Raw Talk Podcast

Since their discovery in the 1920's, antibiotics have allowed the field of medicine to make leaps and bounds in innovation. The ability to treat bacterial infections reliably and effectively have made transplant surgeries, cancer chemotherapy, and treating what were once considered deadly infections, like pneumonia, a routine part of our health care. However, antibiotic resistance can occur when the bacteria being targeted change in response and render the antibiotic ineffective. Antibiotic resistance is a global threat and there are concerns that by the year 2050, antibiotic resistant infections could cause more than 10 million deaths annually. In this episode, we explore the drivers of antibiotic resistance around the world and speak to researchers tackling this issue through their research on innovative therapies and solutions. First, Dr. Thomas Van Boeckel explains the major driving forces and global trends in development of antibiotic resistance and system wide policy level changes required to tackle the

Pharmaceutical drugs are a pillar of modern healthcare - from preventative medicines to life-saving therapies. We therefore rely on pharmaceutical companies to discover, develop, and deliver new drugs to patients in need. We know that this process is both risky and expensive, but does that justify the drug prices we see in Canada today? Who decides what’s a fair drug price anyways? And what is the role of academic science in this whole operation? Join us as we answer these questions and more, with our expert guests: Dr Alison Symington, consultant with Life Sciences Ontario, describes the process of drug discovery and the relationships between academia and industry. Dr. Wong-Rieger, President and CEO of Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders, describes the challenges faced by individuals with rare diseases. Dr. Nigel Rawson, Senior Fellow with the Fraser Institute, introduces us to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board and their upcoming changes. Finally, Dr. Joel Lexchin, Emergency physician at the Uni

Many factors including income, food security, or housing can have a huge contribution to our health. These are known as the social determinants of health (SDoH). In this episode, we discuss some common SDoH, how they impact our health, and what some leading physicians are doing to tackle the issue. Our guests, Dr. Andrew Boozary, Dr. Andrew Pinto, and Dr. Kate Mulligan discuss topics such as, the teaching of SDoH in the medical curriculum, how the SDoH have been exacerbated with the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as current and future efforts to address the SDoH and decrease the associated health disparities. All of our guests are actively working to change our health system and the way we provide care to improve the health disparities we see in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and beyond. Written by: Larkin Davenport Huyer Dr. Andrew Boozary's Twitter Dr. Kate Mulligan's Twitter Dr. Andrew Pinto's Twitter Upstream Lab Social Medicine at UHN as reported by Toronto Star Public Health Ontario's report on SDoH in COVID19

Like so many institutions, anti-Black racism continues to pervade the healthcare system—rarely in overt, obvious ways, but in ways that undeniably lead to worse health outcomes for Black communities. In this episode, we discuss the uncomfortable truths of anti-Black racism in healthcare, and what we can do about it. We hear from Dr. Sean Wharton, Medical Director of the Wharton Medical Clinic, Internist, and Adjunct Professor at McMaster University and York University, about his experiences in the healthcare system, as a trainee, physician, and researcher. He discusses the roots of racist systems, and the impacts of subconscious biases on both the provision and receipt of patient care. As the founder of the Black Medical Students’ Association, he describes how the unique needs of different trainee and patient populations must be recognized and addressed if we hope to provide equitable care. We also spoke with Jessica Goncalves, a nursing student and the first Black President of the Nursing Undergraduate Socie

Vaccine technology has come a long way in terms of safety and understanding the underlying immunological principles. The first vaccine that was made was against smallpox in the late 18th century. Since then, vaccines have become the key tool in fighting against infectious diseases that have affected humans for centuries, including chickenpox, measles, and polio. But as the world prepares for the largest mass vaccination campaign in history with the COVID19 vaccines, there are many people that are somewhat hesitant about the vaccination process but are curious to learn more. The emergence of mRNA vaccines has allowed for the fastest development of a vaccine in history and could be a sign of what's to come in the future. In this episode, we talk about the COVID19 mRNA vaccine with the co-founder of Moderna, Dr. Derrick Rossi and about how mRNA can be used in personalized cancer vaccines with Providence Therapeutics' Chief Development officer, Dr. Natalia Martin Orozco. We look back at the history of vaccine dev

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infectious disease that affects millions of people globally every year. Despite being one of the oldest infectious diseases in humans, control of the epidemic through treatment and vaccination has remained out of reach. In today’s episode, we learned about what makes TB so difficult to control, from immunology to stigma. First, Dr. Jun Liu, a Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at University of Toronto, guides us through current knowledge on TB and discusses the difficulties and advances in developing TB vaccines. Next, Dr. Amrita Daftary, a Professor in the Department of Global Health at York University, explains the process of diagnosing and treating TB, and later highlights challenges that patients with TB may face while accessing care. Finally, Dr. Sarah Fortune, the Director of TB Research Program at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, helps us understand how TB drug resistance can arise, and why TB-HIV co-infection poses such a challenge. The fight

It's only natural to be curious about the most essential need for human health and survival: water. In this episode, we learn about clean water, recognizing the drastic difference in water security between communities and what can be done about it. We spoke with Dr. Jay Famiglietti, a hydrologist at the University of Saskatchewan, about water infrastructure in terms of freshwater availability, climate change, and the value of federal oversight and science communication. Dr. Madjid Mohseni, professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia and Scientific Director of RES'EAU, shares his expertise in water quality and technologies, and his efforts to facilitate safe drinking water access. He emphasizes collaboration with Indigenous communities and the importance of water operators, echoed by John Millar, the founder of Water First. John delves into the training and education for Indigenous community members, as an essential way to combat water challenges on the ground. Curren

As we have learned through the COVID-19 pandemic, the health of communities around the world is connected through shared technologies, institutions, and values. In this episode, we explore these connections outside the context of a pandemic. We learn how issues in global health are prioritized, funded, and measured; about the roots of global health in imperialism, and what it means to decolonize global health; and about the importance of highlighting local expertise and youth perspectives to strive for equity and improve health outcomes. We spoke with several leaders in global health, including: Dr. Erica Di Ruggerio, Director of the Centre for Global Health and the Collaborative Specialization in Global Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health; Dr. Ngozi Erondu a Senior Research Fellow at the Chatham House Centre for Global Health Security and a Senior Public Health Advisor at Public Health England; Jason Nickerson, Humanitarian Affairs Advisor with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), and Colleen Dockert

There are things in life that people take for granted every day. For many of us, that is the privilege of moving about in a world that was designed for our bodies and our physical abilities. Imagine not being able to get to a meeting on time because the nearest subway isn’t accessible. Imagine not getting any matches on a dating profile because 2 years ago you got into a car accident and now you get from place to place in a wheelchair. Imagine what it feels like to have your body be looked at as a problem to be solved. In this episode, we are trying to address ableism by talking to people with lived experience about what having a disability means to them while living in our society and culture today. We talk to disability advocates about the important work they are doing to help challenge how we define disability. Is disability a design problem that we can solve? We also touch on topics that many of us think about on a daily basis: sex, dating. We hope that this episode will help you reflect on some biases yo

As Canadians, we're usually quite proud of our excellent healthcare system. However, as we learned in Episodes 83 on organ donation, 82 on amputation, and others, gaps in public coverage and long wait times sometimes prevent Canadians from accessing the best care. Enter "medical tourism", or "medical travel". In this episode, we explored what it might be like for Canadians to access care abroad. We spoke with Adele Kulyk, the CEO of Global Healthcare Connections. Adele has worked for the last ten years as a coordinator to help facilitate Canadians traveling elsewhere for care. Adele explains what may drive people to leave and what sort of procedures are accessed abroad. As we explored this topic, we discovered another reason Canadians travel abroad related to healthcare: as medical students and other trainees to actually provide care, a practice colloquially known as "medical voluntourism". To understand this theme, we sat down with Dr. Noelle Sullivan, a professor in anthropology at Northwestern University,

About 90% of Canadians say they support organ and tissue donation but less than 20% have made plans to donate. To tackle this discrepancy, Nova Scotia is set to become the first province in the country to have presumed consent for organ and tissue donation beginning in 2021. In this episode of Raw Talk, we speak to Jed Gross about the opt-in/opt-out systems, the ethical dilemmas of organ allocation and more. Next, we hear from Myles Lynch and Maariyah Rahman, who are alive today because of the organ donations they have received. We also had the opportunity to speak with Jillian Lynch, Myles' sister, who has been a huge advocate for organ donation, and a caregiver to her brother. Dr. Shafique Keshavjee, the Surgeon-in-Chief at University Health Network, discusses the science of organ transplant and cutting edge research that is causing the field to evolve very quickly, improving the life expectancy for many people like Myles who needed new lungs, and Maariyah who found out her heart suddenly began to fail when

On April 12, 1980, 22-year old Terry Fox dipped his toe into the icy Atlantic Ocean outside St John's, Newfoundland before setting out on one of the most inspiring athletic feats the world has ever seen. 40 years later, adaptive athletes continue to inspire movement and movements across the world. In this episode of Raw Talk Podcast, we explore lower-limb amputation, the phenomenon of phantom limb, and modern prosthetics. First, we sat down with Aristotle Domingo, an adaptive athlete, bilateral amputee, actor, motivational speaker, and founder of the Amputee Coalition of Toronto. Aristotle shared with us his amputation journey, from the difficult decision to have the surgery, to his ongoing work building and supporting the amputee community here in the GTA. Next, Dr. Amanda Mayo, a physiatrist with St. John's Rehab at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, explained the common reasons for amputation and considerations for surgical planning. Dr. Mayo also described the funding challenges experienced by amputees in

Memory is essential for forming individual identity, as well as the process of learning. Yet, memory is not without its faults. In this episode of Raw Talk Podcast, we try to understand what memory is, the processes that affect the quality of our memories and the implications of faulty memory on the validity of eyewitness testimonies in the legal system. First we hear from Joey DeGrandis who shares his unique ability to recall specific details of autobiographical events. This rare memory phenomenon, known as Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM), provides an opportunity to investigate the brain systems underlying enhanced memory and conversely memory loss. We then hear from Dr. Amy Finn, an assistant professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto, and the principal investigator of the Learning and Neural Development Lab. Dr. Finn discusses memory formation and how the brain and cognitive development constrains and enables learning, using examples, such as the famous case of pa

2020 has been a strange, unpredictable and challenging year, as the coronavirus has impacted our lives in countless ways. Here at Raw Talk, we found ourselves struggling to keep up with COVID-19 research and understand the impacts of the pandemic on our society. So, instead of our usual live event this year, we created COVIDecoded: a weekly YouTube live stream of discussions with experts on all things COVID, to help understand the emerging science and social shifts. In this episode, the hosts from the series came together (distanced and wearing masks, of course) to discuss what we learned from the series, key themes that emerged, and our personal reflections on living through the pandemic. We review the current state of testing in Canada, discuss the social determinants of COVID-19 risk and the importance of gathering race-based data, and reflect on the lessons we can learn going forward. We hope the episode, and the full discussions below, can help you make sense of the diverse and complex interactions betwe

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 8th and final instalment focuses on immunity and SARS-CoV2. Controlling this novel pathogen will no doubt require immune systems to adapt, and supporting those changes will demand a significant shift in societal attitudes and policies. What does it mean to be an asymptomatic carrier? What is herd immunity? What might a vaccination strategy look like? Join our discussion to learn all this, and more! Dr. David Naylor is a physician, biomedical researcher and former President of the University of Toronto, who most recently served as the Interim President and CEO of the SickKids Hospital prior to the appointment of the current administration. Having chaired Canada’s National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health back in 2003, Dr. Naylor is more than well-equipped to Co-Chair

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 7th instalment focuses on health equity – the historical context and impact of longstanding systemic inequities; how the pandemic has highlighted existing inequities for racialized, marginalized, and underrepresented groups; the importance of race-based and socioeconomic data; how they can inform an equitable public health response; and how we can ensure sustainable health and societal changes moving forward. Dr. Roberta K. Timothy is an Assistant Professor in the Teaching Stream, and is the new Director of Health Promotion at Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Specializing in the areas of intersectionality and ethics in health work; health and race; transnational Indigenous health; and anti-oppression/anti-colonial approaches to mental health. Dr.

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 6th instalment focuses on COVID-19 testing – what the tests tell us and how they work, how testing has changed the course of the pandemic, and what we can expect from them in terms of epidemiological surveillance and recovery as we move forward. Dr. Adeli is a senior scientist and clinical biochemist with over 30 years of experience in clinical chemistry service, education, and research. He is currently the Head of Clinical Biochemistry at the Hospital for Sick Children and Full Professor in the Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Biochemistry, and Physiology at the University of Toronto. Dr. Adeli also serves as the President of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) and the current Editor-in-Chief of Critical Reviews

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

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

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.” Guest - Dr Rima Styra Guest - Donna Alexander Watch this stream on YouTube U of T Alumni Offers