Hosted by Dr. Nayiar Shahid, Science at the Fifty-Third Degree brings the groundbreaking research happening at the University of Alberta to the people it was always meant to serve. Each episode, one scientist. One discovery. And a question that just might change everything.
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Right now, billions of your brain cells are talking in unison, communicating in rhythms so complex that visually you would never understand them. But what if you could hear them instead? In this episode of Science at the Fifty-Third Degree, host Dr. Nayiar Shahid explores the cutting edge of data sonification with Mitch Prostebby, a graduate student in Dr. Clayton Dickson's lab at the University of Alberta. Mitch recently took home the top prize at the university's Sounds of Research competition with his track, "Thunderstorms and Symphonies of the Brain," which maps the neural activity of a ra
Imagine taking a page from a book, wiping it completely blank, and writing an entirely different story on it. In the world of cell biology, this is called cellular reprogramming. In this episode of Science at the Fifty-Third Degree, host Dr. Nayiar Shahid steps into a cellular time machine with Dr. Sandeep Gupta from the Department of Cell Biology at the University of Alberta to look at how scientists are turning back the clock on human cells. Using Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) technology, Dr. Gupta’s lab takes simple skin or blood cells from patients and coaxes them to forget their ad
Imagine walking into a research lab in 1980: no laptops, no automated kits, manual sequencing gels read entirely by eye, and a physical slide box for every single medical student. In this episode of Science at the Fifty-Third Degree, host Dr. Nayiar Shahid sits down with Julie Haskins from the Department of Cell Biology at the University of Alberta. With an incredible 45-year milestone career, Julie has served as a constant, brilliant anchor while the biological world exploded with technological revolutions around her. From her start as a histology technician in the original Department of Anat
During the pandemic lockdowns, many of us experienced a persistent mental fog, making it harder to focus or remember. While it was easy to dismiss this as mere stress, it turns out our brains were actively rewiring themselves to survive the quiet. In this episode of Science at the Fifty-Third Degree, host Dr. Nayiar Shahid sits down with Dr. Anna Phan from the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta to explore what happens to the brain during isolation—not just emotionally, but biologically. Using fruit flies (Drosophila) as a genetic powerhouse model, Dr. Phan’s lab dis
Science is all about getting a closer look, but instead of diving into a molecule or an organ, this episode zooms in on the person behind the science. In this episode of Science at the Fifty-Third Degree, host Dr. Nayiar Shahid goes behind the lab bench to explore the journey from student to success with Dr. Martin Munz. Spanning two continents and numerous postings, Dr. Munz shares how he has built a vibrant scientific community around his research on neural circuits. From early work with tadpoles to whole-brain studies in mice, Dr. Munz discusses how key mentorships, early career funding, an
Forget the image of dusty shelves and quiet rooms. In this episode of Science at the Fifty-Third Degree, host Dr. Nayiar Shahid explores how the modern library has transformed into "mission control" for the information age. Joined by Janice Kung, a professional librarian at the University of Alberta, the discussion dives into the chaotic world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the crucial role librarians play as the "superheroes" of information literacy. As AI tools generate "hallucinations" and fake research papers, the challenge for scientists is no longer just finding data, but verifying
Most people see the fruit fly as a kitchen nuisance or an agricultural menace, but to cancer researchers, Drosophila is a giant in the field. In this episode of Science at the Fifty-Third Degree, host Dr. Nayiar Shahid talks with Dr. Sarah Hughes, a Medical Genetics professor at the University of Alberta. Dr. Hughes explains why this tiny insect is a foundational tool for human oncology, sharing roughly 75% of human cancer genes. The conversation dives deep into the SNR1 gene (known as SMARCB1 in humans), a critical regulator of chromatin remodeling. When this regulation fails, neural stem cel
What happens when the patient sitting across from you is the only person in the world with their specific condition? In traditional medicine, that's a problem. For Harry Wilton-Clark, it's the whole point. In this episode of Science at the Fifty-Third Degree, host Dr. Nayiar Shahid talks with Harry Wilton-Clark, a researcher at the University of Alberta's Women and Children's Health Research Institute, about a quiet revolution happening at the edges of medicine — the rise of N-of-1 therapies. These are treatments designed not for thousands of patients, but for one. Harry's work focuses on Duch
Have you ever seen a news headline about a medical breakthrough and wondered about the rest of the story? In this trailer for Science at the Fifty-Third Degree, host Dr. Nayiar Shahid introduces a podcast designed to bring science "from the bench right to your backdoor." After a decade-long journey spanning pharmaceutical quality control, drug discovery in London, diabetes research in Malaysia, and a PhD in pharmacology at the University of Alberta, Dr. Shahid is moving from the lab bench to the bridge. This series shifts the focus from dry data to the human stories, precision, and invisible s
Your heart beats more than 100,000 times a day without you ever asking it to. But what happens when something interrupts that rhythm — and more importantly, what happens after? In this pilot episode of Science at the Fifty-Third Degree, host Dr. Nayiar Shahid sits down with Dr. Zam Kassiri, a professor at the University of Alberta, to explore the fascinating and surprisingly delicate science of cardiac repair. After a heart attack, the heart doesn't just sit still — it begins a complex process of remodeling itself, reshaping its own structure to survive. But that same repair process, if it goe
