Science is not a disembodied entity that runs itself. It's a human-driven endeavor. People conduct science. Subject. Verb. Noun.
Over the years, I took every opportunity to explore the intersection between science and the humanities. As an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Dallas, I majored in neuroscience and minored in the Medical and Scientific Humanities (MaSH) with the brilliant Professor Pamela Gossin. I spent my mornings learning about axon guidance and the neurophysiological properties of neurons and my afternoons reading and discussing pieces by Charles Dickens, Michael Pollan, and Gretel Ehrlich.
As a post-baccalaureate at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), I studied the molecular underpinnings of mood disorders while also volunteering at the NIH Radio, interviewing scientists, and writing clips for the Association of Women in Science (AWIS) newsletter.
As a neuroscience graduate student at the University of California, Davis, I spent my days in the Center for Neuroscience with mice and lasers, investigating the neural basis for remote memory retrieval. I also blogged for science conferences and startups and wrote research summaries for the Kavli Institute of Systems Neuroscience (KISN) Annual Report.
At every turn, I was looking for the story in the science.
As a post-doc in Steve Ramirez's lab at Boston University, I studied the relationship between social learning and memory by day. At night, I sat in on the science news writing classes in the building across the way.
Now, as a Communications & Outreach Manager at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard with David R. Liu's research group, I assist graduate students and post-docs in improving their science communication skills. I work closely with students on a wide variety of academic documents ranging from fellowship applications to grant proposals and scientific manuscripts. I've also served as a science communications instructor for the Broad Summer Research Program (BSRP) and currently serve as a Broad CommLab Fellow.
Writing is a skill that academics often neglect to train or hope to learn on the job. There's no need to wait. If you want to polish your proposal, increase your odds of getting funded, or write about your science for a more general audience: I can help.
Get in touch.