In this week's episode, hosts Riya Sidhu and Ryan Baxter interview Sarah Park, a student in the combined MScOT/PhD program in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Parkinson's disease can have a deleterious effect on walking, or gait. Left untreated, worsening gait (such as uneven pacing, or irregular steps) can lead to negative outcomes, such as falls. Sarah discusses her research in non-pharmacological interventions to help improve walking. Sarah, Riya, and Ryan discuss interdisciplinary research opportunities and ways in which graduate students can become involved in the local community. Sarah is co-supervised by: - Dr. Jessica Grahn, the Principal Investigator of the Music and Neuroscience Lab based out of the Centre for Brain and Mind - and Dr. Jeffrey Holmes, the Principal Investigator of the Health and Human Performance Lab based out of the School of Occupational Therapy For further information on Sarah's research, one may check out her Twitter / X account and her Linkedin. For those in the London community, the Parkinson Society Southwestern Ontario focuses on education, advocacy, community building, and research.

Recorded on Tuesday, August 19, 2025 Produced by Mark Ambrogio Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

In this week's episode, hosts Bruno Mesquita and Garth Casbourn interview Ben Pilling a Master’s student in Psychology.

Ben shares how he plans to build on the classic motor homunculus model using video games in the fMRI throughout his Master's. He also discusses the benefits and considerations of making research more ecologically valid.

Recorded on Tuesday, August 12, 2025. Produced by Riya Sidhu Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

Hosts Ryan Baxter and Chrishma Perera chat with Caitlin Fitzpatrick, a MSc student about to defend her master's in Neuroscience. Caitlin returns to GradCast to discuss her findings into the emotional connection between music and memory, specifically in older adults experiencing "normal" forgetting or mild cognitive impairment.

If you'd like to register as a prospective research participant with OurBrainSCAN, you can do so online: https://ourbrainscan.uwo.ca/

If you're interested in attending a public defense at Western, consider reviewing details available on Western's Events Calendar and filtering by Public Events: https://www.events.westernu.ca/

Recorded on Tuesday, August 5, 2025 Produced by kirstyn seanor Theme song provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)