Australia’s brightest minds contribute research and gender equity on the record for UWA podcast

Some of the Australia’s brightest minds have shared their ground-breaking research – and personal stories of life in academia – in a new podcast series launched by The University of Western Australia.

Research on the Record’s first series of interviews focuses on women including academics from a wide range of disciplines at UWA; each at different levels of their research careers.

As well as hearing about some of their ground-breaking work, the series also explores the issues around gender equity in the academic environment and each researcher’s personal experience.

The first episode features Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Anna Nowak, whose own breakthrough mesothelioma research has pioneered the combination chemotherapy with immunology to treat patients.

“I’m really pleased to be launching the Research on the Record podcast series, as a woman in research I can say it’s going to be a fantastic listen,” Professor Nowak said.

“There are a number of our researchers from around UWA talking about the challenges and delights of being a woman pursing a career in High Degree Research.”

Those researchers range from PhD and Master’s students at the beginning of their academic careers to some of the most highly cited and experienced professors in their field.

Their studies include a variety of disciplines, from solving the mysteries of high-energy astrophysics, to tackling the spread of misinformation in social media and investigating wild magpie behaviour and communication.

The women also share their own unique observations about gender equity in academia – and its impact on their lives.

The first episode of Research on the Record has been released on PodBean, with a new interview to appear in two weeks and then one a month on the platform.