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.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
Ep.6: Decentralized AI, with Wanru Zhao
June 25, 2025
In this episode, Wanru Zhao discusses decentralized and collaborative AI methods, the limitations of scaling laws, fine-tuning strategies, data attribution challenges in LLMs, and multilingual learning in federated settings—all while reflecting on her experiences across UK and Canadian research ecosystems. She also shares her academic journey, vision for the future of AI, and how she navigates research roadblocks with creativity and curiosity.
Ep.5: Interpretable AI, with Dr. Faiza Khan Khattak
June 4, 2025
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Faiza Khan Khattak, , the CTO of an innovative AI startup, with a rich background in both academia and industry. We dive deep into her journey and expertise across: fairness, explainability, and social bias in AI; reasoning and interpretability in LLMs; operationalizing ML in healthcare, machine unlearning and adversarial attacks. This is a must-listen for anyone passionate about building ethical, transparent, and impactful AI systems.
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.
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.