Knowledge By Proxy: Recent Episodes
Tallan Black, Elsa Van Ankum
Tallan Black and Elsa Van Ankum are graduate students at the University of Saskatchewan with a passion for science communication! Our mission is to showcase the humanity at the heart of science through an inclusive, vulnerable, and compassionate lens. Join us as we interview early career researchers in STEM fields and reveal the person behind the discoveries. One story at a time, we will show how embracing empathy and failure enriches our research and the world around us.
Welcome back to a long-awaited episode with the esteemed Dr. Michelle Collins! The heart is a complex organ with a very important job -- if it doesn’t develop according to plan, the consequences can be disastrous. Dr. Collins (Assistant Professor in the dept. Of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Saskatchewan) and her lab seek to understand the genetics underlying heart formation, in order to better understand cardiac diseases. How might one study such a thing? Using the tiny (and adorable) zebrafish, of course! Tune in to hear more about heart science, and Dr. Collins’ research journey.
We're pleased to welcome the formidable Dr. Jane Alcorn (USask Dean of Pharmacy)! Have you ever wondered how a nursing parent's prescription could affect their baby, or what happens to all the cute lil critters used in lab research? We have these answers and so much more in this incredible episode with the one and only Queen of Pharmacokinetics!
We are back and excited to introduce Katherine Fedoroff! Have you ever been out fishing and wondered if and how the sound of your boat may impact the local fish populations? Well Kathrine, an inspirational biologist and new Masters graduate from the University of Saskatchewan, is here to share her research and passion for mental health.
Have you ever looked at a human face and wondered: Why are we like this? This week’s guest, Cassy Appelt, has your answers! Her PhD work zooms down to the molecular level to study how teeth and faces evolved together, and the genetic networks that drive their development.
Before she came to be a PhD student at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine, Cassy completed two (simultaneous!) degrees in Biology and Archaeology. She is also a dedicated teacher and mentor, striving to make science available for everyone. Cassy founded the ASLEEP Initiative (Accessible Scientific Learning & Education Equity Programming), which creates and distributes free resource kits to support grade school science education. Tune in for the science, and stay for the heartfelt witticisms; we hope you enjoy this episode!
See here for The ASLEEP Initiative FaceBook page
See here for some of Cassy’s recent work on genes that drive tooth development
We’re thrilled to introduce our next guest: Dr. Julia Boughner! Prior to her long-time position as Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine (Department of Anatomy, Physiology, & Pharmacology), Julia has completed degrees and post-doc positions across Canada and in the U.K.. She’s an evolutionary developmental (evo-devo) biologist & anthropologist, meaning she tackles questions about human & non-human primates using evo-devo approaches such as genetics, statistical shape analysis, & high-res imaging. Julia’s lab’s primary research question is “What underlies the coordinated development and evolution of the jaws and teeth?”. This has led to investigations into why wisdom teeth become impacted (eg. Marchiori et al. 2019), the genetic network underlying tooth development independently from jaw development (eg. Rostampour & Appelt et al. 2019), and how developing molars find space in the growing jaws of non-human primates (eg. Boughner 2011).
Julia is also an enthusiastic science communicator. She co-founded Café Scientifique (Saskatoon & Vancouver), which is a free monthly pub-night where researchers chat candidly about their work with the public – check out their FaceBook page for upcoming events! Julia also co-founded Evolution Education Canada, which provides resources & support to teach evolution in grade school. Her work is featured in The Conversation, which publishes research in an easily digestible form (Boughner 2018).
We are so excited to welcome our first guest to KBP: Dr. Martha Lyon! After completing two bachelor's degrees (a B. Ed. and a B Sc.) at Queen’s University in Ontario, she continued on to complete a masters degree in the Dept of Pharmacology & Toxicology, and a PhD in the Dept. of Pathology at her alma mater. Currently, she’s a Clinical Biochemist and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine. In the course of her successful career as a clinician, educator, mentor, & researcher, Dr. Lyon has lent her talents to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, the Universities of Washington, Calgary, & Saskatchewan, and the Saskatoon Health Authority. A few highlights of her publication history include: feeding pigs blueberries in the pursuit of healthier hearts (Kalt et al. 2008), investigating how electronic medical records can help create a better experience for transgender patients (Patel, Lyon, & Luu 2021), evaluation of point-of-care devices for accurate glucose detection (Lyon et al. 2019), and planning how to optimize Saskatoon laboratories for surges in COVID testing (Lyon et al. 2020).
Not only is Martha an incredible scientist and pioneer in her field, but she also fuels her accomplishments outside of the lab as an avid x-country skier, powerlifter and documentary-film maker. We cannot wait for you to meet her and hear her story!
Porphyria and the legends of werewolves and vampires
Welcome to episode 2! Join Tallan & Elsa as we chat about the cycle of research: what is the process behind a published research paper? How does creativity factor into science? Follow along with a visual representation of this research cycle here, and let us know what you think on social media!
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Hey y’all, thanks for tuning in for our first episode! Tallan and Elsa chat about what got us into research, the genesis of the podcast, and our shared love of the Relic Hunter TV series. Hop onto our social media and let us know what you think!
Austrian ossuary with hand painted bones
Instagram: @knowledgebyproxy
Twitter: @ProxyPod
Gmail: knowledgebyproxypod@gmail.com
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Hello friends! Here's a bite-sized preview of Tallan & Elsa's new podcast, Knowledge By Proxy. We're excited to show you the cool humans behind cutting-edge science in the near future. Be sure to subscribe & follow us on social media, and email us with any questions or guest suggestions!
Insta: @knowledgebyproxy
Twitter: @ProxyPod
Gmail: knowledgebyproxypod@gmail.com
Website: https://knowledgebyproxypo.wixsite.com/my-site