TW: sexual harassment, power dynamics, trauma

There is an old joke amongst Eastern Asian immigrants: If we bring home a test score of 99, our dads will ask: where’s the other point? Due to various myths, stereotypes, and barriers, including the model minority myth and the bamboo ceiling, navigating the academic world, especially in STEM, with an Eastern Asian identity can sometimes feel complicated.

In this episode, Dr. Kay Tye (@kaymtye), a neuroscientist and professor at UC San Diego, joins Kyla Lee (@kylaaalee) and Olivia Ghosh-Swaby (@ogoshhsw) in a conversation discussing the unique experience of being Eastern Asian in academia.

Dr. Tye and Kyla talk about the stereotypes that apply to them as people of Asian descent, from their perceived personalities to their expected aptitudes in STEM fields, and share how they navigated (and still do!) the complicated paradoxical melting pot that is their identities, straddling the line between belonging and “forever foreigner.”

In this episode, Ruby (@Ruby__Malik), and Julia (@juliasunstrum) chat with Andrea Hayward, Senior Associate at CACTUS Mental Health. We discuss the results of a recent global survey conducted on the state of mental health in academia. The survey included over 13 000 respondents in 169 countries. Andrea highlights common themes that impact the mental health of researchers and academics, including work-life balance, guilt to be productive, long work hours, and safety in the work environment.

Connect with Andrea Hayward ↬ Twitter: @AndieAitch

Mention in this Episode:

• Global Mental Health Survey Reports
• Cactus Mental Health Initiative Twitter Page
• R Voice by researcher.life
• Cactus Communication YouTube Channel

Academic women & family planning ft. Dr. Kasey Van Hedger & Dr. Alex Levine

In this episode, Niveen (@nivful), Hayley (@hayleyrcshanks) and Kyla (@kylaaalee) chat with Drs. Alex Levine and Kasey Van Hedger, both who completed PhDs in STEM and currently work at the University of Western Ontario in London, ON, Canada. We discuss their experiences in Academia with family planning and get two unique perspectives. Kasey and Alex detail their personal stories of how they got to their positions today, how family planning did, or did not, affect their trajectory, and provide invaluable advice for Professional women, including Academics, who are considering building a family.

Connect with Alex Levine, PhD ↬ Twitter: @AlexTLev / IG: @alextlev

Connect with Kasey Van Hedger, PhD ↬ Twitter: @kvanhedger / IG: @kvanhedger

Mentioned this episode:
↬ BMC ep 6- Anxiety & anger series with Rob Hicks:
- Part I: gender stereotypes - men’s mental health
- Part II: practicing mindfulness
- Part III: becoming a parent in Academia
↬ Dr. Harriet de Wit Lab - research on the physiological, mood-altering & behavioral effects of drugs in healthy humans (Chicago, IL, USA)
↬ Dr. Ingrid Johnsrude Lab - research using psychophysical and neuroimaging methods such as fMRI and EEG to study the neural basis of hearing (Western University, London, ON, CA)
↬ Dr. Penny MacDonald Lab - research on the neural bases of cognitive processes in patients with basal ganglia dysfunction, such as Parkinson’s disease, using functional neuroimaging techniques (Western University, London, ON, CA)
↬ #MomAdemia

Recent episodes can be found at www.songsuwo.ca/brainmatterchatter
↬ Ep 7: Mental Health in South Asian Communities with Ishita Aggarwal

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