5min Research Talks

5 Minute Research Talks (5MRT)

This event challenges the most brilliant minds to share their research in an accessible way with the community. Knowledge translation can be one of the biggest challenges faced by academics when working in interdisciplinary groups or industry. This friendly competition gives researchers a chance to flex their communication and presentation skills in one of Ontario’s most unique venues, the LIVELab at McMaster University. Winners from the McCall MacBain talks will be featured in the “5MRT Finals” (formerly “Appetizers for the Mind”). Winning participants will receive great prizes and be featured on the McCall MacBain Postdoctoral Fellows Teaching and Leadership Program website and associated social media outlets.

 

2026 Research Talks

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Dr. Abrha Gebrehiwot – Pill vs Shot: How Different Contraceptives Reshape Vaginal Lipids and Health

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Ailsa Edward – Turning Trees Into Chemical Sponges

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Andrea L. Larraga Urdaz – Sensing Biomarkers from Afar: Extending the Molecular Ruler Beyond FRET with NSET

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Cameron Murray – Towards a Hyperlocal Future of Aging

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Christopher Greyson-Gaito – There And Back Again: Biology, Economics, & Energy

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Elisa Privitera – Listening Cities: How Community Voices Make Climate Action Work

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Faizan Saleem – Harnessing DNA Molecular Technologies in Environmental Monitoring: Bridging DNA Research with Practical Applications

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Hosea Olayiwola Patrick – Deliberative Governance and Climate Geoengineering: Community Perspectives on Justice-Oriented Frameworks

5MRT, February 6, 2026

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Dr. Julia Galmiche-Essue – The Books Inside Us: Memory, Power, and Fiction in African Diaspora Literature

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Kaia Tombak – Body size in mammals: Interrogating Darwin’s ‘larger males’ narrative

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Mallory E. Terry – Attention and action in a moving world

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Md Masuduzzaman – From Farm to Fridge: Smart Technology to Reduce Food Waste

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Meghan McCue – Muscle Matters in Type 1 Diabetes

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Milena Esser – Are Our Cleaning Habits Killing More Than Just Germs?

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Mohammadamin Ahmadfard – Thermal Engineering for Permafrost Stability in Canada’s North: Moving from passive resistance to active heat management

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Mouna Reda – From Healing Concrete… To Healing Spaces…

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Nicholas Simard – Multimodal Medical Imaging: Unifying CT and MRI for Stroke Care

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Peter Adesina – Liquefaction Mitigation in Tailing Dams: Towards Resilient Dams and Communities

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Ramis Arbi – Making light work of heavy metals

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Sadman Sakib – Why 92% of Potential Drugs Fail And What We Can Do About it

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Sathya Ganegoda – When Freshwater Gets Salty, a Hidden Trigger for Toxic Algal Blooms

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Shardul Tiwari – Our Politicians take on Technology!!

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Sourav Paul – The Spark of Life: Making Sustainable Fertilizer from Air and Waste

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Taiana Pereira – From Powering Our Lives to Closing the Loop: Promoting Sustainability through Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling

5MRT, February 4, 2026

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Dr. Yu Weng – Nanobubbles: Tiny Agents Driving Huge Impacts

5MRT, February 4, 2026

2025 Research Talks

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Dr. Amid Shakeri – The Heart’s Hidden Shield Against Cancer

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Amin Ahmadfard – Evaluating Thermal Performance of Helical Steel Piles as Ground Heat Exchangers

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Ben Sclodnick – Measuring Attentional Control

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Bita Pourbahari – The Hidden World of Atoms: How Tiny Changes at the Atomic Level Transform Materials

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Carolynn Hare – Exploring School Attendance Challenges in Youth with ADHD Through School Relationships and Environmental Sensitivity

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Daniela Caballero Diaz – More Women in Engineering: More Sense of Belongingness. It is Not Only a Matter of Filling Quotas

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Idowu Olawoye – Catch Me If You Can: Accurate and Sensitive Detection of Mycoplasma genitalium

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Jen Holzer – Transformations for Sustainability: Learning from Successes to Overcome Inertia

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Lei Zhang – Amazon-Like Efficient Delivery for Cancer Drugs

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Matthew Lees – The Role of Muscle in Expanding Healthspan

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Megan Zangara – Psychological Stress: A Wrecking Ball to Gut Barrier Integrity and Immune Defense

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Myanca Rodrigues – Beyond Overdoses: Multimorbidity Among People With Opioid Use Disorder

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Nazia Pathan – The Influence of Rare Genetic Variants

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Nirvana Nursimulu – Assessing the Risk of Pre-Breast Cancer Recurrence Using Metabolic Network Modeling

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Raphael Camargo Penteado – Beyond Profit: Transforming Entrepreneurship Education for Global Impact

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Reza Daneshazarian – Invisible Network, Visible Impact: Transforming Building with WiFi Sensing

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Rhea Desai

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Sina Baleka – Decoding the Past: Insights from Ancient DNA of Extinct Species

5MRT, February 12, 2025

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Dr. Tom Kazmirchuk – Designing the Future of Medicine

5MRT, February 12, 2025

2024 Research Talks

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Dr. Alannah McEvoy – The Role of Genetics in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Options

10 Minute Research Talks, January 24, 2024

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Dr. Amir Foroozan – Out of Thick Air: Converting Smoke into Fuel

10 Minute Research Talks, January 24, 2024

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Dr. Andrea Johnson – What Does “Quality of Life” Mean for Adolescents Living with Advanced Cancer?

10 Minute Research Talks, January 24, 2024

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Dr. Ben Lee Taylor – Generative AI in Higher Education: The 4C Assessment Design Framework

10 Minute Research Talks, January 24, 2024

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Dr. Lindsay Santacroce – Emotional or “pop-out” blink?

10 Minute Research Talks, January 24, 2024

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Dr. Marycolette Ezediokpu – Economic tradeoff of studying microbes as simpletons

10 Minute Research Talks, January 24, 2024

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Dr. Mohsen Nazemi -VERONICA project: Using VR to understand and model pedestrian behaviour

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Dr. Ruth Rivkin – Can polar bears adapt to climate change? Insights from genetics

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Dr. Seeprarani Rath – Model-based Approach to Facilitate Regulatory Approval of Topical Dermatological Products

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Dr. Sonia Kong – Breaking the Silence: Shyness and Bullying Unveiled

10 Minute Research Talks, January 24, 2024

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Dr. Sophia Melanson Ricciardone – Toxic Masculinity on TikTok

10 Minute Research Talks, January 24, 2024

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Dr. Timothy Lo – From Digital Thermometers to Fighting Climate Change

10 Minute Research Talks, January 24, 2024

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Dr. Zhenyu (Charlus) Zhang – LiFi: WiFi Connection Through Light

10 Minute Research Talks, January 24, 2024

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Dr. Zilong Zhong – 2023 Wildfire Impact: Burn Areas and Biomass Loss in Canadian Forests

10 Minute Research Talks, January 24, 2024