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Raw Talk is a graduate student-run podcast at the University of Toronto about medical science, and the people who make it happen. We focus on the journeys, perspectives, and expertise of health researchers, professionals, students, patients, and community members at the University of Toronto and beyond. Our mission is to promote the research culture within the Institute of Medical Science, the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, and broader life sciences community; provide guidance to current and prospective graduate students; and to engage the public in medical science innovations and translational research.
Episodes
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Your favourite medical science podcast is making the most of ‘the new normal’ - this year’s Raw Talk Live event was broadcast entirely on YouTube! Over 8 weeks, we spoke to researchers all across Canada about all things COVID-19.
Our 5th instalment focuses on the connections between the COVID-19 pandemic and Climate Change: similarities on both personal and structural levels, key differences, and lessons we can learn from each crisis for the other. We are grateful to be joined by two experts working at the intersections of health and environment: Chúk Odenigbo is Director of Ancestral Services at Future Ancestor Services and a PhD student at The University of Ottawa in Medical Geography. Proudly Franco-Albertan, Chúk is passionate about the interactions between culture, health and the environment. As a former ambassador for the outdoors with MEC, and alumni of the first Ocean Bridge cohort, Chúk was ranked among the top 25 environmentalists under 25 in Canada by the starfish for three years. Gideon Forman is a Climate Change Policy Analyst with the David Suzuki Foundation working to promote renewable energy projects and the expansion of active and public transportation. For over a decade he was Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, leading campaigns against lawn pesticides and coal-fired power. In recognition for his environmental work, Gideon was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in 2013.
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Your favourite medical science podcast is making the most of ‘the new normal’ - this year’s Raw Talk Live event was broadcast entirely on YouTube! Over 8 weeks, we spoke to researchers all across Canada about all things COVID-19.
Our fourth instalment features public health experts Dr. Jeff Kwong and Professor Vivek Goel in a discussion on the public health response to COVID-19 in Canada and Ontario. We also explore the role of public health interventions and the future of the COVID-19 public health response. Dr. Jeff Kwong is an epidemiologist, a specialist in public health and preventive medicine, and a family physician. He is the Program Leader of the Populations and Public Health Program at IC/ES (formerly the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences), a Scientist at Public Health Ontario, a Professor at the University of Toronto, and the Interim Director of the University of Toronto’s Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases. He has conducted a range of studies related to the epidemiology of influenza and other vaccine-preventable diseases. Professor Vivek Goel is a member of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force and the Governing Council for CanCOVID, the national research platform for COVID-19 research. He is also Special Advisor to the President and Provost at the University of Toronto and a Professor in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. He has previously served as the University’s Vice-Provost, Faculty and was subsequently Vice President and Provost from 2004 until 2008. He was a founding scientist at IC/ES, where he continues as an Adjunct Senior Scientist. He served as founding President and CEO of Public Health Ontario from 2008 until 2014, before returning to the University as Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives from 2015-2020.
Dealing with COVID-19: A Balanced Response Letter
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Your favourite medical science podcast is making the most of ‘the new normal’ - this year’s Raw Talk Live event was broadcast entirely on YouTube! Over 8 weeks, we spoke to researchers all across Canada about all things COVID-19.
Our third instalment features Dr. Rima Styra, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and clinician-investigator at the University Health Network, and Donna Alexander, social worker at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, former Vice-President of the Black Health Alliance and Board Member of Black Mental Health Canada and the Community Advisory Committee for Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. We will discuss how our mental health is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the specific psychological effects experienced by healthcare workers and the Black community, and what changes should be made in our mental health systems in response to the “new normal.”
U of T Alumni Offers from our sponsors TD Insurance & MBNA
Mental Health Resources:
The Star: Canada could face a mental health ‘echo pandemic’ in the aftermath of COVID-19
The Star: Here’s what you actually feel: Two Toronto doctors explain the psychology of pandemic
CTV News: Half of Canadians report worsening mental health, experts say woes just beginning
WNYC News: Advice on Getting Through COVID Isolation From Two Doctors Who Worked Through SARS
2004 SARS control and psychological effects of quarantine
COVID-19 Mental Health Services (City of Toronto)
Black Mental Health Resources/Services/Organizations:
Mental health resources for the Black community in Toronto
8 Mental Health Practices for People of African Descent while Isolated
Substance Abuse Program for African Canadian and Caribbean Youth (SAPACCY)
WellNest Psychotherapy Services
Mental Health Services for Healthcare Workers:
CAMH Resources for health care workers during COVID-19
St. Joe's COVID-19: Mental Health Services for HCW
Free Psychological Services for Frontline Workers (Canadian Psychological Association)
Mitigating the psychological effects of COVID-19 on health care workers
Impact on health care workers employed in high-risk areas during the Toronto SARS outbreak
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Your favourite medical science podcast is making the most of ‘the new normal’ - this year’s Raw Talk Live event was broadcast entirely on YouTube! Over 8 weeks, we spoke to researchers all across Canada about all things COVID-19.
Our second instalment features Dr Sharmistha Mishra, infectious disease physician and mathematical modeler, and Linwei Wang, senior epidemiologist, both at St. Michael’s Hospital, to learn about the questions, data, and assumptions behind mathematical models of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
Your favourite medical science podcast is making the most of ‘the new normal’ - this year’s Raw Talk Live event was broadcast entirely on YouTube! Over 8 weeks, we spoke to researchers all across Canada about all things COVID-19.
Our first instalment features Dr. Karen Mossman, molecular virologist and Vice President of Research at McMaster University. Dr. Mossman discusses how coronaviruses, particularly SARS-CoV-2, infect human cells and cause disease, and shares interesting insights from her current research.
Wednesday Sep 02, 2020
Wednesday Sep 02, 2020
In part two of our maternal health series, we explore the journey through pregnancy, birth, and the post-natal period – including the planning involved, the decisions made, and any healthcare a person may receive along the way. We started out our conversation with Madeleine Springate-Combs, a midwife in Ontario, who told us about why someone may choose to receive care from a midwife and the philosophy of midwifery. We also spoke to midwife Lauren Wattam, who has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and practiced midwifery in missions to Ethiopia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Yemen. She told us about the important roles that midwives can play throughout pregnancy and childbirth around the world and the impacts of global health outreach. We also spoke to Dr. John Kingdom, the chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and professor of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Toronto, and a clinician-scientist at Mount Sinai Hospital. He told us about some of the complications that can arise in pregnancy and the work he does to deal with them. Finally, we spoke to Jane Francis, a registered dietician and PhD candidate in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. Her work focuses on providing accessible breastfeeding support to mothers from marginalized populations.
Written by: Thamiya Vasanthakumar
Canadian Association of Midwives
Mount Sinai Ontario Fetal Centre
Medecins Sans Frontieres
Vulnerable mothers' experiences breastfeeding with an enhanced community lactation support program
Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program
Parkdale Queen West Community Health Center – Pregnancy and Parenting Programs
The danger of a single story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice by Terry Tempest Williams
Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
Maternal health refers to the journey from pregnancy to child birth to the postnatal period. Every mother's experience is different and includes a continuum of scientific and medical, through to psychosocial and spiritual aspects. This episode is the first of a two-part series focused on this important topic. We spoke to Dr. Kaajal Abrol, a Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Specialist in Toronto, at Trio Fertility. In this wide-ranging discussion, she touches on causes of infertility and treatments, as well as when we should all start thinking about our own fertility, freezing eggs, embryo genetic screening, and much more. We also sat down with Amira Posner, a therapist with a private practice in Toronto, and someone with personal experience with infertility and in-vitro fertilization. She now helps many couples facing similar challenges by facilitating the Mind-Body Fertility Group and co-facilitating the Online Mindfulness Fertility Series. Finally, we also heard personal stories from four different mothers as they navigated deciding to get pregnant and the diverse paths that they took from there, including some difficult challenges they faced. Stay tuned for our second episode on maternal health, where we'll discuss being pregnant, childbirth, and the postnatal period! Until then, #keepitraw!
Written by: Grace Jacobs
Dr. Kaajal Abrol's website
Amira Posner's website: Healing Infertility
Dr. Jen Gunter's website
Ontario funded fertility treatments
Thursday Apr 02, 2020
Thursday Apr 02, 2020
Acceptance of transgender and non-binary folks in Canada has come a long way in the last decade and arguably much of this progress was made in just the last few years. While many of us take for granted the ability to express our true selves, it was only in June of 2017 that gender identity and expression was officially recognized and protected from discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act. This and many other policy changes, including those related to healthcare, stem from decades of effort and courage from the trans community. On this episode, you'll hear several perspectives on the past, present, and future of trans health. We spoke to Susan Gapka, a trans-rights advocate and Education and Training Program facilitator at The 519, who discussed her work at The 519, political activism, and lived experience as a trans individual. We also spoke with Sly Sarkisova, a psychotherapist and a registered clinical social worker specializing in trauma and LGBTQ+-related mental health, who walked us through the challenges faced by trans and non-binary folks and how they might interact with the healthcare system. Finally, Dr. Mitchell Brown, an Associate Professor in Department of Surgery at University of Toronto and plastic surgeon at Women's College Hospital, spoke to us about the Transition-Related Surgery Program, the first public hospital-based surgical program in Canada focused on providing safe and timely access to transition-related surgical care.
Written by: Tsukiko Miyata
Rainbow Health Ontario
Sherbourne Health
Women's College Hospital - Transition Related Surgeries Program
The 519
Toronto Trans Coalition Project
CAMH Gender Identity Clinic
Glad Day Bookshop
Flamingo Rampant - A micropress with a mission
Sly Sarkisova
Wednesday Mar 11, 2020
Wednesday Mar 11, 2020
Sports play an important role in our culture, from the individual level where many participate in recreational activities for exercise and social benefits, to the national and international levels where professional sports are a huge industry worth billions. Sports can strongly unite people, but athletes of every level from the weekend warrior to the professional athlete can face challenges that remind us that there is a team behind the team - helping maintain their mental and physical health! In this episode we hear from inspiring speakers sharing their insights from the worlds of medicine, research and professional athlete development. Dr. Doug Richards kicks things off, he is the Medical Director and Staff Physician practicing sport and exercise medicine at the David L. MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic, Chief Medical Officer at the Canadian Sport Institute of Ontario, and Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto. Next up to the plate is Dr. Gretchen Kerr, the Vice Dean of Programs at the School of Graduate Students and Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto specializing in athlete maltreatment. Karl Subban earns the hat trick with his inspirational personal experiences as an educator and in raising five elite children, including the development of 3 NHL Players. In the spirit of teamwork, this episode was created in collaboration with Medicine in Motion. Until next time, #keepitraw
Written by: Stephanie Nishi
Medicine and Motion Podcast
Athlete Maltreatment Among National Athletes Prevalence Study
Athlete Maltreatment Among National Athletes Prevalence Summary
NCAA Athlete Mental Health
Wednesday Feb 26, 2020
Wednesday Feb 26, 2020
Music, we listen to it when waking up, while in transit, at work, and with friends. It is a form of entertainment, but also has the potential to provide so much more. Music is a universal language with the ability to connect and reach people on social, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual levels. It can bring us joy and motivate us, accompany us through difficult times, evoke nostalgia, and alleviate our worries. These qualities allow music to be applied to improving physical, emotional, and mental well-being. In this episode, we invite you to join us as we explore the science of music therapy. We hear from five music therapists working in various aspects of the field: Dr. Michael Thaut, Canada Research Chair in Music and Health Sciences; Dr. SarahRose Black, Music Therapist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Kensington Health; Priya Shah, Music Therapist at Journey Home Hospice, Fudger House, and the Music Therapy Centre; Dr. Corene Hurt-Thaut, Assistant Professor of Music and Health Sciences at the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto, and Program Director of the Academy of Neurological Music Therapy; and Bernice Chu, Neurologic Music Therapy Fellow in the United Kingdom at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability. In addition to our guests' insights, they also shared musical snippets of their work with their clients, which may tug at your heart strings and inspire. You'll want to stay tuned to the very end! We hope this episode opens your ears and heart to the role of music in health and wellbeing, and inspires you to listen and explore the power of music. Until next time, keep it raw!
Written by: Stephanie Nishi
Music Therapy Association of Ontario (MTAO)
The Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy
UHN Music Therapy Inpatient Resource
Certification Board for Music Therapists
Canadian Association of Music Therapists
Music Heals