
Episode 8: Academic women & family planning
11/15/21 • 53 min
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: @alextlevConnect 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
Listen on any podcast platform + follow us on Twitter + Instagram @BrainMatterChat
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: @alextlevConnect 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
Listen on any podcast platform + follow us on Twitter + Instagram @BrainMatterChat
Previous Episode

Episode 7: Mental Health in South Asian Communities with Ishita Aggarwal
In this episode, Ruby (Host) and Olivia (Co-Host) chat with Ishita Aggarwal about her experiences as a South Asian woman. Ishita completed a master's in public health and is currently a medical student at Queen's University in Canada. Ishita is a member of the BIPOC Women's Health Network (WHN), an initiative led by a group of medical students who aim to provide healthcare resources and improve health experiences for racialized womxn in local Canadian communities.
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Episode 9: A Global Survey on Mental Health in Academia with Andrea Hayward
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
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