By Graduate Neuroscience Students At McGill
By Kim Gruver and Zahraa Chorghay (Twitter @fieryzarzar) Loneliness is a common feature of the human condition. While discussions about feeling lonely are largely stigmatized in society, fostering a sense of shame and unworthiness, we have all experienced loneliness at some point or another in our lives and it does not mean that there is […]
Rx for Social Isolation: Online Communities Read More »
“Racism is just one of the several ways in which marginalised groups are included / excluded from the Ivory Towers of race, culture, class, and ableist privilege disguised under the myth of meritocracy that is academia … Representation is still only the first step to eradicating racism in academia. Academic institutions must endeavor to create support systems for BIPOC students and faculty … Real allyship is about creating academic institutions where all people are welcome to participate in the creation of new knowledge and ideas, contributing fresh perspectives and energy.”
To quote the Green Labs Initiative, “the benefits of scientific research should not be outweighed by its heavy environmental cost” – and many of us couldn’t agree more.
Tips and Tricks to Reduce Your Lab’s Environmental Impact Read More »
By: Malosree Maitra and Zahraa Chorghay (Twitter @fieryzarzar) It’s mid-March, marking the beginning of the COVID-19 quarantine in Montreal. Within a week, the gradual unrest surrounding this viral disease has solidified itself into the certainty of a pandemic, and life has shifted from a series of hypotheticals to a strange reality. Among the clamour to
Pandemic Pandemonium: Narratives of IPN Graduate Students Read More »
by: Sophie Fiola I study a type of brain tumour called low grade glioma. These are tumours that arise in young, otherwise healthy people. Right now, the best possible treatments we have for low-grade gliomas are surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. The problem with these treatments is that they’re not very specific and have a lot
What do Beer, Bread and Brain Tumours Have in Common? Read More »
By: Jasmine Lee As one of the GSAN wellbeing Officers, I recently organized an information night with McGill’s Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) to help provide information for graduate students about what support is available at the graduate level, how to seek disability-related accommodations and what those accommodations may look like. I felt this
Receiving Support & Accommodation in Graduate School Read More »
Child Abuse (CA) is defined as physical, emotional, or sexual maltreatment / neglect of a child. It has long-lasting effects on the brain and devastating consequences on psychological development. 1 in 3 Canadians experience maltreatment before the age of 15. It is one of the strongest predictors of depression and suicide. Currently, 300 million people
Let’s talk about a time you may wish you could forget: adolescence. Saying adolescence is complicated would be an understatement. But what about the long-term consequences of our short-sighted decisions? You see, adolescent experiences–such as drug use–can alter and shape maturation of the dopamine pathway, an important neural pathway for addiction and reward, and lead
Imagine: after 9 months, you’re in a hospital, welcoming your newborn baby. That very first moment you pick her up and put her on your arm, you thought your life would be different, and you’re right! Except not in the way you expected. For the first few years of her life she was not standing, walking,
Making Hope Happen Read More »
Social distancing. It’s become a new social norm. Ask any of my close friends and they’d tell you I’m an “introvert”. I think the introvert/extrovert terms are crude, because the concept is a dynamic spectrum—but basically, I’ve always found quiet, alone time with my own thoughts to be enjoyable and energizing. This past week, I
Musings from a Social–Physical Distance Read More »
By: Zahraa Chorghay If you are a parent or thinking of being a parent or are just curious about what life is like at the intersection of parenting and graduate school, this article is for you! When I was in the beginning of my PhD, I was part of a group of trainees who were
Parenting in Graduate School Read More »