Learn Real Good Podcast

15/12/2023

Episode 40 is out wherever you get your podcasts!

11/12/2023

Our 4th season wraps up this Friday with our 40th episode, where our guest is Jonas Welsch! Jonas is currently in his 4th and final year as a PhD in electrical engineering at The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada working on microfabricated ultrasound transducers. Previously he studied aerospace engineering in his Bachelors and Masters at the University Stuttgart in Germany. Jonas loves hiking, travelling and is especially passionate about all things Aerospace, which is astonishing given his first flight was only a semester prior to finishing his undergrad in the subject.

Don't miss this one!

07/12/2023

Episode 39 is out tomorrow. Here's a taste of what is to come!

05/12/2023

Yeast is everywhere. We use it to make bread and beer but it’s a fungus with its own biology. Science is turning to yeast once again to make wonderful things for us. We can bioengineer it to turn its natural processes into building compounds that humans can use, like medicine. That’s the researc...

04/12/2023

Our next guest is Zak Kaal! Zak is currently a master's student at the University of Alberta. His master's thesis focuses on upgrading a renewable liquid fuel into a sustainable jet fuel. When Zak isn't in the lab, he enjoys spending time outdoors, volunteering with local communities, and playing soccer.

Learn about Zak's research on Episode 39 of LRG, out Friday!

30/11/2023

Episode 38 is out tomorrow. Here’s a clip!

27/11/2023

Our next guest is Asia Vighi! Asia is a PhD student at McGill University. She graduated with her bachelor's degree in bioengineering in 2022. Her current research focuses on transforming yeast cells into miniature factories that are capable of sustainably producing useful compounds for human use. In her free time, she enjoys reading fantasy books, making miniature rooms, and has recently gotten into ceramics!

You can learn more about Asia's work on her Twitter () or her lab group's Twitter (), or by listening to Episode 38 of LRG, out this Friday!

24/11/2023

The human brain has receptors for cannabinoids which the body naturally produces to regulate stress. The connection between cannabis use and mental health has long been discussed but still requires much study. Lyne Baaj is a Master’s student in neuroscience at McGill University examining the effec...

20/11/2023

Introducing our guest for Episode 37: Lyne Baaj! Lyne is currently a Masters student in Neuroscience at McGill University. Her research focuses on investigating the effects of cannabis use on depression and anxiety symptoms. In her free time, Lyne loves hiking with her dog and baking.

Hear all about what Lyne has been up to in Episode 37 of Learn Real Good, out this Friday!

16/11/2023

Episode 36 is out tomorrow! Kids learn about shapes from a very young age. Circles, squares, triangles are familiar territory. But when it comes to high-energy physics, the topology gets a good deal more complicated. Recent PhD grad and mathematician, Christopher Mahadeo, joins us to talk about the geometry of shapes that are used in cutting edge physics. Vinny and Katie talk about detecting radioactivity and the human genome project.

13/11/2023

Meet our guest from Episode 36: Christopher Mahadeo! Christopher is currently a Research Assistant Professor in Mathematics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He recently obtained his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Saskatchewan. In math lingo, his PhD thesis investigated the relationship between twisted Higgs bundles and topological recursion. In slightly more user-friendly language, he studied the geometry of shapes related to high-energy physics and “strange” quantum materials. Christopher’s favourite pastimes are reading manga and watching anime, and swing dancing. Check out Episode 36 of Learn Real Good, out on Friday!

10/11/2023

Episode 35 is out now! Listen now, 'cause this one is SALTY!

Anyone who enjoys potato chips knows how great salty foods are. We, as humans, need salt for so many of our functions including our neurons and muscle contractions so it makes sense that we find it so enjoyable. But how do our brains know when we’re getting some of that salty goodness? We talk wit...

09/11/2023

Hear's a TASTE of Episode 35! Hope we didn't over-salt it...

06/11/2023

Our next guest is Sasha McDowell! Sasha is currently a PhD candidate in Zoology at the University of British Columbia. She is using the fruit fly as a model organism to understand how the taste system detects salt. Sasha loves exploring Vancouver with friends, and when her introversion kicks in, she likes to read and do creative writing. You can follow her on twitter/X at .

Listen to Episode 35 on Friday to learn all about Sasha's work!

02/11/2023

Episode 34 is out tomorrow. Here's a taste of what you are in for!

30/10/2023

Our next guest is Georgia Loewen! Georgia is a Master’s student at Carleton University, and has a biosystems engineering degree from The University of Manitoba. Her research at Carleton focuses on exploring video game accessibility for players with upper limb motor disabilities through wearable technology. Aside from accessibility research Georgia enjoys baking, playing video games, and cosplaying.

Listen to Episode 34, out Friday, to hear all about Georgia's research!

26/10/2023

Episode 33 with Dorothy Lin is out tomorrow!

23/10/2023

Our next guest is Dorothy Lin! Dorothy is a recent MSc graduate in Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia. Her research is focused on leveraging data from large cohorts to statistically model the associations between environmental chemicals and the epigenome (modifications to DNA that do not alter the underlying genetic code).

Tune in to Episode 33 to hear all about Dorothy's awesome work! Out on Friday!

19/10/2023

Episode 32 with our guest, Saif Nayani, is out tomorrow! Here's a taste of what is to come.

16/10/2023

Meet our next guest: Saif Nayani! Saif is a Master’s of Pest Management student in the Gries lab at Simon Fraser University, where he also did his undergraduate schooling in ecology, evolution and conservational biology. In his research, he looks for microbe-derived attractive chemicals for blood-feeding stable flies, a pest of cattle, in the hopes of helping to develop traps to reduce pest fly populations.

Listen to Episode 32 of Learn Real Good, out Friday, to learn all about Saif and his work!

13/10/2023

We think of hospitals as clean and sterile environments. But there will always be bacteria in any environment, including in and on the people in the hospitals. This week’s guest, Rita Lam, is an engineer/microbiologist who investigates how sunlight affects the microbiome in hospitals. Vinny and Ka...

13/10/2023

Episode 31 with our guest, Rita Lam, is out now! Get it from the Podcavern website, or wherever you get your podcasts!

We think of hospitals as clean and sterile environments. But there will always be bacteria in any environment, including in and on the people in the hospitals. This week’s guest, Rita Lam, is an engineer/microbiologist who investigates how sunlight affects the microbiome in hospitals. Vinny and Ka...

12/10/2023

Episode 31 with our guest, Rita Lam, is out tomorrow! Check it out to learn all about how windows are related to your gut bacteria.

09/10/2023

Episode 31 of Learn Real Good is out this Friday! Our first guest of Season 4 is: Rita Lam! Rita recently graduated from the University of British Columbia Okanagan with a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. However, she is actually a "fake engineer" and a microbiologist instead. Her Master's projects investigated how indoor daylight affects the indoor microbiome in a controlled lab environment and an inpatient hospital. She loves wine tasting (WSETII certified sommelier), outdoor activities, and traveling.

06/10/2023

Learn Real Good is BACK for Season 4!! We have 10 amazing grad student guests ready to share their research with you and the world, starting next Friday! Stay tuned!

25/07/2023

How's your summer going? We hope you're staying cool in the shade and hydrating with your beverage of choice.

Us? Our summer project is to start a YouTube channel. We're going to take all the science news and facts we've covered through previous seasons and turn them into short videos.

And now our first one, about binary stars and fungus, is up for your listening pleasure!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKwY00Qk1Rs
(6m20s)

Vinny & Katie share science facts and news about binary stars and fungus!From Episode 1 of the Learn Real Good PodcastLearn Real Good is a podcast that combi...

10/04/2023

Science Slam Canada is hosting two virtual events Canada-wide in May and June. They are recruiting participants who may be interested in presenting. This is an excellent opportunity for research trainees to get science communication experience.

The application form to participate as a Slammer can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1R_UsSQPE09nImmH5_S7mneeSVeJSuVEpNrgcrzYSTYg/viewform?edit_requested=true

21/03/2023

More than 150 McGill graduate students from across the university accepted this year’s Three Minute Thesis| Ma thèse en 180 secondes challenge. After weeks of competition and feedback, only fifteen remain! Who can best present their cutting-edge research to a lay audience with just 3 minutes and a single slide? Come to the competition final and find out!

Join us on March 29, 2023 from 3-5pm at the Faculty Club (or online) for this exciting event where you’ll have the opportunity to cheer on some of McGill’s brightest minds and vote for the People’s Choice Award. Judges will award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. 3MT/MT180 Presentations will be given in English or French.

For more information about the final competition and to register to attend visit:

Register to join us in person or online on March 29, 2023 from 3:00 - 5:00pm! The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a global competition, founded by the University of Queensland in 2008, that cultivates graduate students' academic, presentation and research communication skills. This year, more than 150....

14/08/2022

That’s it for us in Toronto. Thanks for having us as some of your SciComm Experts for the weekend. We had such a good time meeting so many amazing scientists! See ya later,