In this week's episode, hosts Kuljeet Chohan and Mark Ambrogio interview Ehsan Ur Rahman Mohammed, a PhD candidate in Computer Science. In their conversation, Kuljeet and Mark explore Ehsan's interest in "adversarial robustness," which relates to how well an AI model performs at object recognition and image generation.

A graduate of India's Kakatiya Institute of Technology and Science, Ehsan did his master's research at the University of Windsor. In their conversation, Ehsan discusses his affection for both Windsor and London, his attention to public policy surrounding AI, and the many interests that enrich his graduate experience.

Ehsan serves Western's Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) as the Chair of the Sustainability Committee.

Ehsan's LinkedIn

This week, PhD student Bright Ofori talks about his research on HIV stigma and mental health among older adults living with HIV. With advances in treatment, people living with HIV are living longer. However, this raises new questions about what aging with HIV looks like; what happens when the social impacts of HIV (including stigma, shame, and fear of disclosure) last after diagnosis?

Bright’s research compares the experiences of older adults living with HIV across two different settings: the Ashanti Region of Ghana and African, Caribbean, and Black communities in Ontario. How do culture, community, and social support shape experiences of HIV stigma? How can stigma affect mental health, including experiences of depression and anxiety? And how can researchers capture these experiences while ensuring that the people and communities affected have a meaningful role in building a stronger voice for affected individuals?

Join Kuljeet Chohan and Victor Lau as they hear more about Bright’s methodologies and tackling how stigma exists, to understand a little more about the prevalence of HIV stigma and persisting through with mental health challenges.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bright-ofori-phd Instagram: @i.am.bryt ----------------------------------------

Recorded on Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Produced by Kuljeet Chohan

Theme tune “Feelin Good” provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)

This week, MSc (PhD-intended!) candidate Alexander Gain talks about his research on modelling and testing immune responses to different HIV vaccines.

Although current treatments help keep the virus at bay, this requires people living with HIV to take anti-viral medication for the rest of their lives. Building a preventative vaccine could allow for people to experience a better quality of life, but requires a lot of tricky planning and overcoming experimental constraints.

How does one even start to design HIV vaccines that can hopefully work across different HIV variants? What sort of models can be used to examine the immune response following vaccination? What technical challenges exist before such questions can be properly tested, and how does one pace themselves better over such a marathon of a research endeavour?

Join Bruno Mesquita and Victor Lau as they hear more about Alex tackling a career path that aligns with his values, and for an episode that has both fun details and takes into account a larger picture.

To find out more about Alex and his group's research, please check the Arts Lab website: https://artslab.ca/enter/

Recorded on Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Produced by Evelyn MacKay-Barr

Theme tune “Feelin Good” provided by FreeBeats.io (Produced by WhiteHot)