Bethany Facer, PhD student at University of Liverpool and Science Communicator explains the intricacies of Parkinson's Disease. We discuss Beth’s Neuroimaging research into the neurodegenerative condition as she goes over some of the key biological mechanisms, clinical manifestations and current treatments which together highlight the need to better understand this multifaceted disorder. Later, co-host Pollyanna Ward and Beth discuss the importance of science communication in current times and how researchers can improve our communication skills

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/systems-molecular-and-integrative-biology/research/groups/brain-imaging/

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There is often a tendency to focus on physical rather than mental health during pregnancy. While rates can vary by country, research suggests that about 10 - 20% of pregnant women experience depression during pregnancy. This is higher than the average rate of 6% seen in the general population. The changes during pregnancy can also make it hard for mood disorders to be detected and treated. Dr. Stephanie D'Souza of University of Auckland joins to discuss her research as maternal depression and antidepressant use. Dr. D'Souza goes through her research as we talk about some key things to be aware of and why research in maternal health is hard to undertake.

Important links:
https://pada.nz/
https://www.helpguide.org/find-help

Dr. Stephanie D'Souza Bio: https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/s-dsouza

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At its core, Stoicism is a tool in the pursuit of self-mastery, perseverance, and wisdom: something one uses to live a virtuous life. However, the English language has dealt great injustice to the word “Stoic.” Dr. John Sellars, Reader in the History of Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London, and Research Fellow at King's College London, joins along with Dr. Johannes Karl, Dublin City University, to give us an introduction to Stoicism and how these ideas born in Ancient Greece have been instrumental in the modern day through understanding emotions, designing behavioral therapies and conceptualizing developmental psychology.

Dr John Sellars : http://www.johnsellars.org.uk/

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Dr. Chris Maymon, of Victoria University of Wellington, talks to us about his research on the experience of being Present. Him and his team use virtual reality to test the causal role of subjective and physiological components of fear in generating presence. Dr. Maymon goes through the background of understanding being present as a concept and how it is measured, the use of virtual reality in his experiments and some of the interesting findings including how your subjective fear and not your heart rate and other physiological measures impact our experience of presence.

Read the paper here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379928195_The_presence_of_fear_How_subjective_fear_not_physiological_changes_shapes_the_experience_of_presence

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Dr. Dilnavaz Bhiladvala is a neurosurgeon with over 30 years of experience working in various hospitals across India and the UAE. She is the Head of Department of Neurosurgery at Al Dhaid Hospital, Sharjah, UAE before which she was the Head of Department and Professor Neurosurgery at Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences, India. She takes us through how the field of neurosurgery has changed across her career. We discuss the steps involved in deciding whether surgery is required and when not to operate. Dr. Bhiladvala also shares information the public should know about neurosurgery and signs to look out for. We cover a few interesting cases across her career, her research and how technology has changed the field of neurosurgery for the better.

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Finley Ngarangi Johnson and Colleagues introduce 'Ngaruroro' which is a new model for Māori wellbeing. Fin, who is a PhD student at Victoria University of Wellington and a Researcher at the Ministry of Social Development, talks about the effort put into designing the new measure. the themes it covers and some of the issues faced when designing a wellbeing measure for the complexities of different Māori identities.

Their paper can be accessed here : https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/4/445

The episode is co-hosted by Prateek Shankar, CEO, Jungle Publics. He was a guest on an earlier episode about his work on Planetary Melancholia

See Prateek's episode here: https://smoothbrainsociety.com/2024/05/31/38-planetary-melancholia-prateek-shankar-and-valerie-navarrete/

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World Refugee Day is on the 20th of June each year and is dedicated to refugees all around the world. We spoke to Kodrean Eashae and Luis Perez from Voice of Aroha. Voice of Aroha does incredible work highlighting the stories of refugees and minority communities in New Zealand with the aims of assisting in grassroots change. Host of Me, Racism and I, Thoraya Abdul-Rassol Kodrean, joins as co-host. Our guests share their stories and speak to issues migrants and refugees face in New Zealand, the problem with the ‘refugee’ label and the growing fear of people being displaced due to climate change.

Check out Voice of Aroha: https://voiceofaroha.org.nz/

Listen to Me, Racism and I on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2YmqGwgoLYooHrgs7TFv0Y?si=190e868cf6cb42c1

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The Catholic church is the only religious entity to hold a seat in the United Nations through the Vatican city’s status as a state. Geo Robrigado, Law graduate and former President of the Victoria University of Wellington Student Union, speaks about his research in law, international relations and politics focusing on how the Catholic Church maintains its political relevance. We go through the influence of the church and how it has been evolving over time to cater to the new generations. Covering historical examples of how the church has embedded itself into global politics, how it influences other religions and how it adapts to individual locations in order to extend its reach.

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