The Emerging Scholar Podcast

How do you make people care about science? On the season two finale of The Emerging Scholar, award-winning science communicator Krista Lamb joins host John McGavock for a practical conversation on storytelling, media interviews, misinformation, and why great research means little if no one understands it. From poster sessions to podcasts, this episode is a masterclass in making science matter.

How do you predict the future of disease - and what happens when that prediction changes care around the world? On Season 2, Episode 17 of the Emerging Scholar Podcast, Dr. Navdeep Tangri reveals how a simple question from kidney disease patients led to a breakthrough risk equation now used globally to predict kidney failure. From predictive epidemiology to AI, discover how data-driven medicine is transforming prevention - and why the future of kidney care may be remission, not decline.

How do you measure racism inside a healthcare system, and what happens when the data finally tells the truth? On Season 2, Episode 16 of The Emerging Scholar Podcast, we are joined by Dr. Marcia Anderson, who reveals why race-based data is not about biology, but about measuring how racism operates through healthcare systems - and how Manitoba’s groundbreaking work is exposing inequities hiding in plain sight. From scientific racism to emergency room wait times, this is a powerful conversation about evidence, accountability, and who gets to shape the stories data tells.

How much difference can a few extra minutes of movement really make—and what’s the most effective way to improve population health? On season 2, episode 15 of the Emerging Scholar podcast, we are joined by Professor Ulf Ekelund who reveals why small, achievable increases in daily activity—when scaled across millions—can drive powerful reductions in disease risk and reshape how we think about prevention.

What happens when misinformation spreads faster than science can respond? On season 2, episode 14 of the Emerging Scholar Podcast, Dr. Michael Narvey—neonatologist and creator of NICU Musings—explores how medical expertise can cut through a social media landscape built for speed, not nuance. A must-listen for emerging scholars thinking about how to make their work truly reach the public.

What if the way we study healthcare inequities is part of the problem? On season 2, episode 13, Dr. Tara Horrill reveals how mismatches between cancer care systems and patients’ lived realities—and between traditional methods and justice-oriented research—leave critical gaps in understanding. It’s a powerful look at why centring stories, context, and equity isn’t optional—it’s essential.

What if the biggest mistake in your research was choosing your method before your question? On Season 2, Episode 12 of the Emerging Scholar Podcast, Dr. Ashley Stewart-Tufescu reframes qualitative and quantitative approaches as part of a broader toolkit for systematic inquiry. Through her work in global child protection and childhood adversity, she highlights how centring lived experience and community voices leads to more meaningful, socially grounded research.

Can questions from your patients help to change medicine? On season 2, episode 11 of the Emerging Scholar Podcast, we sit down with pioneering diabetes researcher Dr. Hertzel Gerstein of McMaster University and the Population Health Research Institute. He reflects on how bedside questions led to landmark trials—including HOPE Trial and ACCORD Trial—that reshaped our understanding of diabetes and cardiovascular risk, and how simple clinical curiosity can spark research that changes global practice.

How does research evidence actually make its way into practice? On episode 10 of season2, we're joined by guest co-host, doctoral student Nika Klaprat, to explore that question and more with implementation science pioneer Dr. Jeremy Grimshaw. From clinical guidelines to public health infrastructure, the conversation examines how implementation science helps bridge the gap between what we know works and what actually happens in practice.

How do we move from correlation to causation in epidemiology? In season 2, episode 9, Professor Deborah Lawlor of the University of Bristol unpacks the power of triangulation—showing how integrating evidence from different study designs can sharpen causal inference and challenge some of the field’s most entrenched assumptions.