Science outreach and communication
During my PhD training and inspired by my passion for teaching, I have organized and participated in numerous initiatives that aim to take science out of the academic bubble and into the hearts and minds of the public!
You can explore some of these initiatives on this webpage. If you are interested in any of them and would like to learn more or chat with me, please see the contact page!
Science Rendezvous
A national science outreach festival
Since the early years of my PhD, I was involved in Science Rendezvous, an annual science festival that takes place all across Canada. I has helped the London chapter of Science Rendezvous in every way imaginable over the years, most recently as an event co-chair for the 2022 event. I became increasingly inspired to contribute to Science Rendezvous every year after seeing the excited faces of thousands of children as they made awesome memories by engaging with hands-on science activities.
In 2022, London's Science Rendezvous had a record-breaking event, with over 4,000 visitors from the London community.
You can learn more about Science Rendezvous by visiting the links below:
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Science Rendezvous National
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Science Rendezvous in London Ontario (Western University)
The Dorsal Column
A science communication blog
In 2019, I was attending a talk by Timothy Caulfield at the London Health Research Day and was captivated by the intricacies and challenges of communicating science to the public. In particular, I found it fascinating yet troubling how important science communication is but how little it is taught to scientists. To address this gap, I teamed up with another neuroscience PhD student at the time, (now Dr.) Ramina Adam, and together they cofounded The Dorsal Column, an initiative that trains graduate students in science communication and produces lay science articles aimed at the London, Ontario community.
From 2019 to 2022, I served in various roles as a writer, reviewer, senior editor, and editor in chief for The Dorsal Column, which has been incredibly successful. Currently, it boasts over 40 articles written by over 20 different authors, all with the goal of making neuroscience accessible to the public while also promoting the great research being done at Western University.
You can learn more about The Dorsal Column by visiting the links below: