Appetizers for the Mind
Dive into an intellectual feast where brilliant minds will share their groundbreaking research in quick, 5-minute, bite-sized talks. Appetizers for the Mind is an annual event organized by The McCall MacBain Postdoctoral Fellows Teaching and Leadership Program in partnership with the Office of Alumni Engagement to showcase the interesting and impactful work of postdoctoral fellows in the McCall MacBain Program and beyond.
The 2025 Appetizers for the Mind event showcased talks by:
Dr. Myanca Rodrigues (McMaster University) – Beyond Overdose: Multimorbidity Among People with Opioid Use Disorder
Dr. Amid Shakeri (University of Toronto) – The Heart’s Hidden Shield Against Cancer
Dr. Ben Sclodnick (McMaster University) – Measuring Attentional Control
Dr. Idowu Olawoye (Western University) – Catch Me if You Can: Accurate and Sensitive Detection of Mycoplasma genitalium
Dr. Sina Baleka (McMaster University) – Decoding the Past: Insights from Ancient DNA of Extinct Species
Dr. Tom Kazmirchuk (Carleton University) – Designing the Future of Medicine
Dr. Romain Villot (University of Montreal) – How Studying Cellular Aging Could Help Treat Vision Loss
Videos coming soon!
Past Appetizers of the Mind
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Dr. Afshin Abrishamkar – Are There Better Treatments for Cancer Than Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy?
Appetizers for the Mind, February 15, 2023
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Dr. Andrew Thompson – The Environmental Cost of Pursuing Happiness
Appetizers for the Mind, February 15, 2023
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Dr. Derek Somo – Environmental adaptation and comparative physiology: Windows into the flexibility and constraints on life
Appetizers for the Mind, February 14, 2024
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Dr. Emily Scherzinger – Broken, Bendy, Invisible Bodies
Appetizers for the Mind, February 15, 2023
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Dr. Harmanpreet Sidhu – Chemicals in Everyday Use Products: How to be Informed Consumers
Appetizers for the Mind, February 15, 2023
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Dr. Jeremy Marty-Dugas – Does lecturer enthusiasm influence attentional engagement and learning during online lectures?
Appetizers for the Mind, February 14, 2024
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Dr. Jose Bermudez – The Effects of Climate Change on Insect Defoliation
Appetizers for the Mind, February 15, 2023
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Dr. Lindsay Santacroce – Emotional or “pop-out” blink?
Appetizers for the Mind, February 14, 2024
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Dr. Mohsen Nazemi – VERONICA project: Using VR to understand and model pedestrian behaviour
Appetizers for the Mind, February 14, 2024
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Dr. Ruth Rivkin – Can polar bears adapt to climate change? Insights from genetics
Appetizers for the Mind, February 14, 2024