Welcome to the Emerging Scholar podcast, a space designed for graduate students, medical trainees, residents, and fellows who are beginning their journey toward their first scientific project—and beyond.
Hosted by Dr. John McGavock from the University of Manitoba, this podcast supports you in building the foundational skills needed for strong, meaningful research. Across our episodes, we guide you through the essentials: developing compelling research questions, finding and interpreting the best evidence, working with data, building analytical frameworks, and choosing the right methods to answer your questions. We also emphasize equity, inclusion, and diversity, helping you embed these principles into your work from the start.
Season One laid the groundwork—covering the core elements of research training and connecting you with a range of emerging and established scholars. Now, in Season Two, we dig deeper—focusing on mastering the craft by unpacking these methods, exploring their nuances and challenges, and highlighting the exciting possibilities they offer.
You’ll hear from researchers working across diverse fields—from natural experiments and causal inference to qualitative inquiry rooted in social justice and the evolving field of implementation science. Along the way, we showcase Canadian research excellence, highlight the importance of patient engagement, and celebrate the curiosity that drives scientific discovery.
Whether you’re designing your first study, refining your methods, or simply passionate about rigorous and impactful research, this podcast is here to support and inspire you.
Stay curious—and let’s continue building the skills that shape your scientific journey.
Be sure to check out our new Substack and subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to get episodes delivered direct!
Music for the series is provided by Osani Balkaran.
Hosts
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Dr. Jon McGavock, Host and Executive Producer
Jon is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at the University of Manitoba and researcher at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba. He co-leads the Canadian Network for Pediatric Resident Research that creates resources and opportunities for scholarly achievement for Pediatric Residents across the country. His own research lab makes discoveries that will advance the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes youth, with a particular focus on health equity and justice for structurally oppressed families.
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Jared McKetiak, Producer
Jared McKetiak has been the Station Manager at UMFM 101.5 for 24 years after getting his start with the station as a volunteer in 1999.
He's fiercely passionate about independent media, has sat on boards for a number of arts and community based not-for-profits and is committed to giving back to the amazing city that he lives in. He's a husband, father to two, and his pets, playing hockey, watching baseball, strong coffee, good beer and great music of all sorts are what makes him happy!
Episodes
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Bonus Episode 2: A Conversation with Dr. Alex Hutchinson
On our second bonus episode, we're extremely excited to be joined by Dr. Alex Hutchinson! Alex is a scientist, a journalist, and the New York Times best-selling author of Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. Throughout this wide-ranging episode we'll touch on a number of topics including endurance sport, multiple aspects of behavioural change, how to make tough decisions and tackle interesting problems. We also introduce the concept of the adjacent possible - how can two fields come together to enlighten the field that we currently work in - it's something that we'll be exploring in depth in Season Two and speaking with Alex is a wonderful way to start that conversation. Read more ›
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Bonus Episode 1: A Conversation with Dr. Gordon Guyatt
On this special bonus episode, we have the distinct honor of speaking with Dr. Gordon Guyatt, a pioneering figure in modern medicine whose work has fundamentally reshaped how clinicians approach patient care. Dr. Guyatt is a distinguished professor at McMaster University and is internationally renowned for coining the term evidence-based medicine or EBM. EBM introduced a paradigm shift in the way that we integrate clinical expertise with the best available research and patient values to guide medical decision-making. Read more ›
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Season 1, Episode 14: Equity And Inclusion In The Design and Delivery Of Randomized Control Trials with Dr. Jonathan Jackson
On our final episode of the season, we’re honoured to welcome Dr. Jonathan Jackson, the executive director of the Community Access Recruitment and Engagement Research Centre at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Jackson’s research focuses on the impact of diversity and inclusion in human subjects research, particularly how community engagement can help overcome barriers to clinical trial participation and build trust in marginalized communities. Read more ›
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Season 1, Episode 13: How Do We Bring Equity and Culture Into The Research Space with Dr. Janet Branchaw
On today’s episode, we’re joined by Dr. Janet Branchaw, an associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education. Dr. Branchaw is also the faculty director of the Wisconsin Institute for Science Education and Community Engagement (WI Science), where her work focuses on developing, implementing, and evaluating innovative approaches in science education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Read more ›
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Season 1, Episode 12: An Introduction To Qualitative Methods, Part Two with Dr. Maria Mayan
In this episode, we continue our deep dive into qualitative methods with one of Canada's foremost experts in the field, Dr. Maria Mayan. Dr. Mayan is the Associate Director of the Community University Partnership and a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Read more ›
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Season 1, Episode 11: An Introduction To Qualitative Methods, Part One with Dr. Maria Mayan
On this episode, we are honoured to sit down for the first in a two-part series with Dr. Maria Mayan, one of Canada’s foremost leaders in qualitative methods and inquiry. When seeking guidance on understanding the foundations of qualitative research, Dr. Mayan was the clear choice—a renowned expert and author of the 2023 textbook The Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry. Read more ›
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Season 1, Episode 10: Causal Epidemiology, Part Two with Dr. Robert Platt
We’re back with Dr. Robert Platt for part two of our deep dive into causal inference in epidemiology! In this episode, Dr. Platt and I explore different approaches to inferring causality, taking a closer look at the assumptions that are key when making causal inferences. Read more ›
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Season 1, Episode 9: Causal Epidemiology, Part One with Dr. Robert Platt
We're joined for the first in a two-part series with Dr. Robert Platt, a professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health at McGill University. Dr. Platt is a senior investigator at the McGill University Health Center, the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital, and a leading expert in pharmacoepidemiology. He holds the Albert Behringer Endowed Chair in Pharmacoepidemiology and is a pioneering figure in causal epidemiology. Read more ›
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Season 1, Episode 8: Predictive Epidemiology with Dr. Laura Rosella
On today’s episode, we're excited to interview Dr. Laura Rosella, a professor at the Dalhousie School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Dr. Rosella holds a CRC Chair in Population Health Analytics and is a principal investigator for the Temerty Center for AI Research and Education in Medicine. She is a leading expert in predictive epidemiology, particularly in the application of machine learning to administrative health data. Read more ›
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Season 1, Episode 7: Descriptive Epidemiology with Dr. Matthew Fox
On today’s episode, we're thrilled to welcome Dr. Matt Fox, a professor in the departments of epidemiology and global health at Boston University. Dr. Fox’s research spans treatment outcomes in HIV treatment programs, infectious disease epidemiology, and epidemiological methods. He is also the co-host of one of our favourite podcasts, Sirius Epi, alongside Dr. Haley Bannick, who joined us on episode five. Read more ›