Best Canada Foundation For Innovation Podcasts (2025)

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Lori Brotto: Let's talk about sex! 34:47

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2M ago34:47

34:47

Dr. Lori Brotto is internationally recognized as a leader in sexual health research. She has evaluated psychological interventions for sexual dysfunction and genital pain, which collectively impact 1/3 of women. Her work influences practice internationally, with mindfulness now implemented in sexual medicine centres and recommended as front line ca…

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10,000 ways | Jan Rainey is untangling the mysteries of spider silks 24:26

4M ago24:26

24:26

The Dalhousie University researcher is looking to create synthetic versions of spider's silk that have the potential to help heal damaged nerves and damaged hearts. Researcher Jan Rainey’s curiosity about synthetic fibres began during an undergraduate work term with DuPont. Years later, he heard stories from a fellow researcher that alluded to the …

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"Sometimes when you share a story it frees the storyteller from stigma": On digital storytelling and stigma reduction with Dr. Mike Lang and Kristy Wolfe 39:14

5M ago39:14

39:14

This podcast invited Dr. Mike Lang and Kristy Wolfe, digital storytelling experts at Common Language Digital Storytelling to reflect on the power of digital storytelling and stigma reduction. Carmen met Mike and Kristy at the First International Digital Storytelling Festival in Greece in 2024 where she was blown away by their powerful stories acros…

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10,000 ways | Pooneh Maghoul: Working at the forefront of geotechnical engineering 21:04

6M ago21:04

21:04

(Available only in French) Can our critical infrastructure withstand the effects of climate change? Pooneh Maghoul and her research team are working to make our bridges, roads and other critical infrastructures more resistant to climate change and extreme environments on Earth and in space. She founded the Sustainable Infrastructure and Geoengineer…

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10,000 ways | Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan are global leaders in pandemic preparedness 24:09

8M ago24:09

24:09

In 2002, German researcher Volker Gerdts relocated to Saskatoon. Cutting-edge vaccine research was the attraction. Now he is at the helm of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) World-renowned infectious disease specialist Volker Gerdts calls himself a “builder” who is carefully assembling a passionate team working to stop disease …

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10,000 ways | How neuroendocrinology crosses sectors to create promising new insights 23:26

10M ago23:26

23:26

(This podcast is only available in French) Nafissa Ismail focuses on the effects of hormones on the brain to pin down the interactions between our organs and our emotions Epidemiological data shows that the roots of depression form during puberty or adolescence for 75 percent of adults experiencing it. Nafissa Ismail is a professor at the Universit…

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10,000 ways | The future of flight depends on sustainability that goes beyond biofuels 25:04

11M ago25:04

25:04

The University of Waterloo’s Suzanne Kearns is a global leader in sustainable aviation, but her flight path wasn’t without turbulence. Suzanne Kearns grew up in Wiarton, Ont., where she would lie in the grass and watch airplanes from the local airport take flight overhead. Her dreams of flying led to a fixed-wing licence at 16 and helicopter licenc…

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10,000 ways | Meet Acadian researcher Céline Surette, for whom interdisciplinarity is second nature 23:45

1+ y ago23:45

23:45

(This podcast is only available in French.) This is a podcast about curious researchers, leading-edge science, and the joys of discovery. Céline Surette embodies both the chemistry of living things and interdisciplinarity to serve the real needs and questions of communities. And to achieve this, and ensure that critical thinking triumphs, she'll pu…

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10,000 ways | Should bodies of water have the same legal status as people? 24:08

1+ y ago24:08

24:08

This podcast is about curious researchers, leading-edge science and the joys of discovery. Researcher Kelsey Leonard, member of the Shinnecock Nation and founder of the Wampum Lab at the University of Waterloo, delves into ocean, water and climate justice. Shinnecock is a dialect derived from the Algonquian language. It means “people of the stony s…

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10,000 ways | Science (sea) star 22:50

2y ago22:50

22:50

(Available only in French) This is a podcast about curious researchers, leading-edge science, and the joys of discovery. Ocean science research is at a pivotal moment according to Guillaume St-Onge, Director of the Institut des sciences de la mer de Rimouski at Université du Québec à Rimouski. Canada abounds with ocean science expertise and technol…

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10,000 Ways | Reinforcing the reliability of our vulnerable electricity grid 23:07

2y ago23:07

23:07

This podcast is about curious researchers, leading-edge science and the joys of discovery. York University’s Pirathayini Srikantha studies power grid systems with the aim of keeping Canada’s infrastructure safe from fluctuations and hackers. Find out why she’s passionate about power. Our power grid is vulnerable. For one thing, it’s aging. For anot…

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Dr. Angela Kaida: What does it mean to practice allyship in contexts of stigma? 42:03

2y ago42:03

42:03

Dr. Angela Kaida is a Simon Fraser University Distinguished Professor and the Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute for Gender and Health. Dr. Kaida’s research interests pertain to understanding the impact of expanding access to HIV treatment and prevention services on sexual and reproductive intentions,…

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Kim Canady on HIV-related stigma: Make the uncomfortable, comfortable 45:29

2y ago45:29

45:29

Kim Canady is an HIV/AIDS activist, advocate, mother, and wife born with HIV. Throughout her adolescence, Kimberly became a member of many HIV/AIDS awareness organizations. These organizations include Theo, Heat, UNICEF, YWCHAC, co-chair of YACAC, spokesmodel for New York State Department of Health campaign HIVSTOPSWITHME, and Love Heals. As an Afr…

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10,000 ways | Alex Langlois fell in love with the Arctic. Find out why he's fired up! 24:09

2+ y ago24:09

24:09

(This podcast is available only in French) This podcast is about curious researchers, leading-edge science and the joys of discovery. Alexandre Langlois is passionate about all aspects of his job. As a researcher in Northern Canada, he studies the fastest-warming place on the planet and presents data on the issues that await us in terms of climate …

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Bridgette Picou: Challenge HIV stigma-Educate Yourself and Get Tested! 35:12

2+ y ago35:12

35:12

Bridgette Picou is a nurse with several years of HIV and infectious disease experience and an avid blogger with The Well Project. She also writes a guest column with Positively Aware Magazine called "Being Bridgette." In addition to her LVN license, Bridgette has been certified as an AIDS Care Nurse (ACLPN) and received the 2022 Patrick Kenny Certi…

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10,000 ways | The healing power of food: how nutrition and Carla Prado help treat cancer 24:51

2+ y ago24:51

24:51

(Ce balado est uniquement disponible en anglais.) On a cold March 2, 2004, Carla Prado arrived on the doorsteps of the University of Alberta. She left behind her native Brazil to fulfill a dream of studying abroad. Today, she is an academic leader in body composition research who passionately shares the benefits of protein-rich diets in the treatme…

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Ciarra "Ci Ci" Covin on HIV Stigma: People living with HIV are still human, with the same desires 24:46

2+ y ago24:46

24:46

Ciarra “Ci Ci” Covin is a mother, advocate, and lover of all human beings. Diagnosed with HIV at the age of 20, Ci Ci has curated a life of HIV and mental advocacy through both her lived experience and education. Ci Ci is program manager at The Well Project, past Ambassador for the CDC’s Let’s Stop HIV Together Campaign, and Owner of Healing Is Vol…

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Lezlie Lowe on Sanitation Stigma: "We are taught that toilets are funny or toilets are gross" 39:38

2+ y ago39:38

39:38

Lezlie Lowe began her freelance radio, newspaper, and magazine career in 1996. She has penned and produced pieces on urban rats, roadkill cemeteries and, prominently, public toilets. Lowe has been a finalist and multiple winner at the Radio Television Digital News Association Awards, the Atlantic Journalism Awards, and the Canadian Association of J…

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Chelsea Wald on Sanitation Stigma: Potty Talk with the Author of 'Pipe Dreams' 39:28

2+ y ago39:28

39:28

Chelsea Wald has repeatedly plunged into the topic of toilets since 2013, when editors first approached her to write about the latent potential in our stagnating infrastructure. Since then she has traveled to Italy, South Africa, Indonesia, and Haiti, as well as throughout the Netherlands and the United States, in search of the past and future of t…

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Dr. Caetano Dorea on Sanitation Stigma: It's More Than Just a Toilet 39:21

2+ y ago39:21

39:21

Dr. Caetano Dorea is a Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, at the University of Victoria. His interests and expertise are at the crossroads of environmental and public health engineering. You can learn more about his Public Health & Environmental Engineering (PH2E) Lab research here, his publications here, and follow him on Twitter here. We…

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10,000 ways | Why using sound to treat disease is beautiful music to Simone Dalla Bella's ears 24:50

3y ago24:50

24:50

(This podcast is available only in French) This podcast is about curious researchers, leading-edge science and the joys of discovery. Simone Dalla Bella of Montréal’s International Laboratory for BRAin, Music and Sound Research asks “How can music help us in our daily tasks? And how can it slow down the deleterious effects of diseases such as Parki…

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10,000 ways | Learn how Leyla Soleymani's curious nature is making life less sticky! 25:58

3y ago25:58

25:58

(Ce balado est uniquement disponible en anglais.) Leyla Soleymani is Canada’s Research Chair in Miniaturized Biomedical Devices. Her passion for the miniature world of nanotech and her commitment to collaboration have led her and her colleagues at McMaster University to inventions ranging from rapid tests that use pig saliva to disease detection to…

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Dr. David Brennan: GB2M Stigma, HIV, Blood Donation Bans, Monkeypox and Pride 47:42

3+ y ago47:42

47:42

Professor David J. Brennan is the Associate Dean, Research at Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto. He is the founder and director of the CRUISElab, an interdisciplinary, community-based social work research lab dedicated to addressing the sexual, mental, physical, and emotional health of gay, bisexual, two-spirit, cis- an…

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10,000 ways | How does Anna Blakney use TikTok to help people understand mRNA vaccines? 26:37

3+ y ago26:37

26:37

(Ce balado est uniquement disponible en anglais.) For many, RNA vaccines seem to have appeared out of nowhere. The curious and the hesitant have wondered how a vaccine to fight COVID-19 could have been brought to market so quickly. In fact, messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines have been in development for over three decades. Here is the story about a pers…

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Dr. Steffanie Strathdee: Stigma and why phage therapy was forgotten 36:06

3+ y ago36:06

36:06

Dr. Steffanie Strathdee is Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences and Harold Simon Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. She co-directs UCSD’s new center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH), Global Health Institute and the International Core of UC…

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Jessica Lynn Whitbread: Challenge stigma & #LovePositiveWomen 56:18

3+ y ago56:18

56:18

As a community organizer, artist, activist, academic and at times a “professional”, Jessica Lynn Whitbread is interested in doing work that creates spaces for dialogue about social justice and social change. She does this through public installations, consciousness raising, workshop development and facilitation, engaging in direct action, policy re…

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Sabby Duthie & John E. Johnson: Stigma & Elder Abuse 41:39

4y ago41:39

41:39

Sabby Duthie and John E. Johnson are authors of 'Elder Abuse: You have a role to play'. This first-of-its-kind book undertakes the uncomfortable conversation that elder abuse is widespread and very real. John E. Johnson, a retired lawyer, and Sabby Duthie, a former retirement-home owner, share real stories from families of different generations and…

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Annie Philpott: Stigma, Sex and the Pleasure Revolution 50:38

4y ago50:38

50:38

Annie Philpott is a public health professional, pleasure propagandist and ‘guerrilla girl’ of HIV prevention. She founded The Pleasure Project in 2004, an international education and advocacy organization working to eroticize safer sex. The Pleasure Project builds bridges between the public health world and the pleasure and sex industry, and help t…

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Dr. Keosha Bond: Gendered Racism & Changing the Narrative 47:21

4y ago47:21

47:21

Dr. Keosha T. Bond is an Assistant Medical Professor in the Department of Community Health and Social Medicine at the CUNY School of Medicine. She is a trained behavioral scientist and sexual health educator who has centered her work on the complex intersections of race, sexuality, social justice, and health equity among individuals of marginalized…

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Dr. Steve Bell: Seek to be surprised 46:24

4y ago46:24

46:24

Associate Professor Steve Bell is a Principal Research Fellow in the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Queensland. He is an applied health and social researcher with 20 years’ experience of qualitative, participatory and ethnographic research on sexual, reproductive and maternal health, HIV and other infectious diseases. He…

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Calvin Hudson Hwang: Anti-Asian Racism & COVID-19 53:10

4y ago53:10

53:10

Calvin Hudson Hwang is an award winning Taiwanese Canadian director, producer and founder of SUPRE. SUPRE aims to empower underpowered voices and present often unheard points-of-view with insight, vulnerability and authenticity. They find unconventional ways to produce films to make them openly accessible for everyone to watch. Calvin's directorial…

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Dr. Laura Ferguson: Dismantling hierarchies of power & knowledge 45:04

4y ago45:04

45:04

Laura Ferguson is an assistant professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California, the director of the Program on Global Health & Human Rights and the director of research at the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health. Her research focuses on understanding and addressing health system and societal factors affecting he…

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Elder Valerie Nicholson: We are the voices behind the numbers 50:51

4+ y ago50:51

50:51

Elder Valerie Nicholson, of Mi’kmaq, Haida, Gypsy and English descent, is a storyteller and researcher, an advocate and an artivist. She works at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS as a co-principal investigator and community-based researcher, and brings her knowledge back to her communities. She is an HIV Older for the Weaving Our Wisdom (WO…

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Dr. Ayden Scheim: Finding your place to plug in to challenge stigma 42:21

4+ y ago42:21

42:21

Dr. Ayden Scheim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health. He is also an Affiliate Scientist in the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation and Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital (Toronto) and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Epidemiology…

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Dr. Nitika Pant Pai: The elephant in the room was stigma 55:13

4+ y ago55:13

55:13

Dr Nitika Pant Pai is Associate Professor at McGill University’s Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Epidemiology and a Physician Scientist at the MUHC Research Institute. She has been working in diagnostics for 20 years in the United States, Canada, South Africa, and India, with a focus on point of care diagnostics for HIV, Hepatitis C, H…

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Dr. Amrita Daftary: Stigma, tuberculosis & 'nothing about us, without us!' 39:05

4+ y ago39:05

39:05

Dr. Amrita Daftary is an Assistant Professor of Global Health at York University and a social and behavioural global health researcher. Dr. Daftary examines health care seeking and caregiving practices for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV. Her projects are based in a number of global settings, particularly South Africa, India, and Canada. Learn more about…

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Dr. Patrick Sullivan: Dialing in from a small town- PrEP, HIV and sexual stigma 43:28

4+ y ago43:28

43:28

Dr. Patrick Sullivan, Professor of Epidemiology at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, has spent two decades investigating HIV. He implements innovative technology – mobile phones, tablets, text messaging, and online tools – into HIV and AIDS care and research. Find out more about Patrick's work at PRISM Health and learn more about his researc…

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Dr. Julie Pulerwitz: We need more than information to address stigma 46:23

4+ y ago46:23

46:23

Dr. Julie Pulerwitz is the director of the Population Council’s HIV and AIDS program, where she provides leadership for a portfolio of research that generates evidence to inform HIV programs and policies around the world. Among her contributions, Dr. Pulerwitz is known for her conceptual and methodological work developing tools to measure power in …

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Dr. Chris Beyrer: Nobody should be excluded from our compassion 43:40

4+ y ago43:40

43:40

Chris Beyrer MD, MPH, is the Desmond M. Tutu Professor of Public Health and Human Rights at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a Professor of Epidemiology, International Health, Health, Behavior and Society, and Nursing. He serves as Director of Johns Hopkins Training Program in HIV Epidemiology and Pr…

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Dr. Daniel Buchman: Stigma and the importance of believing people 53:49

4+ y ago53:49

53:49

Dr. Daniel Buchman is a Bioethicist and Independent Scientist in the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at CAMH. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, a member of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, and an Affiliate Scientist in the Krembil Research …

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Dr. Kenneth Mayer: In it from the beginning to promote LGBT health 34:24

4+ y ago34:24

34:24

Dr. Kenneth Mayer is Medical Research Director and Co-Chair of The Fenway Institute. He is also a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; a Professor, Department of Global Health and Population at Harvard School of Public Health; and an Editor-in-Chief at the Journal of the International AIDS Society. Find out more about Dr. Mayer's work h…

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Dr. Charlotte Loppie: Understanding the roots of anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism 46:51

4+ y ago46:51

46:51

Dr. Charlotte Loppie is a Mi’kmaq/French Acadian scholar. She is a Professor in the School of Public Health and Social Policy and the Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Human and Social Development. Dr. Loppie’s guiding principle is to be of service to Indigenous communities, collectives and organizations. To that end, she has made it her li…

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Julie Carrier: Taking on sleep medicine

4+ y ago

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This podcast is only available in French. Une chercheuse à l’Université de Montréal se concentre sur le sommeil des femmes. Julie Carrier of the Université de Montréal has devoted her academic career to the fascinating world of sleep, using equipment she received from the CFI to monitor the slumber patterns and sleep disorders of her test subjects.…

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Stéphane Laporte: Using genetics to eliminate the side effects of drugs

4+ y ago

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This podcast is only available in French. A researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre explores ways to improve drugs Stéphane Laporte, a researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, became interested in pharmacological research when he noticed just how often drugs were associated wit…

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Tigran Galstian: Creating molecular lenses

4+ y ago

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This podcast is only available in French. One of the co-founders of LensVector talks about the origins of their molecular lens. Tigran Galstian, professor in the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Optics at Université Laval and co-founder of LensVector, explains the invention of a molecular lens that could, among other things, improve o…

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Jacques Genest: Developing new interventions to cure cardiovascular disease

4+ y ago

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This podcast is only available in French. A researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre studies the link between genetics and cardiovascular disease. In the 1980s, when Jacques Genest was starting out in the Faculty of Medicine, cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death among Canadians. Dr. Genest and his…

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Ina Park: Ever had an STI? Congratulations, it means you are human! 30:26

4+ y ago30:26

30:26

Dr. Ina Park is an associate professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, Medical Consultant at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of STD Prevention, and Medical Director of the California Prevention Training Center. Check out her new book Strange Bedfellows: Adventures in the Scien…

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Gareth Henry: Moving beyond stigma to lift each other up 51:47

4+ y ago51:47

51:47

Gareth Henry is the Executive Director of the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP) with leadership roles in the non-profit and HIV sectors for almost twenty years. He has worked at Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), The 519 Church Street Community Centre and the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation (PWA). Gareth ha…

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Ian Clark: Tracing contaminants in the earth

4+ y ago

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Ce balado est uniquement disponible en anglais. Ian Clark, professor of Earth sciences at the University of Ottawa, explains how radiocarbon dating using an accelerator mass spectrometer can help resolve significant issues surrounding contaminated environments. This podcast is part of an in-depth report on the Advanced Research Complex.…

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Constantin Polychronakos: Using genetics to find a cure for juvenile diabetes - Podcast

4+ y ago

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Ce balado est uniquement disponible en anglais. Constantin Polychronakos has devoted his career to studying the genetics of juvenile diabetes and treating children afflicted with the disease. As head of the Child Health and Human Development Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, he is working towards new interven…