Welcome to Women in AI Research
New episodes released every three weeks on Wednesday.
Women in AI Research (WiAIR) is a podcast dedicated to celebrating the remarkable contributions of female AI researchers from around the globe. Our mission is to challenge the prevailing perception that AI research is predominantly male-driven.
In WiAIR, we interview successful female AI researchers coming from diverse cultural backgrounds, showcasing their inspirational cutting-edge research and insights into the future of AI. Through these conversations, we explore their personal journeys - how they overcome unique challenges, balance careers and family life, and make difficult decisions when necessary. We aim to understand how women in AI research perceive success and what it takes to achieve their goals.
Why Listen?
- •Gain Insights: Learn from leading women in AI and stay updated on the latest research and developments.
- •Be Inspired: Hear powerful stories of overcoming obstacles and breaking stereotypes.
- •Connect: Join the community of like-minded early career researchers and build your network.
Stay Connected
- •Social Media Links: Follow us on Bluesky, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter for updates and behind-the-scenes content.
- •Subscription Information: Subscribe to WiAIR on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and join our Discord.
Call to Action
- •Subscribe Now: Don't miss an episode! Subscribe to Women in AI Research (WiAIR) today.
- •Share: Spread the word and share our podcast with your network.
Latest Episodes
Ep.9: Unlocking LLM Reasoning, with Simeng Sophia Han
August 27, 2025
In this episode of the Women in AI Research podcast, we explore the future of 𝐋𝐋𝐌 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐈. You will learn why evaluating reasoning goes beyond correctness, how brain teasers uncover hidden strengths and weaknesses of LLMs, why consistency in AI outputs is essential for building trust, and many other important topics.
Ep.8: LLM Hallucinations and Machine Unlearning, with Dr. Abhilasha Ravichander
August 6, 2025
In this episode of the Women in AI Research Podcast, hosts Jekaterina Novikova and Malikeh Ehghaghi engage with Abhilasha Ravichander to discuss the complexities of LLM hallucinations, the development of factuality benchmarks, and the importance of data transparency and machine unlearning in AI.
Ep.7: Generalization in AI, with Dr. Dieuwke Hupkes
July 16, 2025
A must-listen episode with Dr. Dieuwke Hupkes from Meta AI Research, diving into AI generalization, LLM robustness, and model evaluation in large language models. We explore how LLMs handle grammar and hierarchy, how they generalize across tasks and languages, and what consistency tells us about AI alignment. We also talk about Dieuwke’s journey from physics to NLP, the challenges of peer review, and sustaining a career in research—plus, how pole dancing helps with focus
About Us
Jekaterina Novikova
Founder & Co-Host
Dr. Jekaterina Novikova is the AI researcher with over 10 years of experience in natural language processing and human-AI interaction. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Bath and has an extensive international experience working in the academia, industry and non-profits. She was recognized as one of the Top 50 Most Extraordinary Women Advancing AI In 2024, Top 25 Women in AI in Canada in 2022, received the "Industry Icon Award" by the University of Toronto in 2021, and included in the list of 30 Influential Women Advancing AI in Canada in 2018.
Malikeh Ehghaghi
Co-Host
Malikeh is a machine learning researcher at the Vector Institute, and an incoming PhD student at the University of Toronto, where she works under the supervision of Prof. Colin Raffel. Born and raised in Iran, she is a bilingual researcher fluent in Farsi and English who immigrated to Canada in 2019. She earned an MScAC degree in Computer Science from the University of Toronto and has over five years of industry research experience at companies such as Winterlight Labs, Cambridge Cognition, and Arcee AI.
Anais Hristea
Lead Illustrator & Designer
Anais is a talented graphic designer and illustrator who creates all the visual assets for the Women in AI Research podcast. With a background in digital art and design, she brings a unique aesthetic to the podcast's brand identity, from logo design to branding, ensuring a strong and professional look.
Asal Mohammadjafari Mamaqani
Technical Content Creator
Asal is a final-year Computer Science undergraduate at Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran. She works as a Research Assistant, specializing in deep learning and computer vision, and has experience as a Teaching Assistant for courses such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). She is currently looking for opportunities to pursue postgraduate studies to further her research in AI.
Ali Akram
Technical Producer
Ali is an experienced AI engineer and technical producer who ensures the podcast's technical quality. He handles audio editing, production, and technical aspects of the podcast, bringing years of experience in audio engineering and AI development. Ali also develops and maintains the podcast's website.
Mary MacCarthy
Lead Producer & Marketing
Mary is the Head of Product Marketing at Arcee AI, a fast-growing startup that pioneered small language models (SLMs) and intelligent model routing. She pivoted into tech after a long career as an international news correspondent. A proud solo mom, Mary is a fierce advocate for women in tech and is known for bringing a critical eye to the ethics (or lack thereof) in the industry.