestyle, radiation, surgical, and smoke cessation interventions can affect the entire spectrum of cancer treatment.

http://oncology.queensu.ca/divisions/divisions/medical_oncology/janet_dancey

Emails: The Story of a Love/Hate Working Relationship

Dr. Shamel Addas joined Smith School of Business in 2016 as Assistant Professor of Information Systems (IS). Prior to that, he was an Assistant Professor of IS at IESEG School of Management in France. Shamel’s research centers on the intended and unintended impact of IS on organizational work. His current research interests include: communication technology interruptions, the dark side of IS, and health information technologies. His research has been published in leading journals such as MIS Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, Information Systems Journal, and others. In this episode, Dr. Addas discusses his research on email interruptions during the workday as part of a bombarding “love/hate” relationship with email. He is researching the impact of these interruptions on work performance and identifying mechanisms responsible for those effects. Dr. Addas also explores how emails can trigger mindless and mindful work processes.

https://smith.queensu.ca/faculty_and_research/faculty_list/addas-shamel.php

Dr. Stephen Archer (Head, Department of Medicine), Dr. Paula James (Professor, Department of Medicine) and Dr. Mark Ormiston (Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences)

Synopsis: Cardiopulmonary diseases are the leading cause of death in Canada. Queen’s CardioPulmonary Unit (QCPU) – an 8,000 square foot translational research facility located in Queen’s Biosciences Complex – officially opened on October 6, 2017. Funded by a $7.7M joint award from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science, QCPU research focuses on the development, preclinical testing and commercialization of new therapies for heart, lung, blood and vascular (HLBV) diseases.

In this episode, Drs. Archer, James and Ormiston discuss the vast array of HLBV diseases impacting Canadians and QCPU’s use of a translational ‘molecules up to populations’ approach with the aim to improve health outcomes for patients of HLBV disease. QCPU features state-of-the-art infrastructure and services (CyTOF mass spectroscopy, 2-photon confocal microscopy, micro PET/SPECT/CT, genome sequencing, etc.). Very few facilities bring this type of high calibre equipment together in a central location. QCPU also features clinical trials space and is a satellite clinic with Kingston Health Sciences Centre (Spring 2018). The proximity between QCPU’s clinic and lab spaces means that, instead of having to carry samples across town, all research can be done efficiently in one space – allowing a patient to take “a translational journey.” The QCPU team encourages collaboration between multidisciplinary research groups and is invested in training the next generation of scientists. Please visit the QCPU website for more information.

Principal and Vice-Chancellor

Synopsis: Dr. Daniel Woolf is the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University, as well as a Professor in the Department of History. His research has focused on early modern British intellectual and cultural history, and the global history of historical writing. He is the author of four books and co-editor of several others, and his most recent books are volumes 3 and 5 of the five-volume Oxford History of Historical Writing, a series of which he is editor-in-chief, and a one-volume history of historiography, A Global History of History. In this episode, Dr. Woolf discusses the history of historiography and how he became interested in this topic during his undergraduate and graduate careers. He explains how early modernists usually study the past as constructed through texts and documents, and that what a scholar makes of the text changes over time. Dr. Woolf also discusses his work on the Tudors and Stuarts, where he looks in unlikely places, such as materials from country record offices, to study this history. Please visit Daniel’s website for more information.

Professor, Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy

Synopsis: Dr. Tony Noble is a Professor in the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy whose research focuses on astroparticle physics and the search for dark matter. He is involved in the DEAP-3600 liquid argon experiment and the PICO experiment at SNOLAB, both of which are looking for dark matter. In this episode, Dr. Noble explains how the field of particle astrophysics came to be, and gives the example of the solar neutrino problem where scientists were trying to understand the basic properties of one of the most ubiquitous particles in the universe. There are a billion neutrinos going through your thumbnail every second! Dr. Noble also explains the history of the SNO project, which was designed to study solar neutrinos, as well as the new projects happening at SNOLAB. Please visit Tony’s website for more information.

Lecturer, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Synopsis: Professor Antonio Nicaso is a researcher who studies Mafia and mafia-type criminal organizations. He is regularly asked for input on organized crime activities by international governments and law-enforcement agencies. He has recently had his true crime novel Business or Blood: Mafia Boss Vito Rizzuto’s Last War turned into a television series called Bad Blood on City TV. In this episode, Nicaso explains how he came to research Mafia and other organized crime. While he does use empirical evidence, such as court documents, to gather information, he also collects data from the “under world and the upper world” to show all sides of the issue. Nicaso then discusses how he handles confidentiality and meetings with those involved in this area, as well as his own findings on how organized crime creates connections to the “upper world.”

Please visit Antonio’s website for more information about his research.

Assistant Professor of At-Risk Learners and Student Success, Faculty of Education

Synopsis: Dr. Alana Butler’s area of research is at-risk children and their families in elementary and secondary school settings, as well as equity, diversity, and inclusion policies and practices at all levels of education. Her doctoral research focused on the experiences of Black students in Canadian and American higher education, and she has a taught in many different settings. Dr. Butler discusses the components of defining “at-risk,” including mental health, overall wellbeing, and the risk of failure. For children in primary school, low socioeconomic status can bring extreme risk factors and place them on a negative pathway. She also describes “at-risk wealthy” students who can also experience risk, but typically have better access to resources to support them. Dr. Butler combines structural factors and sociocultural factors to study the situations of at-risk students in her research. Please visit Alana’s website for more information about her research.

Professor, Department of Chemistry

Synopsis: Dr. Gregory Jerkiewicz’s research is focused on surface and materials electrochemistry as well as molecular-level electrocatalysis. He directs an international research project (Ni Electro Can) that is developing nickel-based materials for applications in fuel cells and other technologies. In this episode, Dr. Jerkiewicz explains the science behind electrochemistry, which creates chemical reactions that generate electrons and uses electrical energy to direct chemical reactions that would not occur spontaneously in other settings. He also gives fuel cells as an example of electrochemistry in action, as fuel cells power devices from cars to cell phones. His current project looks at how to mimic the qualities of platinum as a catalyst in nickel instead. He is hoping to reignite (almost literally, since it has been used in several space missions before) interest in using nickel in fuel cells. For more information about Gregory’s project, visit the Ni Electro Can project webpage.

Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Planning

Synopsis: Dr. Leela Viswanathan is studying the intersection of planning, equity and diversity, and her team is trying to educate municipalities about how cities are located on Indigenous traditional and treaty territories. She has an ongoing SSHRC-funded project that aims to improve Indigenous-Municipal relations in the context of land use planning in Southern Ontario. In this episode, Dr. Viswanathan discusses the importance of enhancing relationships between municipalities and Indigenous peoples when involved in land use planning. She emphasizes that planning must occur within terms that both sides agree on together, and that both history and context are important for all communities. Indigenous peoples have been historically displaced from lands and excluded from land use planning, and Leela’s project is seeking to understand and change provincial policies surrounding planning consultation. For more about her research, please visit Leela’s website.

Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change and Professor, Department of Biology

Synopsis: Dr. John Smol is world-renowned paleolimnologist (someone who studies long-term environmental change using lake sediments), and he has received over 60 awards for his research, outreach and teaching. He has conducted studies around the world on the impacts of humans on the environment, with a particular focus on the Arctic. In this episode, Dr. Smol describes how the study of paleolimnology allows humans to study the difference between natural and human changes to the environment. The changes in lakes are often “under the radar,” and Dr. Smol explains how these subtle changes are affecting fish populations and altering the ecology of lakes. Dr. Smol sees his duty as providing both scientific knowledge to public policy-makers and tools for science translation to the general public so that everyone can understand the science behind climate change. To read more about his research, visit John’s website.

Assistant Professor, Paintings Conservation, Department of Art History and Art Conservation

Synopsis: Patricia Smithen is an art conservator and Queen’s alumna who teaches in the Master of Art Conservation program at Queen’s. Prior to pursuing doctoral studies, she worked as a paintings conservator at the Canadian Conservation Institute, as a private practitioner in Montreal and at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and as the Conservator of Modern and Contemporary Paintings at the Tate Conservation Department. In this episode, Smithen describes what the “science” is behind art conservation, as well as the study of paint itself. Her research focuses on the use of acrylic paint in many settings, including by famous artists like Jackson Pollock. She also discusses the future of street art and the mediums used to create and preserve it, as well as the ethics of graffiti art. For more about her research, please visit Patricia’s website.

Professor, Department of Medicine

Synopsis: Dr. Adrian Baranchuk studies electrocardiography, sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease, and complex ablation. In this episode, Dr. Baranchuk discusses his motivation for entering the field of cardiology, including his intense curiosity to understand the mathematical modelling of cardiac arrhythmias. With the help of two students, Sohaib Hasseb and Bryce Alexander, he assembled an exciting study about the links between alcohol and cardiovascular health, which was recently published in the top journal Circulation. The eam looked at the different recommendations put forward by multiple countries to see if there was consensus on the subject. Dr. Baranchuk then discusses the recommendations for wine specifically, with the magic number being two standard drinks (150ml) per day for men, and one standard drink per day for women according to the American Heart Association.

Adrian and his students wrote about their wine study for The Conversation. Visit Adrian’s website for further information.

Professor of Elementary Mathematics, Faculty of Education

Synopsis: Dr. Lynda Colgan’s lifelong mission is to make science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fun. She has published award-winning books about mathematics education, created toolkits for educators and students, inspired several television series for children, and directed the wildly successful Science Rendezvous Kingston for over seven years. Dr. Colgan discusses the anxieties of North American adults surrounding math literacy, even though many use mathematics in everyday situations without realizing it. Ontario students as early as Grade 3 are already taking on negative attitudes towards math, and scores on standardized mathematics tests are dropping rapidly. Dr. Colgan is concerned that less than 50% of Ontario high school students are graduating with math and science credits. She has seen that students who see their mistakes as opportunities to learn instead of feeling discouraged by failure are able to perform better in the classroom. The song “The New Math” by Tom Lehrer can be found on YouTube, and more information can be found on Lynda’s website.

Canada Research Chair in Nationalism and Democracy and Professor, Department of Political Studies

Synopsis: Born in Belfast and educated at Trinity College Dublin, Dr. John McGarry is a highly decorated political scientist specializing in conflict resolution who received extensive international praise for his role in the Good Friday Agreement. He has acted as Senior Advisor on Governance to the United Nations-led negotiations in Cyprus, and he has advised on the conflict in Yemen as well. Dr. McGarry discusses the commonalities of injustice he has seen in ethnic conflicts and civil wars, as well as the forces behind a conflict’s instigation. One community often perceives itself as being repressed and discriminated against by the other community, leading them to be seen as “second-class citizens.” He also discusses the fair and balanced constitutional dispensation used Northern Ireland to successfully resolve the conflict between Catholic and Protestant communities. See John’s website for more information on his research

Professor, Department of English Language and Literature

Synopsis: Dr. Laura Murray has published and taught extensively in Indigenous studies, US literature, copyright law, and cultural policy, and has been involved with community arts and political activism. She is also the Director of the Swamp Ward and Inner Harbour History Project, which is collecting stories through oral history and archival research to better understand the history of Kingston. In this episode, she discusses the benefits and challenges surrounding the use of oral history as an analytical tool, and how she is able to recruit community members for her project. Her project explores the history of the industrial Swamp Ward neighborhood and the diverse populations within it, and she describes how her research projects have come to fruition through community engagement and teaching. For more information, please visit Laura’s website or the SWIHHP website.