Mistakes, Missteps, and Mindsets: Stories of Failure and Resilience in Academia

Welcome back Listeners! After a long hiatus we are back with an interview from Dr. Frances Wong! Dr. Wong is a former assistant professor in the department of chemistry and biology here at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her past research focused on cellular systems biology of early human placental development and today her academic interest lies in pedagogy in higher education. Dr. Wong has some very interesting insights on  repr...

This Week on the Podcast we have Dr. Costin Antonescu. Dr. Antonescu is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology at Toronto Metropolitan University. Aside from teaching Cell Biology, he holds the role of Undergraduate Biology Program Director, and serves as Chair for the TMU Dimensions program, an NSERC initiative to increase equity, diversity, and inclusion in postsecondary institutions.

His research investigates how...

Today’s guest, is Toronto Metropolitan University alum Andrew Harris. Andrew completed his BSc with Honours in medical physics in 2016. During his undergraduate degree and following graduation, he worked in research labs at TMU in the Department of physics and chemistry, and Sunnybrook Hospital, largely assisting with computer programming. He has also engaged in research at Western University in the department of Medical Biophysics...

This week on the podcast we have Dr. Stefania Impellizzeri! We discuss changing academic paths, Schrödinger's cat, and the motivation that comes with being told you "can't" do something.

Dr. Impellizzeri is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology at Toronto Metropolitan University. In addition to her faculty role at TMU, she also holds the position of Jet Ice Research Chair in Sustainable Materials Chemist...

We are back from the brink of the end-of-semester slump with a brand new episode featuring Dr. Areej Al-Hamad!

Dr. Al-Hamad is an Assistant Professor at the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Toronto Metropolitan University and an adjunct professor at the University of Calgary in Canada and Qatar. She holds two doctorate degrees: the first in Rural and Northern Health from Laurentian University and the second in Nursing from the ...

This week we talked with Élyse Comeau a PhD candidate in Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. Élyse works in urban planning, specializing in transportation policy, planning, and equity. Her current research focuses on the intersection of transportation planning and accessibility, and her dissertation work is specifically focused on accessible student transportation.

She works as a Research Affiliate in the Engagemen...

This week we talked to Dr. Bryan Koivisto, an associate professor here at TMU in the Department of Chemistry and Biology.

Dr. Koivisto talks about the struggle that was his undergraduate journey, failing the very course he teaches today, how he dealt with parental pressure, and how sometimes all you need is a duck to bring you back from the brink.

To learn more about Dr. Koivisto's work visit: https://www.torontomu.ca/solar/

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This week we interviewed Dr. Kateryna Metersky, an assistant professor from Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Dr. Metersky talks to us about her work studying people-centered care and the intersectionality between health and socioeconomic standing, the struggles she had explaining to her parents her choice to pursue academia, and how she finally made them proud all these years later.

To learn mor...

This week we talk to Dr. Eden Fussner-Dupas is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UBC and former TMU instructor about her unconventional journey to becoming a professor.

From failing her first chemistry exam, to ultimately obtaining a PhD in biochemistry, Dr. Fussner-Dupas frames her setbacks as stepping stones that have ultimately led her to becoming a professor who aims t...

This week we interviewed Toronto Metropolitan University professor Dr. Lynda McCarthy about her journey from visiting the Canada Center for Inland Waters with her elementary school to becoming a great lakes ecotoxicologist and professor. Dr. McCarthy details the struggles she faced going from an institution with unlimited resources to a burgeoning start-up university, having her research shut down under questionable circumstances, ...