Blog

#56. D-CYPHR: The Power of Spit – Dr. Anna Moore and Elizabeth Mordey

https://youtu.be/0O2s8LD45fI?si=CBjLfFRsPG9XPLaK “You’re a hero. It’s in your DNA.” The NHS and NIHR BioResource has started a nationwide movement for ages 0 – 15 to help health research. Dr. Anna Moore, University of Cambridge, and Elizabeth Mordey of the DNA, Children + Young People's Health Resource (D-CYPHR) talk about the project and how it has the potential to revolutionize healthcare in the UK and around the…

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#55. Arti’s Twinkle: Shining a Light on Parental Alcohol and Drug Use for Children – Dr. Cassey Muir and Josie Brookes

https://youtu.be/5Mr9A8ak3DQ Children and young people whose parents use substances often feel alone in their experiences, with very few people to trust or talk to.  Parents and caregivers mention uncertainty on how and when to have conversations with children in their family and answer their questions in the best way. Dr. Cassey Muir,  Dr Ruth McGovern and teams at Newcastle University brought together the messages from…

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#54. Self-Injury and Emotion Regulation – Dr. Kealagh Robinson

https://youtu.be/5lVWht8Vl3I?si=rQ4HqdWvli8_ucUX Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a self-inflicted act that causes pain or superficial damage but is not intended to cause death. Dr. Kealagh Robinson, of Massey University, works in emotion and emotion regulation, with a specific emphasis on how these factors underpin self-injurious thoughts and behaviours. She discusses the role of emotion regulation in self-injury behaviours and some fascinating results from her latest study which…

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#53. Collaborating with Voice of Aroha to end the year

https://youtu.be/UAobd2dk-Co?si=b9sE5LJP7UXg89Lx We Collaborated with Voice of Aroha on an exciting podcast featuring Lawyer and Host of the Podcast, Me, Racism and I, the incredible Thoraya Abdoul-Rassol. In the episode we delve into thought-provoking discussions on identity, culture, and personal experiences. Check it out! Support the show Support us and reach out!https://smoothbrainsociety.comhttps://www.patreon.com/SmoothBrainSociety Instagram: @thesmoothbrainsocietyTikTok: @thesmoothbrainsocietyTwitter/X: @SmoothBrainSocFacebook: @thesmoothbrainsocietyMerch and all other links: Linktreeemail: thesmoothbrainsociety@gmail.com

#52. Decoding Concussions: Biomarkers, Diagnosis, and Recovery – Asha Strom

https://youtu.be/rsEI6Dxos-U Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, better known as concussions, are poorly understood. This means diagnosis and proper management are difficult often leading to people living with the impacts of milder injuries for years. Asha Strom of the University of Birmingham talks about UoB's current project, Called mTBI predict, looking at multiple aspects of traumatic brain injury to identify biomarkers (biological identifiers) which will help better…

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#51. Baby See, Baby Do: Imitative Behaviour in Children- Dr. Frankie Fong

https://youtu.be/TscGzcPgmHg?si=LHZ_XW-4jqE1_bMm Dr. Frankie Fong, of Victoria University of Wellington, discusses imitation behaviors and how they are key to child development. He also shares his research on how these behaviours differ between cultures and influence digital media effects on children's socio-cognitive development. Dr. Frankie Fong: https://people.wgtn.ac.nz/frankie.fong Support the show Support us and reach out!https://smoothbrainsociety.comhttps://www.patreon.com/SmoothBrainSociety Instagram: @thesmoothbrainsocietyTikTok: @thesmoothbrainsocietyTwitter/X: @SmoothBrainSocFacebook: @thesmoothbrainsocietyMerch and all other links: Linktreeemail: thesmoothbrainsociety@gmail.com

#50. New Country. New Friends? Refugee Youth Experience of Resettlement in Aotearoa – Dr. Nuzha Saleem

https://youtu.be/I-AJ5ZWmOhU?si=nxfac4-yIa22uZBH Dr. Nuzha Saleem is a Teaching Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington. She discusses her research working with youth from migrant and refugee backgrounds. She has particularly focused her work around understanding the role of friendships in educational performance, identity and feelings of belonging for people from refugee backgrounds. Fellow Youth wellbeing researcher Niusha Aryan joins as co-host as we learn about Dr. Saleem's…

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#49. Understanding Co-occurring Alcohol and Mental Health Problems – Dr. Jo-Anne Puddephatt

https://youtu.be/mUMAO66L3DU?si=DlbKRDG4SdaxFbSS Dr. Jo-Anne Puddephatt of Edge Hill University is a mixed-methods researcher in the field of mental health, alcohol use, and co-occurring problems. She combines her experience of working in psychiatric intensive care units with her expertise using datasets to explore the patterns of drinking across individuals experiencing different mental health problems. Jo-Anne also conducts qualitative research and works with patient involvement groups to explore…

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#48. Booze, Dads and Drunken Rats – Dr. Sahir Hussain

https://youtu.be/RQZ2HZ8aMoE?si=0FKD77Ba7HSrbPVt Finally! after 47 episodes as host, Sahir takes his place in the wrinkly brained experts chair to talk about his research on how alcohol drinking by fathers can impact development of the future generations. Amer Hussain and Jeremy Hall co-host this special episode where we discuss the importance of animal research, find out why Dr. Hussain gets rats drunk and talk about the importance…

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#47. Bayesian Statistics in Psychology Research – Dr. Taylor Winter

https://youtu.be/h5whVcdDVIs Bayesian Statistics allows combining prior information of a population to the current sample of experimentation to create stronger inferences. Dr. Taylor Winter, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics and Statistics at University of Canterbury, uses Bayesian methods to investigate a range of societal and group factors (Social Psychology). Dr. Winter takes us through some of the basic ideas around Bayesian statistics and how it differs from…

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#46. Why we need to research Parkinson’s Disease – Bethany Facer

https://youtu.be/7ZsCAfwvaKQ 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…

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#45. Maternal Depression and Antidepressant Use – Dr. Stephanie D’Souza

https://youtu.be/QXpFoTKGVSg 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…

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#44. The Influence of Stoicism on Psychology – Dr. John Sellars

https://youtu.be/aI8UOKWdFPU?si=qCj3HVuRrbw8rCFg 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…

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#43. Subjective Fear and The Experience of Presence – Dr. Christopher Maymon

https://youtu.be/h7WUx0Vg2us?si=VqZHyhNglZJIuOjZ Dr. Chris Maymon, of Victoria University of Wellington, talks to us about is 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…

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#42. Do No Harm: The Life of a Neurosurgeon – Dr. Dilnavaz Bhiladvala

https://youtu.be/puZp3hzzDxA 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…

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#41. ‘Ngaruroro’: Understanding Māori Wellbeing – Finley Johnson

https://youtu.be/xVI5irqlaQc 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…

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#40. Voice of Aroha – Kodrean Eashae & Luis Perez

https://youtu.be/_E7V9yI9eg8 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…

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#39. Reimagining the Role of the Catholic Church – Geo Robrigado

https://youtu.be/ZeI935be5-w 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…

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#38. Planetary Melancholia – Prateek Shankar and Valerie Navarrete

https://youtu.be/rgpSb-AZWi8 Prateek Shankar and Valerie Navarrete are founders of the Jungle Publics, a group trying to foster interdisciplinary discussions and reimagine how we relate to our planet and each other. They come on to talk about their first major publication titled “Planetary Melancholia“. The article is written with Center for Complexity and the Global Arts & Cultures department at the Rhode Island School of Design….

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#37. Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics – Dr. Liza Bolton

https://youtu.be/KS2pOAnq1bQ The use of stats and throwing around numbers in conversation is incredibly common, yet statistics itself is poorly understood. Dr. Liza Bolton from  @universityofauckland discusses the dark art that is statistics. Using examples, she takes us through some misconceptions and dispels the notion that numbers don’t lie. We cover how to identify the best ice cream store, how to not be fooled when stats…

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