Let’s Talk SciComm

Got an interview coming up? Don't worry, Jen and Michael are here to help! In this five-minute episode, they'll give advice to make sure you're prepared for a perfect interview. From putting your mind at ease to carefully studying the job posting, Jen and Michael will provide you with practical tips that will boost your confidence and help you land the perfect job. Listen now and get ready for your interview!

https://www.proclinical.com/blogs/2021-6/3-ways-to-make-a-good-impression-in-a-scientific-interview

https://headspace.org.au/explore-topics/for-young-people/job-interview-preparation/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpkegRmPgis

https://www.askamanager.org/category/interviewing

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-02/how-to-nail-job-interview/9868736

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/is78

We're thrilled to launch an exciting new series of our podcast, 'Listen To This If...'. 

Jen and Michael will deliver a speedy, five-minute Friday fix packed with practical hot tips to tackle your toughest science communication challenges.

Next Friday, we're starting with something we all want to know: how to ace a job interview!

An enormous thank you to the University of Melbourne Science Communication students who form the production team for Listen To This If: Madeleine Kelly, Riccardo Petroni, Meiqi Peng and Lorne Whytcross.

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/9cc8

We’re ending Season 11 with a fabulous conversation with climate change communicator Dr Simon Torok. Simon is CEO and Director of Scientell, a science communication company that seeks to maximise the impact of scientific information. He distils technical information for non-scientific audiences to communicate the importance of science in our lives and its role in understanding the environment. Simon has a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication from the Australian National University, and completed a PhD in climate change science at the University of Melbourne. He has managed communication for CSIRO in Australia and for the Tyndall Centre in England. He was editor of the Helix and Scientriffic science magazines, and has published more than 200 newspaper, magazine and scientific journal articles. He has co-authored 20 popular science and climate change books, several of which have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Hungarian.

You can follow Simon and learn more about his work here:

https://www.scientell.com.au/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-torok-5570782/

https://x.com/Simon_Scientell

This week we absolutely loved speaking with highly skilled communications coach David Crisante. David has had a career in journalism, political speechwriting - including for Australia's Foreign Minister -  and science communications. These days he helps professionals to master storytelling techniques so that they’re more effective when communicating with stakeholders.  David is founder of the Sydney Comedy School, where students discover their unique communication styles and how they can be more confident and charismatic, in public speaking and in everyday life.

He is the director of Future Science Talks, and in 2024 he took his Science Comedy Program around Australia, training hundreds of scientists in the art of using humour to build rapport with audiences.

David’s career history includes reporting for the ABC and SBS, as well as an international correspondent in Tokyo for several years, where he specialised in reporting on the nuclear disaster of 2011. He was a political and crisis response specialist for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  David has managed a wide array of PR crises, such as international kidnappings, pirate attacks and the disappearance of MH370.

You can follow David and learn more about his work here:

https://www.davidcrisante.com/

https://www.futuresciencetalks.com.au/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidcrisante/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-science-talks/

https://www.youtube.com/@FutureScienceTalks

https://x.com/ScienceTalksAU

This week we were incredibly fortunate to speak with Dr Catherine Richards Golini in Switzerland. Catherine is a Healthcare Publications Editor at Karger Publishers, specializing in creating, developing, and editing resources for patients and HCPs. Holding a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Swansea University, and with published research on patient communication, she is also a skilled plain language writer and reviewer of plain language summaries and patient materials. With expertise in health discourse, medical communication,and patient communication, Catherine also brings a wealth of experience in educational course development and language assessment. She cofounded and served as director of EALTHY, the European teachers‘ association for medical and healthcare English, demonstrating her commitment to advancing medical language education.

You can follow Catherine and learn more about her work here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinerichards/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/karger-publishers/

https://velocityofcontentpodcast.com/plain-language-summaries-go-beyond-language/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGWlf2RhM6k

This week we had the wonderful opportunity to talk with Sara Garfield - a true expert in communicating about science in English as a non-native language.

Sara is a dedicated educator with a diverse academic and teaching background that spans multiple countries and disciplines. Raised in Italy speaking English at home, her early fascination with languages and literature has paved the way for her academic interests and teaching career.

Her undergraduate studies led her to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Modern Languages and Literature from Università Cà Foscari Venezia in Venice, Italy. During this time, she specialised in English and French languages and literature. Throughout her studies, she worked as an English private tutor, proof-reader and translator.

Her true passion, though, has always been teaching and language learning. That is what drove her to train as an English language teacher in London, UK. Seeking to deepen her understanding of language acquisition and pedagogy, she pursued a Master of Science degree in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at Worcester College, University of Oxford, UK.

Currently, she holds a permanent position as an English language instructor and course coordinator in the Department of Languages and Communication at the College of Science and Technology, University of Bordeaux.

With a diverse teaching background, she has taught English for Specific Purposes and English for Science and Technology at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Her teaching philosophy emphasises active pedagogy, student-led learning, and the integration of digital tools for enhanced engagement.

Among her research interests are topics linked to science communication using English as a lingua franca in international settings, teaching methodologies, intercultural communication, and the relationship between language and thought. Her approach is interdisciplinary and dedicated to fostering students’ linguistic, intercultural and communication competencies.

You can follow Sara and learn more about her work here:

www.linkedin.com/in/sara-garfield-816569b9

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/skb8

This week we were absolutely thrilled to speak with one of our favourite people: Tilly Boleyn. Tilly (she/her) is the Head of Curatorial, Science Gallery Melbourne, University of Melbourne. Basically, she’s a massive nerd, curious about the world and everything in it. She is a collaborative creature at heart and heads the team with a mixture of organisation, chaos, humour and sassy backtalk. She loves connecting people, making space for thought, and challenging people to back up their opinions in an imagined recreation of Mad Max Thunderdome. Her background is in museums, galleries, education, events, festivals, broadcasting and research. Originally a microbiologist, Tilly ran from the lab to the ABC, where she discovered a talent for science gossip – talking about other people’s science rather than doing her own. She then morphed into a curator and has created exhibitions on health, medicine, experimentation, the voice, engineering, sustainability, mental health, dark matter, identity and genders. Tilly is delighted by blurring the boundaries between science, art, design, technology, maths, engineering and large-scale-batteries-powered-by-human-urine. Currently she plots with scientists and artists to deliver a rolling series of innovative and thought-provoking shows to engage audiences with the bleeding edge of human knowledge.

You can follow Tilly and learn more about her work here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tilly-boleyn-a5397535/

https://x.com/tillsify

https://www.instagram.com/tillyboleyn/

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/ockhamsrazor/art-science-gallery-giant-urine-battery/102998322 (Tilly’s Ockham’s Razor talk) 

https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/166791

https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/560724

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/inner-west/powerhouse-museum-curator-tilly-boleyn-feeds-leeches-who-are-part-of-an-exhibit/news-story/222bdadf317c15bb01c952e630d01631

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ekb8

This week we had a fabulous conversation with multi-award winning science journalist Dr Jackson Ryan. Jackson is a former molecular biologist and current freelance science journalist with a focus on longform and narrative non-fiction science writing. He served as the Science Editor at CNET.com between 2018 and 2023 and was the 2022 winner of the Eureka Prize for Science Journalism. In 2024, he is co-editing the Best Australian Science Writing anthology -- and you should buy it! His longform writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, The Monthly and Nature. 

You can follow Jackson and learn more about his work here:

https://www.jacksonwryan.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacksonryanscience

https://x.com/dctrjack

https://sjaa.org.au (Jackson is President of the Science Journalists Association of Australia)

https://www.linkedin.com/company/science-journalists-association-of-australia

You can read Jackson’s Antarctica stories here: https://linktr.ee/dctrj

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/i4b8

This week we were privileged to have a wonderful conversation with Dr Rachel Nowak who is a consultant, an advisor, a scientist and a journalist. She has been working in science, technology and innovation on three continents.

Her specialities include science journalism, knowledge mobilisation, research and technology assessment, and stakeholder engagement.

She has been Washington Bureau Chief and Australasian Editor of New Scientist magazine. She was Director of Research Marketing and Communications at the University of Melbourne. She founded the social-good brain tech start-up The Brain Dialogue and is currently a Consultant Editor with Custom Media at the Nature Springer group. 

Rachel did her PhD in agricultural science at the University of Leeds. She studied writing, alongside poets and novelists, at The Johns Hopkins University.

Her award-winning science journalism has changed R&D and medical practice, and research law and policy around the world.

Rachel immigrated to Australia on a Distinguished Talent visa for her international record of outstanding achievements in science communication.

You can follow Rachel and learn more about her work here:

https://www.nowakassociates.net/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-rachel-nowak-gaicd/

https://twitter.com/DrRachelNowak

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/6nb8

We’re so thrilled to be back with you for Season 11 of Let’s Talk SciComm. And to get the season off to a brilliant start, we had a wonderful conversation with Sara Phillips.

Sara is an award-winning science writer and editor based in Melbourne, Australia. She edited the 2020, 10th-anniversary edition of the Best Australian Science Writing.

Previously, she was Asia-Pacific bureau chief for Nature News, executive editor for the Asia-Pacific region of Nature Research Group’s custom publishing arm, the national environment reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and editor of ABC Environment online, a now-archived portal for the ABC’s environment content.

Starting out on an environmental trade publication WME, she later became deputy editor of Cosmos magazine, where she was part of the team that won magazine of year not once, but twice. Cosmos Online won internet site of the year under her editorship. And the editor won editor of the year for 2005 and 2006, while she was supporting him.

She was also the founding editor of G magazine, a sustainable lifestyle magazine. Her team won consumer magazine of the year (for print run over 30,000) at the Bell Awards for magazine publishing, and she took out editor of the year.

You can follow Sara and find out more about her work here:

https://saraphillips.net.au/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-phillips-3a15635/ 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/sara-phillips/3549260

https://invasives.org.au/our-team/sara-phillips/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/syy8

We’re ending Season 10 on a high, chatting with Brendon Bosworth in Cape Town, South Africa. Brendan is a communications specialist and science communication trainer who runs Human Element Communications. Brendon’s goal is to make research on topics of global concern, such as climate change and sustainable development, more accessible to non-specialists.

After working as a communications officer on a large international climate change adaptation project in 2018, and as a journalist for more than 10 years before that, Brendon decided he wanted to work with scientists to build their communication skills. He partnered with Dr Tali Hoffman (director of Honeyguide Science Communication) to develop a science communication training programme, ‘Communicating Science for Impact.’

Since launching the programme in 2020, he and Dr Hoffman have trained over 300 people from institutions including UNEP, FAO, the University of Cape Town, the University of Ghana, the University of Nairobi, and the University of Saskatchewan to communicate about science with non-specialists more effectively. 

Brendon is a Fulbright scholar with a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado Boulder. In his previous life as a journalist, he wrote about everything from ocean acidification to mental health, with some surf travel writing in between.

He is also a photographer whose work has been featured in exhibitions in South Africa and abroad.

As a consultant, Brendon has provided writing, editing, and communication services to clients including UN-Habitat, CARE, the Global Center on Adaptation, and the World Urban Forum.

You can follow Brendon and learn more about his work here:

https://www.humanelementcommunications.com/

https://www.humanelementcommunications.com/insights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am1-e0G27X8&t=974s (A recent interview Brendon did with Fancy Comma)

https://www.brendonbosworth.com/ (Brendon’s photography website)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendonbosworth

https://www.instagram.com/brendon_bos/

https://twitter.com/BrendonBosworth

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/eyy8

This week we have the immense pleasure of speaking with the brilliant Alicia Sometimes. Alicia is a multi-award winning poet and broadcaster who is deeply passionate about both art and science. She has performed her poetry at many venues, festivals and events around the world. Alicia is director/co-writer of the art/science planetarium shows, Elemental and Particle/Wave. In 2023 she received ANAT’s Synapse Artist Residency and co-created an art installation for Science Gallery Melbourne’s exhibition, Dark Matters. Her new book is Stellar Atmospheres.

You can follow Alicia and learn more about her work here: 

https://www.aliciasometimes.com/

https://bookedout.com.au/find-a-speaker/author/alicia-sometimes/ 

https://www.instagram.com/sometimesalicia/

https://x.com/aliciasometimes 

https://sometimes2023.blog.anat.org.au/ 

https://corditebooks.org.au/products/stellar-atmospheres (Alicia’s new book)

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/xw58

This week we had the great privilege of speaking with Dr Craig Cormick OAM. Craig is the Creative Director of ThinkOutsideThe. He is one of Australia’s leading science communicators, with over 30 years’ experience working with agencies such as CSIRO, Questacon and Federal Government Departments.

In 2014 he was awarded the Unsung Hero of Science Communication by the Australian Science Communicators, and in 2011 was a co-winner of the International Association of Public Participation’s national best practice award for the development of the Science and Technology Engagement Pathways (STEP) framework.

Craig has headed up several communications and marketing units, before moving to consultancy work. He specialised in communicating complex science to the general public – and in communicating the complex attitudes and beliefs of the public to scientists, particularly on topics of biotechnology and nanotechnology.

He has a broad background in both the theory and the practice of working with social attitudes to new technologies, and methods of community engagement, particularly on how different values influence attitudes and receptiveness to messages or behaviour change.

He has been a member of the Society of Risk Analysis and has published research papers on risk communications and risk perception, as well as giving many workshops and talks, both in Australia and overseas, on the differences between public and scientific perceptions of risk.

Craig has a particular interest in evidence-based, and client- and audience-driven, communications and marketing. He has also published more than 40 books and won many writing awards. 

You can follow Craig and learn more about his work here:

https://theconversation.com/profiles/craig-cormick-94194/articles

https://thinkoutsidethe.com.au/?page_id=27

https://www.facebook.com/craig.cormick

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-craig-cormick-oam-08352123/

https://twitter.com/craigcormick

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/htv8

This week we had such a wonderful time speaking with Laura Bibiana Ospina-Rozo, who joined us all the way from her home in Columbia. Laura is a scientist who finds joy in tackling research questions in the field of biophotonics: where light and living matter interact. She completed her undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of Los Andes in Colombia and her PhD in 2022 investigating beetle colours at the University of Melbourne. As a postdoc at the Stuart-Fox lab at the University of Melbourne, she analyzes biological samples combining microscopy and colour-measuring techniques, and spends most of her time talking to people from different disciplines to interpret the results together. Her work has taught her the importance of communicating science in an engaging and efficient way, as well as listening to diverse perspectives around common questions. That is why she eagerly participates in science communication competitions such as the 3MT competition and the Big Science Pitch and also likes being part of the diversity and inclusion committees at the University of Melbourne. 

You can follow Laura and learn more about her work here: 

https://twitter.com/laubibianapina

https://www.instagram.com/lau.b.pina/

https://biosciences.unimelb.edu.au/about/news-and-events/hbos/humans-of-biosciences-laura-ospina-rozo (the article we referred to at the start of the episode)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhC5auSY1d4 (an intro to Laura’s Big Science Pitch)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TYSU5-qGb0 The Big Science Pitch 2023

Laura also makes all her code public in https://github.com/lospinarozo

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/cjv8

This week we had a wonderful time speaking with Dr Jen Payne about her amazing initiative STEMpals. Jen grew up in a small country town, where the closest thing to scientists she saw was her teachers. She had no idea really what a scientist was or could be. Fast forward to now, where Jen is a research scientist, minimising deadly infections due to antimicrobial resistance.

She is an award-winning science communicator who is passionate about real-world STEM in the classroom. This led to becoming the founder and CEO of a STEM charity the Curiosity Factory, which runs STEMpals. STEMpals is a pen pal program for upper primary school students where each student in the classroom is paired with their very own STEM professional to exchange handwritten letters across the year. This cross-curricular program inspires our next STEM generation one letter at a time. Jen also fosters greyhounds and has represented Australia around the world playing ultimate frisbee.

You can follow Jen and learn more about her work here: 

https://stempals.org.au/

https://au.linkedin.com/company/curiosityfactory

https://au.linkedin.com/in/jenniferaepayne

https://twitter.com/DrPayne_AMR 

https://www.australiansepsisnetwork.net.au/community-awareness/signs-symptoms-sepsis

And here is some important information about sepsis, a fatal condition we discuss on the podcast:

Sepsis comes down to TIME, as every hour treatment is delayed, the likelihood of death increases by 4-9%. 

• TIME can save your life.
• T = temperature - is it higher or lower than normal?
• I = infection - may have signs and symptoms of an infection
• M = mental decline - confused, sleepy, difficult to rouse
• E = extremely ill - severe pain, discomfort, shortness of breath

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/c9d8

What a treat this week’s episode is! We had a blast catching up with one of our brilliant former science communication students, Milly Formby.

Milly is a qualified zoologist, pilot and illustrator of the children's book, A Shorebird Flying Adventure. In 2022-23 she was the first woman to fly a microlight aircraft around Australia. The aim of the adventure was to promote protection of wetland habitats for endangered migratory shorebirds. Milly took 160 hours of flight time over 365 days covering 14,000 kilometres to complete the journey. Along the way she visited 105 primary schools reaching over 6500 students in remote, regional and urban Australia.

Milly has extensive experience in many different types of science communication and we know you’re going to love this conversation!

You can follow Milly and learn more about her work here:

https://wingthreads.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/wingthreads/

https://www.instagram.com/wingthreads/

https://www.youtube.com/@wingthreads2347

https://www.linkedin.com/in/milly-formby-a607a64b/

You can watch a documentary about Wing Threads here: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/wing-threads

And you can purchase Milly’s book A Shorebird Flying Adventure here: https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/8006/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/iyy8

This week we had the great pleasure of speaking with Brian Lin in Washington DC. Brian oversees EurekAlert!, a non-profit news release distribution platform operated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He has more than two decades of experience as a science communicator, having interned at a national daily technology TV show in Canada before serving as a press officer for 13 years at the University of British Columbia, where he helped communicate scientific and medical research while developing and delivering media training for faculty and students. Since joining AAAS in 2014, he has more than tripled web traffic at EurekAlert! and led the development of a new platform that launched in 2021. His current focus is expanding access to EurekAlert! in low and middle-income countries and fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in and through science communication.

You can follow Brian and learn more about his work here: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianlinworks/

https://x.com/brianlinworks

https://blog.eurekalert.org/ - The EurekAlert! Science Communication blog

https://www.eurekalert.org/newsportal/eurekalert_resources - The Eurekalert! Resources center for journalists and Press officers

https://www.wired.com/2016/05/internet-hub-science-news-shaping-world-20-years/ - A Wired.com story about EurekAlert! at their 20th anniversary

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ayy8

Welcome back to Season 10 of Let’s Talk SciComm! We’re thrilled to be back with you for another season of fantastic conversations exploring how we can all communicate about science in more effective and engaging ways.

To get the season off to an amazing start, we’re thrilled to have caught up with science tourism and dark skies guru, Marnie Ogg. With over 17 years of experience as a Managing Director at Dark Sky Traveller, Marnie has seamlessly combined a passion for astronomy, tourism, and conservation to curate unique and unforgettable experiences for travellers and communities alike. As a dedicated Dark Sky Defender, Marnie holds a Diploma of Psychology and a Diplome de Francaise, leveraging these qualifications to champion the protection and promotion of the night environment, while educating and inspiring diverse audiences.

Among her notable achievements are securing the designation of Australia's first Dark Sky Place, founding and spearheading the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance, orchestrating a Guinness World Record attempt, and managing a pivotal report for the Commonwealth Government on light pollution. Through these endeavors, Marnie has developed skills in facilitation, public speaking, project management, and conservation, all while striving to leave a positive and enduring impact on our world.

You can follow Marnie and learn more about her work here: 

https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/DarkSkyTraveller/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marnie-ogg-0b36877b/

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/dark-sky-conversations/id1464617065 (Marnie’s podcast)

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/9ot8

To finish Season 9 of Let’s Talk SciComm, we had a truly wonderful conversation with Dr Samantha Grover, who leads the Soil-Atmosphere-Anthroposphere Lab at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

Sam’s team explores the interconnections between food, climate change and people. They collaborate with farmers, NGOs, industry, government and other researchers around the world to more sustainably manage landscapes. They focus on high carbon systems such as peatlands, regenerative agriculture and composting. As a soil scientist, Sam applies techniques from soil physics, soil chemistry and soil microbiology with micrometeorology to explore the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. She collaborates with economists, social scientists, policy analysist as well as other biological and physical scientists to generate whole-of-system knowledge. Through her teaching of Bachelors and Masters of Environmental Science, as well as her public engagement as a Superstar of STEM, President of Soil Science Australia, VIC, various Board and Committee roles and growing media profile, she communicates her research to create impact.

We talked with Sam about the many different types of science communication she’s involved with, including giving a TED talk and writing a children’s book. Sam has a wealth of scicomm experience and knowledge to share and we’re sure you’ll enjoy the conversation!

You can follow Sam and learn more about her work here:

https://www.rmit.edu.au/contact/staff-contacts/academic-staff/g/grover-dr-samantha

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-grover-169017186/

https://twitter.com/drsoilsam

https://scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/profile/dr-samantha-grover/

https://theleadershipfilm.org/samantha-grover/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wKA6JQQBSE (Sam’s TED talk)

https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/7464/ (Sam’s book Exploring Soils).

https://www.twma.com.au/channel/sharing-transdisciplinary-soil-stories-by-dr-samantha-grover/

This week Jen and Michael had a wonderful conversation with Professor John Besley about strategic science communication. John studies public opinion about science and scientists’ opinions about the public. His goal is to help science communicators be more effective by helping them consider evidence-based and strategic communication choices. He also does research aimed at understanding how peoples’ views about decision-makers and decision processes (i.e., trustworthiness and fairness beliefs) affect their overall perceptions of science and technology (S&T).

John has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. This work has appeared in high-ranking journals including Risk Analysis, Science Communication, Public Understanding of Science, and the Journal of Risk Research as well as a range of edited volumes. He has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the United States Department of Agriculture, and a range of foundations. He is the associate editor for risk communication for Risk Analysis.

In addition to his regular research, John was the lead author for the 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020 National Science Board chapters on public attitudes and knowledge about science and technology. Michigan State University awarded John its William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award in 2021 and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) honored him as a fellow in 2018. In 2013, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication awarded him the Hillier-Krieghbaum Under 40 Award.

You can follow John and learn more about his work here:

https://comartsci.msu.edu/our-people/john-c-besley

https://www.instagram.com/johnbesley/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-c-besley-880a468/

http://strategicsciencecommunication.com/ (John and Anthony’s book)

https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12411/strategic-science-communication

What a wonderful conversation we had with Jessie Panazzolo this week! Jessie is the founder of Lonely Conservationists, a global online community working to help conservationists thrive by providing a platform to be heard, a strong community foundation and educational resources about caring for conservationists. Lonely Conservationists has become a pioneering platform in creating a space for environmentalists across the globe by giving them a safe space to share and normalise their lived experiences in the field.

You can follow Jessie and learn more about her work here:

https://lonelyconservationists.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessie-panazzolo-996293a2/

https://www.stemwomen.org.au/profile/jessie-panazzolo

https://conservationoptimism.org/meet-the-optimists-jessie-panazzolo/

https://www.instagram.com/lonelyconservationists/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOnZMK29gHZ6WaQ6k9JPWcQ

This week we had a fascinating conversation with visual science communicator extraordinaire Dr Sarah Treit. With a PhD in Neuroscience, ~25 peer-reviewed publications, and a 5-year H-index of 16, Sarah combines a strong research track record with a passion for communicating science through visuals. Through her company, Figures First, Sarah provides grant application support, including peer-review style feedback, writing, editing, and creation of visually appealing and impactful figures to help Investigators craft their story. She also shares her enthusiasm and knowledge through workshops and educational services for graduate students, faculty and other researchers.

You can follow Sarah and learn more about her work here:

https://www.figuresfirst.ca

https://figuresfirst.thrivecart.com/fundamentals-of-effective-figure-design

https://www.instagram.com/figures.first

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-treit-phd/

https://www.tiktok.com/@figures.first

We know many of our listeners are keen to get more experience in science communication but don’t know where to begin. Have we got the episode for you!

This week we had a fantastic chat with Dr Donovan Garcia-Ceron about how he got started in science communication and the things he’s doing to build his scicomm profile.

As you’ll hear, Donovan is kind and curious. He works in research to protect crops from pests, with the aim of increasing food security and enabling healthier communities.

He has worked in the creation of eco-friendly insecticides, and investigated how fungi “sneeze” to cause stronger infections in plants. As a research officer, Donovan now develops next-generation fungicides that can “switch off” the genes that fungi use to cause diseases, without being harmful to the environment.

During his PhD, Donovan developed an interest in science communication. He won prizes for the 3-minute Thesis and Visualise Your Thesis competitions in several years, and has been invited to write for blogs and to participate in philanthropic events to pitch science projects. He is passionate about making scientific knowledge accessible and open to anyone, and is interested in connecting with other science communicators. In his spare time, Donovan does Brazilian drumming and builds furniture using reclaimed wood (IG: @slothfurniture).

You can follow Donovan and learn more about him and his work here:

https://twitter.com/DonovanGarciaC

https://www.linkedin.com/in/donovan-garcia-ceron/

https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/dgarciaceron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP-DIKYgFCo (Donovan’s Visualise Your Thesis entry)

https://www.instagram.com/slothfurniture/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/i79s

This week we had the great pleasure of speaking with Alfred Deakin Professor, Jo Salmon about the importance of effective science communication in research, especially when it comes to co-designed research.

Jo is the Director of the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) at Deakin University and currently holds a NHMRC Level 2 Investigator Grant. She has spent the last 20 years conducting research on the development of effective programs to promote children’s physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour. Jo has been a Chief Investigator on over 30 nationally funded research projects and 14 international projects worth more than $28.8 million and has supervised 26 PhD students to completion and 14 postdoctoral fellows. She has published her research extensively with over 450 peer reviewed papers and book chapters, and for the past 7 years has been named a Clarivate Highly Cited researcher, which ranks her in the 1% most cited authors in the world for her subject field. Jo is the past President and a Fellow of the International Society for Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity, and the founding current President of the Asia Pacific Society for Physical Activity (ASPA). She also played a key role in development of movement guidelines for youth in Australia (2004; 2008; 2014).

You can follow Jo and learn more about her work here:

https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/jo-salmon

https://twitter.com/profjsalmon

https://aspactivity.org/news/iwd-2023-profjosalmon/

https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/news-centre/improving-health-and-wellbeing-children-making-it-easy-be-active-throughout-day

Welcome to Season Nine of Let’s Talk SciComm! We’re thrilled to be back with another season, chatting each week about our very favourite topic – how we can all be more effective when it comes to communicating about science.

We’re kicking off the season talking with our good friend Dr Shane Huntington OAM (@DrShaneRRR) – in case you haven’t listened yet, you can get to know Shane on episode 9 of Let’s Talk SciComm! Shane is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Little Big Steps; a charity helping kids with cancer.  

Shane is also a speaker, trainer and facilitator. He has been providing consulting services in communication and strategy for over 25 years and is the host and producer of 3RRR’s science radio program Einstein A Go Go. In 2020 he was awarded an Order of Australia in recognition of his science communication work.

In this episode we asked Shane to share his advice on how to ask good questions. Whether you’re going to a conference or interviewing someone about their work, being able to ask interesting, thoughtful questions is an important skill. And given Shane has interviewed thousands of scientists over the past 30 years on radio, he’s a great person to get advice from!

Shane is also a prolific writer with articles on Medium.com read more than 100,000 times. He is the Founder and Director of the Innovation Group Pty Ltd, a scientific equipment supplier in Australia and New Zealand since 1999 and is a Senior Associate with consulting firm Outside Opinion.  

Until January 2019 he was Deputy Director of the Melbourne Academic Centre for Health (MACH) which he established in 2011. Prior to his work in the Faculty of Medicine, he was Principal Strategy Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor of The University of Melbourne, Prof. Glyn Davis.  

From 2005 to 2008 he was the CEO and Founder of Quantum Communications Victoria within the School of Physics at the University of Melbourne. Quantum Communications Victoria was a $9.3Million Government funded centre which developed telecommunications security based on Quantum Physics and exported Australia’s first quantum product. 

Shane’s specialty was in Photonics and Imaging and he has published more than 75 refereed journal papers during his 10 years in research.  

Shane was the Founder of the Telescopes in Schools Program, a Victorian based initiative designed to bring the wonders of Astronomy and education to low SES schools in Melbourne’s Northern and Western suburbs and rural districts through the prevision of research grade telescopes and support.  

He holds an honorary appointment at the University of Melbourne in the School of Engineering and is an Ambassador for the Lost Dogs Home. 

You can follow Shane and learn more about his work here:

https://shanehuntington.com/

https://twitter.com/DrShaneRRR

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shane-huntington-oam-684894/

https://littlebigsteps.org.au/about-2/our-who/our-team/

https://www.outsideopinion.com.au/team/shane-huntington

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/gi9s

This week we are so delighted to chat with Olly Dove. Living up to her bird name, Olly Dove is a marine ecology PhD candidate researching the foraging behaviour of little penguins and short-tailed shearwaters in lutruwita/Tasmania. Olly’s favourite part of working in zoology is undoubtedly the exciting fieldwork it leads her to, and she loves sharing stories about the natural world with others.

When not hanging out with critters, Olly is an incredible science communicator. She is the weekly host, a co-manager, and an editor on the nipaluna/Hobart-based radio/podcast show, That’s What I Call Science, which was recently awarded a prestigious Eureka Prize for STEM inclusion. Other recent scicomm adventures for Olly have included performing at the Festival of Bright Ideas in 2022 and competing in the FameLab Australia Finals in 2023, both with a shearwater puppet for her on-stage co-star!

You can follow Olly and learn more about her work here:

https://thatsscience.org/

https://twitter.com/olly_dove

https://twitter.com/ThatsScienceTAS

https://www.instagram.com/ols_dove/

https://www.instagram.com/thatssciencetas/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollydove/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/j79s

This week we have the enormous pleasure of speaking with Dr Jenny Gray who is the Chief Executive Officer of Zoos Victoria, charged with the operation of the Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary, Kyabram Fauna Park and Werribee Open Range Zoo.  

Over the last decade Zoos Victoria has transformed into a Zoo Based Conservation Organisation, committed to fighting extinction and creating a future rich in wildlife. Working closely with 27 critically endangered species and engaging with over 2.6 million visitors and 360,000 members, Zoos Victoria is testing models of optimism and bravery to address threats to species survival and enhancing care of wildlife.  

Jenny has a wide range of public and private sector experience having worked in transportation, airlines and banking, before moving into the zoo industry in South Africa, then Australia. Jenny has qualifications in Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Business Administration and Ethics. Jenny is the Deputy Chancellor at Victoria University and serves on the Board of the Biodiversity Council.

You can follow Jenny and learn more about her work here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-gray-ab582767/

And here’s the link to Jenny’s Book, Zoo Ethics: https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/7667/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/8sfs

This week we were thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with Emily Denniss who is a PhD Candidate at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Deakin University. Her research is focused nutrition communication and misinformation on social media and how social media is used by young adults to seek information about food and nutrition. Emily also teaches into undergraduate public health and nutrition science units at Deakin and gave us lots of food for thought about understanding online misinformation.

You can follow Emily and learn more about her work here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilydenniss/

https://twitter.com/denniss_emily

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emily-Denniss-2

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/2tbs

This week we had the great pleasure of chatting with Joshua Tinner who is full of fantastic advice about how to build your professional networks. Josh currently the Country Manager of the UK team at InternMatch, a company that helps students and graduates find internships as a step towards employment. Previously Josh has worked in a variety of businesses including managing the administration of a migration consultancy, helping run the division of Melbourne for two federal elections, assistant-coaching a football team, and seven years of bartending. As demonstrated through this loose associations of jobs, Josh believes that there is no one ‘pathway’ to a career and encourages people to “wander through the forest of possibilities, rather than stick to the motorway someone else has laid over it.”

The best piece of career advice that Josh ever received (as part of his EMA at the University of Melbourne, no less!) was the following: “People focus too much on what they want to do but not where or for what reason they want to do it.” Finding your passion is all well and good but Josh wants to help people find their cause, the reason they want to do what they do, and he has built his career on helping others find their answer to this very question.

You can follow Josh and learn more about him here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-tinner/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/q2bs

This week we were thrilled Executive Recruiter and Scientist Marilyn Jones was able to make time to chat with us. Marilyn has over 25 years’ experience in resourcing staff for companies and assisting individuals with their career aspirations and we learned so much from her about how to get your dream job.

Marilyn undertook research in cancer and immunology, leading to managing an R&D project for the commercialisation of the purified components of snake venom for human therapeutic purposes. Combined with additional commercialisation projects in wheat identification and infectious diseases, she gained a comprehensive understanding of the diagnostics and drug development sectors.

After a period of selling complex scientific instrumentation systems into the Pharmaceutical, Research, Pathology, Analytical and Manufacturing sectors, she made the fortuitous move into Recruitment. Working for both boutique and multinational recruitment organisations, Marilyn has worked across many industry and business sectors. She particularly enjoys the challenge of ‘The Search’ for hard-to-fill senior roles.

Marilyn’s focus in starting her company in 2011 was to look after the individual. This has developed into an extensive program – mexec jobstrategy™ working with candidates in many industries to assist them on one on one in their career aspirations and job search strategy. mexec Executive Search Recruitment division assists start-ups to multinational companies with their HR and recruitment requirements from graduate to Board level.

You can follow Marilyn and learn more about her work here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynmexec/

https://www.mexec.com/about-us/

https://www.mexec.com/13-day-jobs-of-marilyn/

https://www.stemwomen.org.au/profile/marilyn-jones

https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2019/08/call-me-why-recruiters-want-you-to-pick-up-the-phone/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/q9ys

This week we had a wonderful conversation with Dr. Bruce Kirchoff who is a scientist, improviser, and storyteller. He teaches young scientists to speak clearly and intelligibly about their research. His book Presenting Science Concisely (https://presentingscienceconcisely.com/book) draws on the relation between the scientific process and story structure to present science with impact.  

Bruce is also Emeritus Professor of Biology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he taught courses in plant diversity, flowering plant identification, and evolution. His research combined insights from biology and cognitive psychology to improve the reliability of plant description and classification. As a software designer he developed visual, active learning software to rapidly teach plant identification, and chemical structures. He has won the UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Charles Edwin Bessey Teaching Award from the Botanical Society of America, and the Innovations in Plant Systematics Education Prize from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. He has studied scientific communication at the Alan Alda Center for Scientific Communication and teaches it through the UNC Greensboro Speaking Center, where he is a Faculty Fellow. He also teaches workshops in storytelling and improv and, before his retirement, was the faculty advisor for the UNCG student improv club.

You can follow Bruce and learn more about his work here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brucekirchoff/

https://twitter.com/1andOnlyBruce

https://www.youtube.com/@sci-comm (Bruce’s YouTube channel)

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/s8ys

This week we were so lucky to have the opportunity to chat with Professor David Dunstan about being a research supervisor. David holds a joint appointment at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia with the positions of: Head – Baker/Deakin Department of Lifestyle and Diabetes and Chair, Lifestyle and Diabetes (Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin); and Deputy Director/Physical Activity Laboratory Head (Baker).

His research focuses on understanding the adverse health consequences of too much sitting and the potential health benefits resulting from frequently breaking up sitting time. In particular, he has developed effective strategies to reduce and break up sitting time in adults with or at risk of developing chronic diseases and to support office workers to reduce sedentary behaviour in workplace settings. His current focus is directed at understanding how best to implement efficacious ‘sit less and move more’ interventions at scale within the healthcare setting for those living with chronic diseases and elucidating the effects of sedentary behaviour on brain health. Relevant to our conversation, David has supervised many, many thriving and successful research students and has lots of excellent advice to share.

You can follow David and learn more about his work here:

https://baker.edu.au/research/staff/david-dunstan

https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/david-dunstan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-dunstan-07777a3/

https://twitter.com/DavidWDunstan

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/u24s

This week we had the best time chatting with Belinda (Bel) Smith, science writer extraordinaire. Belinda became a science journalist after realising she wasn't going to cut it as a scientist. Based in Melbourne, she's currently science reporter at the ABC. Her work appears on the ABC News website and has featured in the Best Australian Science Writing 2016 and 2018. You can also hear her talking about science on local ABC radio and Radio National. In her spare time, Bel's a GPS artist who runs routes in the shape of animals.

You can follow Belinda and learn more about her work here:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/belinda-smith/9065300

https://www.belindasmithsciencewriter.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/belsmith/

https://twitter.com/sciencebelinda

https://www.instagram.com/animalpunruns/ (Bel’s GPS running art)

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/u2fs

Welcome to another season of Let’s Talk SciComm! We’re very excited to be back with Season Eight, podcasting about our very favourite topic – science communication.

We’re kicking off the season talking with the brilliant Julia Cleghorn about approaches to getting kids excited about science.

Julia is an extroverted science geek, science communicator, project manager and performer at heart. Her career combines science and the arts to promote engagement and curiosity in science. She has communicated science to kids on TV - as writer, producer and presenter for Network Ten’s Scope; in magazines - as writer for CSIRO’s Double Helix; and on stage - with the Shell Questacon Science Circus. 

She currently works at the University of Melbourne as the Manager of STEM Outreach Programs. Her team develops and delivers workshops, shows and mentoring programs to inspire high school students to study STEM. Many programs are equity focused to drive change for low SES, regional and Indigenous students. 

Ultimately, her goal is to contribute to a more informed and curious society. She believes the wonder of scientific research and discovery can help people feel alive, and have a better appreciation of the world around them.

You can follow Julia and learn more about her work here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-cleghorn-b3029a37/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/8mhs

It’s the end of another season of Let’s Talk SciComm and it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. It’s the end of our countdown of our most popular how-to episodes and coming in at number one is…… How to get your thesis written.

Writing a thesis is hard! It’s probably the longest document you’ve ever had to write, and the experience is often accompanied by a tendency to procrastinate and feelings of overwhelm and imposterism.

This episode will help! Jen and Michael briefly talk about their thesis writing experiences and share their top tips. But most of the episode is filled with advice and tips from eight of our UniMelb SciComm alumni who have recently written theses. They’ve been right where you are now and have so much wisdom to share!

We’re thrilled that our most popular episode ever is one which comprises mostly of advice from members of our fabulous alumni. If you’re currently writing or are soon to write a thesis (or know someone who is), please listen and share!

In this episode you’ll hear from Nancy Rivers Tran, Owen Missen, Samantha Ward, Xavier Busuttil-Crellin, Kade Huckstep, Adam Hagg, Emily McColl-Gausden and Lachlan Tegart.

Plus here are a couple of resources to help you:

How to write a Better Thesis by David Evans, Justin Zobel and Paul Gruba.

Explorations of Style - A brilliant blog about academic writing. Start by checking out their "How to use this blog" page to get an idea of what articles they have to offer.

The Thesis Whisperer - Another fantastic blog worth following - full of honest, upfront advice about so many different aspects of being a researcher.

Patter - Another great blog about academic writing.

DoctoralWriting SIG - Very useful blog covering lots of interesting and relevant topics, with an entire category dedicated to thesis writing.

We’re going to take a little break now while Michael has the joy of welcoming a new baby to the family.

But we’ll be back with Season 8 in July and have some fabulous episodes coming your way, including interviews with Zoos Victoria CEO Jenny Gray and science communicator extraordinaire Rachel Nowak. We’ll also be talking about how to network effectively (and enjoy it!), how to write online science stories, how to get kids excited about science, how to find a great PHD supervisor and to work well with them, how to write a great CV and job application and how to present science concisely.

Thanks so much for listening, Jen and Michael

We’re continuing our countdown of our most listened-to episodes and this week we’ve made it to number two. It came as no surprise to us that science writing is a topic so many of our listeners want to learn more about – being able to write clearly is such an essential skill!

In 2014, Steven Pinker published a piece in The Chronicle of Higher Education titled ‘Why academic writing stinks’. While we might take offence at the notion that our writing ‘stinks’, there’s no question that the way many of us have been taught to write as researchers and scientists can be difficult for our readers to make sense of. In this episode, Michael and Jen revisit our conversation about why science writing can be so hard to read. They talk about a number of different approaches to improve the clarity and readability of our writing and chat about the style of writing that is most effective for communicating about science with non-scientific audiences.

Listen for our thoughts and advice on how to improve your writing plus tips from two of our UniMelb SciComm students, Randy Mann and Steven Tang.

Here are the papers we mentioned in the podcast:

Medical Obfuscation: Structure and Function. It’s really worth reading this short but pointed piece by Michael Crichton published back in 1975.

Specialized terminology reduces the number of citations of scientific papers. Research to suggest that if we want other scientists to cite our work, we should be avoiding using jargon – especially in the title and abstract.

UN climate reports are increasingly unreadable. Jeff Tollefson’s research into the readability of ICC climate reports.

The readability of scientific texts is decreasing over time. More research highlighting that science writing is getting harder to read. And this has important implications for research reproducibility.

The growth of acronyms in the scientific literature. Research into the staggering increase in the use of acronyms in science papers since 1950.

And if you’re looking for some great science to read, some of our favourites are Belinda Smith, Dyani Lewis, Ed Yong and Carl Zimmer.

We’ve hit the middle of Season 7 and we’re continuing to explore our 6 most listened-to episodes. Each episode has a new introduction in which Jen and Michael reflect on why the topic resonated so much with our listeners and what we’ve learned about the topic in the interim.

Coming in at number 3 is ‘How to NOT be boring’ and the title pretty much says it all.

We’re sure you can all remember sitting through an incredibly boring science talk or struggling to read a boring piece of science writing. If you want to get your message across, it’s essential you capture your audience’s attention and convince them what you’re writing or speaking about is of relevance to them.

Listen for our thoughts and advice on how to be more engaging when communicating about science plus tips from two of our UniMelb SciComm students, Randy Mann and George Mechaalani.

Finally, here’s a good read on why we need to make science writing less boring and HOW we can do that: ‘Bored reading science? Let’s change how scientists write.’

This is Season 7 and we’re excited to be revisiting our 6 most listened-to episodes. Each episode has a new introduction in which Jen and Michael chat about why we think the topic resonated so much with our listeners and what we’ve learned about the topic since it was first published.

Coming in at number 4 is ‘How to tackle imposter syndrome’.

On the outside you appear confident, composed and on top of your game. But on the inside, you are wracked with self-doubt. You feel like a fraud and as though someone is about to tap you on the shoulder and ask you what you think you’re doing. You’re sure you’re not good enough, experienced enough or smart enough to be doing what you’re doing.

This week Jen and Michael chat about the Imposter Experience, better known as the Imposter Syndrome. Listen for our thoughts and advice on how to tackle feeling like an imposter plus tips from two of our UniMelb SciComm students, Stephanie Wong and Charlie Pattinson.

Here are a few good reads to help build your understanding of imposter syndrome and how to tackle it:

Imposters are us - feeling like you aren't good enough? Guess what! You're not the only one. This is Jen's take on imposter syndrome.

If You Struggle With Imposter Syndrome, Scientists Might Have an Odd Solution - an important tip to help you overcome imposter syndrome.

‘I’m not worthy!’ – Imposter Syndrome in Academia - reasons why we feel imposter syndrome in academia, and how to deal with it.

How I overcame impostor syndrome after leaving academia - advice on tackling the voices in your head telling you that you aren't good enough so that they don't sabotage your career.

Feel like an academic fraud? Tips for shaking off imposter syndrome - some great tips on how to manage the feelings of imposter syndrome.

Four tips to ward off imposter syndrome - four straightforward ways to silence your inner critic.

We’re very excited to hit episode 50 today!! This is Season 7 and for something a bit different, we’re excited to be revisiting our 6 most listened-to episodes. Each episode has a new introduction in which Jen and Michael reflect on why the topic resonated so much with our listeners and what we’ve learned about the topic in the interim.

Coming in at number 5 is ‘How to give a better science talk’.

All scientists need to give talks but being able to give a brilliant talk takes skill. Are you wondering how to best keep your audience’s attention? How to explain your work clearly and concisely and in a way that will make sense to your audience? How to design slides that enhance, rather than distract from what you’re saying? And how to tackle your inevitable nerves?

Listen for our thoughts and advice on how to plan, design and deliver a fantastic talk plus tips from two of our UniMelb SciComm alumni, Randy Mann and Stephanie Wong (who is also one half of our brilliant production team!)

Here are a few good reads to help next time you’re preparing a talk:

Reframing stress - stage fright can be your friend . Very nervous about speaking in public? You're not alone, and there are ways to harness that fear to your advantage.

Get Excited: Reappraising Pre-Performance Anxiety as Excitement  This paper talks more about reframing anxiety by taking stress and turning it into excitement. We actually use the tip "say I am excited out loud" all the time and it works!

Use PowerPoint as a Tool, don’t be a Tool for PowerPoint  PowerPoint is full of pitfalls. How many slides are too many? What should your slides have on them? How do you use the slides in your talk? This article answers all that and more.

How to avoid death By PowerPoint | David JP Phillips | TEDxStockholmSalon A TED talk that’s worth your time – it includes plenty of excellent advice on how to use slides more effectively.

Welcome to Season 7: for something a bit different, we’re excited to be revisiting our 6 most listened-to episodes. Each episode has a new introduction in which Jen and Michael reflect on why the topic resonated so much with our listeners and what we’ve learned about the topic in the interim.

Coming in at number 6 is ‘How to tackle procrastination’. It comes as no surprise that many of us want advice on how to procrastinate less! It’s one of the biggest challenges many of us come up against in our day-to-day work. And it can certainly be a major barrier to effective science communication. Whether you’re trying to write a thesis, an assignment or a blog post, chances are you’ve found yourself delaying getting started.

We share our experiences of procrastination and evidence-based advice on how to stop. Two of our wonderful UniMelbSciComm alumni, Caitlin Minney and Lily Ahlemeyer also share their experiences and advice.

Here are some useful resources to support you in tackling procrastination:

Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator - Tim Urban’s TED talk

James Clear’s Atomic Habits – a book well worth reading

James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter - which we also mention in the podcast

Why You Procrastinate (It Has Nothing to Do With Self-Control) - if procrastination isn't about laziness, then what is it about? Hint: it's more linked to you emotions and moods!

Why we procrastinate – Jen’s take on why we procrastinate, with tips on how we can stop procrastinating and start working

The Procrastination Doom Loop—and How to Break It - what it means to be caught in the procrastination loop, and how to get out of it

Why Procrastinators Procrastinate - a look into the procrastinator's brain

5 Types of Procrastination (And How To Fix Each of Them) - procrastination can look different depending on what type of procrastinator you are. Figuring out which type you are will help you beat your procrastination!

Plus a couple of tools we use to help beat procrastination:

Forest App – focusing on your work helps you build a virtual forest

Write or Die - an online word processor that forces you to write... or else suffer the consequences you choose - from spiders crawling across your screen, to your words erasing themselves

Cold Turkey Writer - this turns your computer into a typewriter - so you can't use it for anything other than writing. Great if you struggle with distractions!

toggl - a productivity and time tracker that might help you keep an eye on how you spend your time

Nerves are a completely normal part of giving a talk and as you’ve probably heard many times – nerves are a good thing! Feeling nervous means you care about this presentation which will help you to do a great job. But nerves can also be very unsettling and even completely debilitating. The good news is that there are plenty of things you can do to help manage your nerves. In this episode, Michael and Jen share their advice on what you can do before and during a talk to get your nerves under control and not only give a fantastic talk, but enjoy it too.

Here are a couple of useful articles to help you learn to manage nerves:

Can Three Words Turn Anxiety Into Success?

Reframing stress - stage fright can be your friend 

Get Excited: Reappraising Pre-Performance Anxiety as Excitement

To Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking, Stop Thinking About Yourself

How I overcame the fear of public speaking

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/y4js

This week we had a fascinating conversation with Dr Graham Phillips focused on how to talk about controversial or divisive science topics – like aliens. Graham is a much-loved Australian science communicator and journalist and has plenty of experience communicating about tricky topics, especially when he was the host and a producer-reporter on ABC TV’s science program Catalyst.

Graham began his career as a scientist (he has a PhD in astrophysics) before quitting to become science journalist/broadcaster/communicator. He’s been a regular science commentator on all the free-to-air TV commercial networks, written about science for almost every major newspaper in Australia and had regular science columns in a number of them. He’s contributed to many, many hours of science on radio as both an interviewee and interviewer, and has had four popular science books published.

Graham recently wrote and produced a series on extra-terrestrial life for Amazon’s podcast arm Audible - Astronomical: looking for life beyond Earth – hence his interest in aliens!

You can follow Graham and find out more about his work here:

https://www.instagram.com/grahamphillipsscience

https://au.linkedin.com/in/graham-phillips-80b3b920

https://twitter.com/grahamp10

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/o4js

This week we had the great pleasure of talking with Dr Josh Chu-Tan who until very recently was the Business Development Manager for the College of Health and Medicine (CHM) based in the ANU Office of Business Engagement and Commercialisation as well as a Research Fellow at JCSMR with the Clear Vision Research Group. Josh completed his PhD in 2019 and was hired as a postdoc and lecturer in Medical Physiology by the ANU Medical School. Since his PhD, he has published 16 papers with 6 as first author and won an NHMRC Ideas Grant as a CI. Josh then moved onto a more industry-facing role at the start of 2022 as the Business Development Manager for CHM allowing him to foster industry relationships and create partnerships and commercialisation opportunities from academic research.

Josh has won a number of awards throughout his research career. In 2016, he won the ANU 3MT and went on to also win the Asia-Pacific 3MT competition which allowed him to travel to Berlin for the Falling Walls Finale where he was finalist for Young Innovator of the Year. In 2019, Josh was invited to give a TEDx talk at TEDxChristchurch that later was chosen to be a global featured TED talk with over 1.7 million views now. He was one of the ABC Top 5 in Science in 2021 and was an ACT Tall Poppy Award winner for 2022.

You can follow Josh and learn more about his work here:

https://twitter.com/joshchutan

https://services.anu.edu.au/education-support/academic-development/nectar-mentoring-program/dr-joshua-chu-tan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuachutan/

https://www.clearvisionresearch.com/joshua-chu-tan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOurql_a-4g (Josh’s TEDx talk)

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/6xrs

This week we had an absolute blast speaking with Christian Williams, who is an expert teacher in Melbourne, Australia. He has been recognised nationally and internationally for his expertise as a National Excellence in Teaching Award Winner, Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize and a Finalist for Young Australian of the Year. At Mentone Girls’ Grammar School, Christian manages the award-winning Enterprise Academy, a world leader in educating, inspiring and empowering young women for a better world. He is also the Co-Founder of one of Australia’s top education start-ups The STEM Circle.

You can follow Christian and learn more about his work here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianjeremywilliams/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj42rsU-ico (Christian’s TEDx talk)

https://twitter.com/CardioChristian

https://www.thestemcircle.com/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/9sxs

This week we loved catching up with award-winning science communicator, marine biologist and graphic designer Dr Tullio Rossi. As founder of the science communication agency "Animate Your Science", he helps researchers tell their story to the world.

His engaging video animations and eye-catching graphics make science understandable for everyone, reaching millions of people around the world, thereby creating a real-life impact.

You can follow Tullio and learn more about his work here:

https://twitter.com/Tullio_Rossi
https://twitter.com/Animate_Science
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tulliorossi/
https://www.animateyour.science/
https://www.animateyour.science/video-abstracts
https://www.animateyour.science/scientific-poster-design-course
https://www.swipescicomm.com

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/7sxs

This week we had a lot of fun chatting with, and learning from, Dr Jarrod McKenna. Jarrod is a reproductive biologist turned zookeeper turned science educator and has had quite a mixture of jobs. As a PhD student at Monash University, he investigated early pregnancy and assisted reproduction in the world’s only known menstruating rodent: The Egyptian Spiny Mouse. He then went on to work as a zookeeper at Zoos Victoria and as the Communications Officer at the National Youth Science Forum. These days he works as an Outreach Program Coordinator in the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne, working to engage early high school students in STEM. But science communication has always been at the heart of his work – whether he knew it or not – which led him down an incredibly rewarding track celebrating science and encouraging others to see how amazing and fun science can be.

You can follow Jarrod and learn more about his work here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jarrod-mckenna-942382128/
https://twitter.com/its_drmac
https://thesimplescience.com/
https://theconversation.com/meet-the-egyptian-spiny-mouse-this-menstruating-rodent-may-help-us-understand-human-pregnancy-157889

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/b46s

This week we were so fortunate to talk with Andrew Kelly, environmentalist, convenor of The Waterway Network, and former Yarra Riverkeeper. Among other things, Andrew has worked as an editor, publisher, spokesperson, advocate and author. He played a key role in formulating the formulation the Yarra River Protection (Willip-gin Birrarung murron) Act which was passed unopposed. He has also written a number of books for children including Peregrines in the City, Willam: A Birrarung Story and The Accidental Penguin Hotel. Andrew has lots of fantastic advice to share about how we can share our messages more effectively.

You can follow Andrew and learn more about his work here:

https://au.linkedin.com/in/andrew-kelly-convenor-waterways-network
https://www.instagram.com/rewkelly/
https://wdog.com.au/andrew-kelly/
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/time-to-take-a-breath-yarra-riverkeeper-steps-down-20210819-p58k0m.html
https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/how-to/my-garden-path-andrew-kelly/13243134
https://redkangaroobooks.com/store/Wilam-A-Birrarung-Story-by-Aunty-Joy-Murphy-&-Andrew-Kelly-Illustrator-by-Lisa-Kennedy-p245378710

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ex6s

Happy New Year and welcome to another season of Let’s Talk SciComm! We’re excited to be back for another year of podcasting about our very favourite topic – science communication. And we’re launching Season Six with a bang, talking with Associate Professor Suzie Sheehy.

Suzie is an accelerator physicist who specialises in novel particle accelerators and beam dynamics, with a current focus on medical applications. Her research at The University of Melbourne investigates novel particle therapy accelerators and beam delivery systems, compact linear electron accelerators (X-band) and improving accelerator reliability in Low and Middle-Income countries (STELLA project) to address global health challenges. She also retains an active research role at the University of Oxford, where she is now Visiting Lecturer, focusing on intense hadron beams. She has held prestigious research fellowships from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 (Brunel Fellowship 2010-2013) and the Royal Society (University Research Fellowship, 2017-2022).

Suzie is also an award-winning public speaker and science communicator, dedicated to sharing science beyond the academic community. Her 2018 TED talk on ‘The Case for Curiosity Driven Research’ has been viewed around 2 million times, and her first popular science book ‘The Matter of Everything: Twelve Experiments that Changed Our World’, is published worldwide with 11 translations and selected as Times and Sunday Times Best Books of 2022 and Waterstones Best Books of 2022.

You can follow Suzie and learn more about her work here:

https://www.suziesheehy.com/ (you can order Suzie’s book under the ‘book’ tab)
https://twitter.com/suziesheehy
https://www.instagram.com/drsuziesheehy/
https://au.linkedin.com/in/drsuziesheehy
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/16/dr-suzie-sheehy-the-eureka-moment-may-come-once-in-your-career-or-never
https://www.ted.com/talks/suzie_sheehy_the_case_for_curiosity_driven_research

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ix6s

For our final episode of the season, we were absolutely thrilled to speak with Christine Burns. Christine (BA Psych, PG Dip Sport Bus Mngt, MIPPA) is the CEO and Co-Founder of WALT Institute. As a former elite athlete in hockey for New Zealand, she has over 20 years of coaching, sport psychology and performance expertise which she brings to the global arena of Authentic Leadership. Typically, she works with individuals and teams in STEMM to provide the strategies to bust through the status quo, be seen, be heard and be the best version of themselves every single day!

Here's all the info about Christine’s book:

https://ignitingresilience.waltinstitute.com/igniting-resilience-book

You can follow Christine and learn more about her work here:

https://twitter.com/Christine1Burns
https://www.instagram.com/christineburns.nz/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christineburnsperformancecoach/
https://www.facebook.com/WALTInstitute
https://www.waltinstitute.com/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ju3e

This week we absolutely loved talking with Isolde Gottwald (AKA Issie), an exchange student from the University of Vienna who spent semester 2 this year studying with us at the University of Melbourne. Listen to the podcast to hear how we got to know Issie!

Within her degree, Issie is particularly interested in environmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Out of her deep curiosity for science and the practice of science, she worked as a student assistant and intern at various research institutions. That’s when she discovered her passion for science communication, which led her to work at Wissenschaft im Dialog, the German National Organisation for Science Communication in 2021. The planned two-month internship turned into nine months of her working as a student on several different projects. She was primarily involved in planning and organising a public participation initiative that aimed to achieve greater public engagement in science and research activities in Germany. In addition, she had the chance to work as a moderator for the project “I’m a Scientist - get me out of here”, an online platform that allows students to have a direct and low-threshold exchanges with scientists. She was also involved in the jury for the project “Hochschulwettbewerb” - a competition inviting students, postdocs and young researchers from all disciplines to submit creative and interactive project ideas about projects that actively involve the public in their research and build trust and bridges between society and science. Isolde is particularly interested in climate change communication which combines both her interests for science communication and climate psychology. Besides her studies, Isolde is an enthusiastic skier, nature lover and mountain climber.

You can follow Issie and learn more about her work here:

https://twitter.com/isoldegottwald
https://www.linkedin.com/in/isolde-gottwald-04233b205/
https://soundcloud.com/user-8476070/communicating-science-aufraumen-mit-schlaf-mythen
https://www.wissenschaftsjahr.de/2022/
https://www.die-debatte.org/kinderarmut-gesellschaft/
https://imascientist.de
https://www.hochschulwettbewerb.net/2022/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/f43e

This week we had the enormous pleasure of speaking with the one-and-only Professor Natalie Hannan. Natalie is an ARC Future Fellow, the Associate Dean, Diversity and Inclusion in the Faculty Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and leads the Therapeutics Discovery and Vascular Function in Pregnancy Group, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, at the University of Melbourne. She is passionate about developing new approaches to combat major complication of pregnancy, especially preeclampsia.

Natalie’s research has been recognised by the award of continuous funding support through eminent Fellowships and research grants, with over $9 Million awarded to date, to undertake important research to improve the health of women and infants. Natalie has a strong research profile with over 135 peer-reviewed publications in international journals. She is also the President of the Australian New Zealand Placental Research Association (ANZPRA), and an executive member on The International Federation of Placental Associations (IFPA) and Society of Obstetric Medicine Australia and New Zealand executive committees. She also serves as Associate Editor on the journal Reproduction, and serves on the Executive steering committee for the Graeme Clark Institute at the University of Melbourne.

She is well known for her engagement and passion to communicate on equity issues, as well as her medical research to the public. In recognition of her public engagement and communication skills she was awarded a Young Tall Poppy award and was selected as an Australian Fresh Scientist.

Natalie is a staunch ambassador for Women in STEM and is involved in initiatives to reduce the gender inequity in STEM. In 2016 she was awarded an inaugural VESKI Inspiring Women Fellowship. She is deeply committed to equity and advocacy for all people, their purpose, and for medicine and science. Natalie believes strongly in a diverse and discrimination free workplace, where gender, sexuality and sexual orientation, disability and an individual’s background should not be a barrier to reaching their full potential.

You can find out more about Natalie and her work here:

https://twitter.com/DrNatHannan
https://twitter.com/TDVFGroup
https://linkedin.com/in/natalie-hannan-6ab6551a0
https://mdhs.unimelb.edu.au/diversity-and-inclusion
https://mdhs.unimelb.edu.au/diversity-and-inclusion/swim-supporting-women-in-mdhs
https://medicine.unimelb.edu.au/research-groups/obstetrics-and-gynaecology-research/therapeutics-discovery-and-vascular-function-group

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/6ude

This week we had the great pleasure of chatting with Dr Malini Devadas about all things writing. After completing her PhD at the Australian National University in the 1990s, Malini did a postdoc and then realised that she enjoyed the writing part of the job more than the lab work! In 2004 she started working as a professional editor, becoming accredited in 2009. In 2013 Malini launched MD Writing and Editing, working as a trainer and editor to help academics and medical professionals get published faster.

After working with academics for many years, Malini discovered that there are many reasons why people don’t make progress on their writing tasks. Malini decided to train as a coach, and she now uses her variety of skills and qualifications to help academics get past their blocks about writing so that they can create a regular writing practice that they enjoy.

You can find out more about Malini and her work here:

https://www.mdwritingediting.com.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/malinidevadas/
https://twitter.com/malinidevadas

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/x3te

This week we loved talking with Dr Kylie Quinn, who is a Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow and leads the Ageing and Immunotherapies Group at RMIT University. Her group is developing ways to improve immune responses in older people during vaccination and new cell-based cancer therapies. Immune cells from older people become more difficult to activate, so her team are identifying factors that limit activation with the aim of targeting these factors to improve immune health.

Kylie has received a number of awards for her work on ageing and immunity, including the John and Eileen Haddon Award in 2019 and a Weary Dunlop Award in 2022. More broadly, Kylie has a long-standing interest in issues of equity in science, volunteering with several diversity and inclusion-focused groups. She is also a keen communicator of science and was a key figure communicating on how vaccines work and are developed to the Australian public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

You call follow Kylie and find out more about her work here:

https://twitter.com/DrQuinn4realz
https://www.ageingimmuno.com/
https://www.rmit.edu.au/contact/staff-contacts/academic-staff/q/quinn-kylie
https://www.stemwomen.org.au/profile/kylie-quinn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylie-quinn-6482a5118/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/v9te

This week we loved chatting with two more researchers from Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN): Associate Professor Megan Teychenne and Dr Niamh Mundell.

Megan’s PhD is in Behavioural Epidemiology and she’s currently an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at IPAN. For more than 15 years Megan has investigated the role of health-related behaviours (e.g. physical activity, sedentary behaviour) in the prevention and treatment of mental health conditions (particularly depression and anxiety), with a focus on vulnerable population groups including socioeconomically disadvantaged populations and women (pregnant and postpartum). She has played a pivotal role in advancing knowledge of the field, with her research cited in several international evidence briefings (e.g. British Heart Foundation, The World Health Organisation), and in her role as associate editor for the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity. Megan actively contributes to raising public awareness about the importance of physical activity for improving mental health, having been a guest on several national radio and TV programs, as well as her research being profiled in several hundreds of popular media articles worldwide.

Niamh Mundell is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Physiology within Deakin University’s School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences. She is also a Non-Executive Director at Exercise and Sports Science Australia and practices as an accredited exercise physiologist. She has a PhD in the field of exercise for cognition during ageing and cancer survival, (Deakin University) and Master of Exercise Physiology (Victoria University, Australia). Her research primarily focuses on exercise physiology, with interests in mental and cognitive health during ageing and chronic disease and improving the exercise physiology industry for clinicians and patients. Niamh’s research integrates clinical exercise physiology skills and experience to focus on improving the way clinical outcomes are captured and the optimal modes of delivery to support value-based care in clinical exercise physiology practice.

You call follow Megan and Niamh and find out more about their work here:

https://twitter.com/meganteychenne
https://twitter.com/NiamhMundell
https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/megan-teychenne<
https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/niamh-mundell
https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-teychenne-38a1a756/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/niamh-mundell-124a8935/
The exercise that best supports your mental health (smh.com.au)

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/w5me

This week we’re so pleased to have had the opportunity to talk with Deakin University researchers Dr Helen Macpherson and Sara Dingle about a topic we’re fascinated by: the intersection of mental health and nutrition.

Helen is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), at Deakin where she co-leads the Exercise and Nutrition for Brain Health group. She has a background in cognitive neuroscience and completed her postdoctoral training at Swinburne University, Australia. Helen is the recipient of a National Health and Medical Research Council and Australian Research Council Dementia Training fellowship. Her work examines the potential for modifiable lifestyle factors to optimise cognition and brain health in older people at risk of dementia. She has extensive experience conducting randomised controlled trials investigating the impact of diet and physical activity on cognition, neuroimaging markers of brain health and dementia risk factors. She has worked with large scale population data sets including the UK biobank to examine nutritional determinants of brain health.

Helen supervises a range of PhD students looking at the links between healthy ageing, lifestyle factors, cognition and mental health. And one of her PhD students is Sara Dingle!

Sara is in the final stages of her candidature exploring the association between lifestyle patterns and brain health in adults. Prior to her PhD she completed a Bachelor of Science (majoring in Physiology) at The University of Melbourne, followed by a Master of Human Nutrition at Deakin. Alongside her PhD research, Sara is also actively engaged in teaching across the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at Deakin, and has been involved as a research assistant in large-scale Deakin-based projects (Transform-Us! and Healthy Together Children’s Evaluation Study). Sara endeavours to pursue a career in academia post-PhD, continuing her passion for teaching and research in the space of lifestyle behaviours and important health outcomes such as reducing risk for dementia. Sara is also actively engaged in communicating the findings of her research through conference presentations, short-form presentations such as the three-minute-thesis competition, and any other opportunities that present themselves. Sara’s interest in all things healthy lifestyle also extends beyond her professional life, being heavily involved in surf boat rowing through Surf Life Saving Victoria and having a passion for running; along with sharing her passion for healthy eating and cooking with her husband and 2-year-old (or at least attempting in the case of the toddler!)

You call follow Helen and Sara and find out more about their work here:

https://twitter.com/DrHelen_Mac
https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenmacpherson/
https://twitter.com/dingle_sara
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-dingle-525149108/
https://www.inbloombrainhealth.com/
https://discrimination.dementia.org.au/resources/braintrack-app/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ww4e

Welcome back to season 5 of Let’s Talk SciComm! We’re thrilled to be sharing another season of great episodes with you and we know you’re going to love this first episode with the one-and-only Sue Pillans.

Sue is a marine scientist, artist, children’s author/illustrator and graphic recorder who specialises in creative and visual communications. As a graphic recorder Sue draws out ideas with people, teams and organisations to visually capture and convey discussions, information and concepts. She uses the art and science of visual storytelling to help make the complex simple and the simple compelling.

Sue has a diverse background starting with her PhD in marine science which looked at assessing the effectiveness of no-take marine reserves in subtropical Queensland. She then went onto a career in the Queensland Government working across multiple Departments including environment, fisheries, aquaculture and reef policy and leading the strategic policy and planning of several portfolios including regional development, transport and agriculture industry development.

Until seven years ago Sue didn’t know her job as a graphic recorder even existed and since then, through visual communications business, she has worked with over 50 organisations across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region to help “picture your ideas”. Sue also combines her love of marine science and art through her alter ego Dr Suzie Starfish to bring creativity into classrooms and her series of ocean picture books. Her creative thinking style helps to make learning visual and fun for children of all ages, with messages of science, solutions and hope that we can all be the change we want to ’sea’ in the world.

You call follow Sue and find out more about her work here:

www.drsuepillans.com

https://twitter.com/suepillans

https://www.instagram.com/suepillans

https://www.facebook.com/drsuziestarfish

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sue-pillans-571a95a5

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX3lbJEMpJagTnj7HOWCFew

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/jt4e

For our final episode in Season Four, we wanted to talk about another major barrier many of us experience to being able to do the work we care about: good mental health. So we asked our colleague Professor Sandra Radovini if she would have a chat with us. Sandra is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Director of Mindful, the Victorian state-wide Child & Adolescent Mental Health teaching and training unit for professionals working with children, young people and their families. Mindful is part of the Department of Psychiatry at The University of Melbourne. Sandra has held a number of key leadership positions in Mental Health: she was the inaugural Chief Child Psychiatrist in the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist with the Victorian Department of Health from 2009 to 2011 and she was the inaugural Clinical Director of Headspace from 2012 to 2016.

You can learn more about Sandra’s work here:
https://homewardboundprojects.com.au/about/people/sandra-radovini/
https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/19289-alessandra-radovini
https://mindful.org.au/
https://headspace.org.au/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/6ahe

This week it was our huge pleasure to speak with Emily King, currently undertaking her PhD at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne. Her current project investigates whether insulin resistance develops as a result of mitochondrial dysfunction in skeletal muscle, using both mouse models and cell lines. The projected impact of these studies is to determine whether related conditions, such as Type 2 Diabetes, can be managed with novel, muscle-specific therapies.

Emily is a passionate educator, holding sessional roles as a Graduate Teaching Associate within the Faculty of Science at Monash University. Emily also produces the podcast Voices of Academia (https://anchor.fm/academicvoices), a really important project that we discussed at length.

Emily has won numerous awards & scholarships based on her communication and as you’ll hear, she’s a very gifted storyteller. She’s also volunteered for various forms of science communication/educational writing including grant writing for The National Stroke Foundation, blog writing for Franklin women, and public speaking for a Women in Science forum.

You can follow Emily and find out more about her work here:

https://twitter.com/EKing_Sci
http://www.lateralmag.com/articles/issue-30/a-partner-for-life
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-king-8815a843/
https://baker.edu.au/research/staff/emily-jane-king

Here are other accounts we mentioned in the podcast:

Co-founder of Voices of Academia Dr Zoë Ayres: https://twitter.com/ZJAyres
Voices of Academia Podcast: https://twitter.com/academicvoices
https://twitter.com/PhD_Balance
https://twitter.com/DragonflyMH

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/7c2e

What better way to celebrate the 30th episode of Let’s Talk SciComm than continue our conversation with world-renowned climate scientist and climate science communicator, Professor David Karoly. This is part 2 of our conversation with David, so if you haven’t listened to last week’s episode, please go back and do that first!

David is an honorary Professor at the University of Melbourne having retired in February 2022 from CSIRO in Australia, where he was a Chief Research Scientist in the CSIRO Climate Science Centre. He is an internationally recognised expert on climate change and climate variability.

Professor Karoly was the Leader of the Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub in the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program, based in CSIRO, from 2018 until the Hub closed at the end of June 2021.

He was a member of the National Climate Science Advisory Committee during 2018-19. During 2012-2017, he was a member of the Climate Change Authority, which provides advice to the Australian government on responding to climate change, including targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

He was involved in the Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2001, 2007, 2014 and 2021 in several different roles. He is also a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. He was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2019. He was awarded the 2015 Royal Society of Victoria Medal for Scientific Excellence in Earth Sciences. From 2007 to February 2018, David Karoly was Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Melbourne and in the A.R.C. Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science.

You can learn more about David here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Karoly
https://www.science.org.au/profile/david-karoly
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-karoly-768a1b22/
https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/veteran-of-climate-wars-still-fighting-for-a-habitable-planet-and-for-science
https://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/lessons-in-hyperbolic-gestures/9974284
https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/professor-david-karoly-morrison-government-climate-inaction/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/qy2e

This week it was our absolute honour to speak with Professor David Karoly, world-renowned climate scientist and climate science communicator. David is an honorary Professor at the University of Melbourne having retired in February 2022 from CSIRO in Australia, where he was a Chief Research Scientist in the CSIRO Climate Science Centre. He is an internationally recognised expert on climate change and climate variability.

Professor Karoly was the Leader of the Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub in the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program, based in CSIRO, from 2018 until the Hub closed at the end of June 2021.

He was a member of the National Climate Science Advisory Committee during 2018-19. During 2012-2017, he was a member of the Climate Change Authority, which provides advice to the Australian government on responding to climate change, including targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

He was involved in the Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2001, 2007, 2014 and 2021 in several different roles. He is also a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. He was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2019. He was awarded the 2015 Royal Society of Victoria Medal for Scientific Excellence in Earth Sciences. From 2007 to February 2018, David Karoly was Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Melbourne and in the A.R.C. Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science.

We had such a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation with David that we’ve split our conversation across two episodes. Stay tuned for Part 2 next Tuesday!

You can learn more about David here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Karoly
https://www.science.org.au/profile/david-karoly
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-karoly-768a1b22/
https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/veteran-of-climate-wars-still-fighting-for-a-habitable-planet-and-for-science
https://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/lessons-in-hyperbolic-gestures/9974284
https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/professor-david-karoly-morrison-government-climate-inaction/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/5p2e

Whether virtual or in person, conferences are without question one of the best ways to meet people and hear about new work in your field. Amongst other things, they can also be fantastic places to find jobs, collaborators, and thesis examiners. But to get the most out of attending a conference, it really pays to prepare before you go, to be brave once you get there and then do some follow-ups afterwards.

This week Michael and Jen chat with our wonderful colleague Dr Linden Ashcroft about our strategies for getting the most out of attending a conference, particularly when it comes to networking, which can be challenging for all of us.

Here are a few good reads for more advice on networking at conferences:

Introvert’s guide to conference networking - how to get the most out of conference working whilst preserving your social energy

How to get the most out of attending conferences - an article that talks about why conferences are important, how to pick which ones to go to, mistakes to avoid and how to make the most of it when you're there

The Scientific Conference Guide (Or, How to Make the Most of Your Free Holiday) - an excellent guide that takes you through what to expect at a conference, and how to conduct yourself at each of these stages

10 Tips for grad students to make the most of a scientific conference - a great guide for attending conferences when you're early in your research career

Advice: how to network at conferences - this is some really high quality and down to earth advice on how to behave when it comes to networking at conferences. I highly recommend reading this one if you're new to the conference scene!

The Guardian - 5 tips on how to make the most of academic conferences - some more tips on networking at conferences

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/za2e

This week we’re thrilled to speak with one of the busiest (and most wonderful) scientists we know: Associate Professor Francine Marques. Francine is a Viertel Charitable Foundation and National Heart Foundation Fellow, and head of the Hypertension Research Laboratory at Monash University. She has published >90 peer-reviewed papers in top journals such as Nature Reviews Cardiology, Nature Medicine and Circulation, and has secured $7 million in competitive funding.

Francine has won 25 awards including the 2019 American Heart Association Hypertension Council Goldblatt Award, 2020 High Blood Pressure Research Council of Australia and 2021 International Society of Hypertension Mid-Career Awards, and the 2021 Australian Academy of Science Gottschalk Medal. Her team investigates the molecular mechanisms behind the development of high blood pressure, with a focus on disease identification and prevention via the gut microbiota using both animal studies and clinical trials.

Francine is also the co-program manager for the High Blood Pressure Research Council of Australia, the chair of the International Society of Hypertension Mentoring and Training Committee, and an elected member of the steering committee for the Gordon Research Conference on Angiotensin. Francine is an amazing science communicator and is passionate about effective and compassionate leadership in science – you can read her lab manual which we discussed here: https://www.marqueslab.com/manual.

You call follow Francine and find out more about her work here:

https://twitter.com/fzmarques
https://www.monash.edu/science/schools/biological-sciences/staff/francine-marques
https://www.marqueslab.com/
https://womensagenda.com.au/leadership/associate-professor-francine-marques-on-leading-landmark-blood-pressure-research/
https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/biology/cancer-diagnosis-shaped-mindset/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/74pe

Given how low success rates are for many/most granting schemes, it’s incredibly useful for researchers to understand whether crowdfunding might be an appropriate way to raise funds for their work. And if it is, how you should go about running a successful crowdfunding campaign.

So we invited Jonathan O’Donnell back to the show – you may remember we chatted with him in episode 22 about how to write successful grant applications. And Jonathan is the perfect person to chat with about crowdfunding because he’s currently in the write-up phase of his PhD thesis on…… you guessed it – crowdfunding research.

Jonathan is the best person we know to chat with about funding research because in his job, he helps people get funding for their research. To be specific, he helps the people in the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne in Australia (all opinions are his own). He has been doing that, on and off, since the 1990's (with varying degrees of success). With Tseen Khoo, also he runs the Research Whisperer blog and @ResearchWhisper Twitter stream, about doing research in academia. His ORCID is 0000-0001-5435-235X.

In the meantime, you can follow Jonathan and learn more about his work here:

https://twitter.com/jod999

https://au.linkedin.com/in/jod999

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5435-235X

https://researchwhisperer.org/

https://twitter.com/researchwhisper

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/2epe

We’re so excited to welcome you to Season Four of Let’s Talk SciComm, with new episodes now released every Tuesday.

First up this season, we chat with Professor Andy Pask. Andy is a Professor in the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne and Domain Leader for Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology within the School. His research focuses on evolution and development.

His recent work is centered on the reproductive system and particularly the influence of hormones and endocrine disruptors on reproductive disease. He also has an active research program (TIGRR lab) on marsupial conservation, preservation and restoration. He has been supported by many fellowships, project grants, and philanthropic and industry funding for his work.

Andy has been very active in sharing his work with the media for many years and has learned a huge amount about how to communicate science effectively to different audiences.

You call follow Andy and find out more about his work here:

https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pasklab/

https://tigrrlab.science.unimelb.edu.au/

https://twitter.com/AJ_Pask

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-pask-350922b7/

https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/the-9-steps-to-de-extincting-australia-s-thylacine

https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/piecing-thylacine-dna-back-together

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/8epe

Got a ridiculously long to-do list? Feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff you need to get done? Time management is something we all struggle with and it can sometimes be difficult to make time to share our work with different audiences. This week Jen and Michael invite our wonderful UniMelbSciComm colleagues, Linden Ashcroft, Catriona Nguyen-Robertson and Graham Phillips for a 5-way chat about the tips and tricks we've learned along the way about how to make time for the things that really matter to us. 

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/56pe

This week, Jen and Michael were delighted to speak with Dr Michael Winlo. Michael is Managing Director at Emyria, a data-driven, drug development and clinical services company focused on improving care of patients with unmet needs. Emyria leverages the clinical evidence created with patients to launch and register novel drug development and treatment programs with global regulators.

Michael is also a Director at Linear Clinical Research - Perth’s only dedicated early phase cancer and clinical trial unit. Michael was previously CEO at Linear which, under his leadership, was the first site in Australia to complete a comprehensive digital transformation. Prior to Linear, Michael lived and worked in Silicon Valley leading the Health team at Palantir working with major healthcare institutions in the US and UK to solve complex data integration and analysis challenges. Michael is a medical doctor with an MBA from Stanford and holds several data analysis patents.

You can learn more about Michael and Emyria here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwinlo
https://twitter.com/mwinlo
https://twitter.com/emyriaglobal
https://emyria.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/emyria
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgVOJIxzgSzX_Yc4n5ciyQw

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/v6pe

Applying for grants is an experience common to all researchers and with success rates for many funding schemes extremely low, any advice to improve the chance of success for your application is very welcome!

In this episode, Jen and Michael were thrilled to have the chance to chat with Jonathan O’Donnell and to pick his brains about how to write a successful grant application.a

Jonathan is the right person to seek advice from because in his job, he helps people get funding for their research. To be specific, he helps the people in the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne in Australia (all opinions are his own). He has been doing that, on and off, since the 1990's (with varying degrees of success). He loves his job. He loves it so much that he has enrolled in a PhD to look at crowdfunding for research. With Tseen Khoo, he runs the Research Whisperer blog and @ResearchWhisper Twitter stream, about doing research in academia. His ORCID is 0000-0001-5435-235X.

And if you’re interested in learning more about crowdfunding, you can look forward to an episode in our next season in which we chat with Jonathan again and learn all about the role of crowdfunding in research. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, you can follow Jonathan and learn more about his work here:

https://twitter.com/jod999

https://au.linkedin.com/in/jod999

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5435-235X

https://researchwhisperer.org/

https://twitter.com/researchwhisper

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/d6pe

This week we are so excited to catch up with one of our University of Melbourne Science Communication alumni who is doing amazing things in the world!

Kate Cranney is a science communicator, scientist and visual artist. She combines these skills in her role as a Communications Advisor with CSIRO, Australia's national science agency.

Kate's background is diverse. She's climbed trees in Borneo, scaled volcanoes in Papua New Guinea, pulled snakes out of traps in the Simpson Desert, and counted turtle hatchlings in Solomon Islands … all in the name of science. With interests spanning ecology, the arts, science writing, education, podcasts and film, science communication was a natural fit. In her current role, she creates communication materials, delivers communications campaigns, liaises with the media, and runs storytelling training for the approximately 850 scientists in CSIRO's Land and Water, and Energy divisions.

Kate holds a Master of Science (with Distinction), and a dual Bachelor of Laws / Environmental Science (with Honours). In 2018 she spent 10 months travelling as part of an ISSI Fellowship in Science Communication. She visited museums, aquariums and other science organisations in Scandinavia, Europe, Canada and the USA. Her task? To learn from the most creative, novel and effective forms of science communication, and to bring that knowledge back to Australia!

This is the visualisation of Ira Glass’ ‘The Gap’ Kate mentions in the conversation: https://vimeo.com/85040589

You can follow Kate and see more of her work here:

https://katecranney.com

https://twitter.com/kateccranney

https://www.instagram.com/kate.cranney.art

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-cranney-71864923

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/t6pe

Writing a thesis is hard! It’s probably the longest document you’ve ever had to write, and the experience is often accompanied by a tendency to procrastinate and feelings of overwhelm and imposterism.

This episode will help! Jen and Michael briefly talk about their thesis writing experiences and share their top tips. But most of the episode is filled with advice and tips from eight of our UniMelb SciComm alumni who have recently written theses. They’ve been right where you are now and have so much wisdom to share!

You’ll hear from Nancy Rivers Tran, Owen Missen, Samantha Ward, Xavier Busuttil-Crellin, Kate Huckstep, Adam Hagg, Emily McColl-Gausden and Lachlan Tegart.

Plus here are a couple of resources to help you:

How to write a Better Thesis by David Evans, Justin Zobel and Paul Gruba

Explorations of Style - A brilliant blog about academic writing. Start by checking out their "How to use this blog" page to get an idea of what articles they have to offer

The Thesis Whisperer - Another fantastic blog worth following - full of honest, upfront advice, especially on research during a pandemic

Patter - Another great blog about academic writing

DoctoralWriting SIG - Very useful blog covering lots of interesting and relevant topics, with an entire category dedicated to thesis writing

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/m6pe

This week, we couldn’t be more thrilled to chat with James McCaw, Professor of Mathematical Biology in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Melbourne. James studied physics before embarking on a research career in infectious diseases epidemiological modelling. One of his primary research interests over the past 15 years has been pandemic preparedness and response.

Since January 2020, he has supported the Australian government's response to COVID-19 through membership of key national committees and leadership of a research program evaluating the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in Australia.

We’re so chuffed James was able to find the time to chat with us about communicating science during a pandemic.

You can learn more about James here:

https://twitter.com/j_mccaw

https://www.science.org.au/covid19/experts/james-mccaw

https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-mccaw-863b0b1/

https://theconversation.com/tired-of-lockdown-rules-our-analysis-shows-most-australians-have-curbed-mixing-and-helped-suppress-covid-168946

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/46pe

If you haven’t yet taken part in a speaking competition like the Three-minute thesis (3MT) or Famelab, what are you waiting for? You’ll gain so much by working out how to explain your research in a really short amount of time.

This week Michael and Jen are joined by our wonderful colleague Catriona Nguyen-Robertson, who has had great success in a number of speaking competitions.

Together, we give all our best advice on how to prepare and deliver a brilliant short talk. We also have excellent tips for you from our alumni Kate Huckstep and Sarah McColl-Gausden.

Plus here are a couple of resources to help you:

How to Become an Authentic Speaker
11 Tips for the Three-minute thesis competition
The three-minute thesis: principle of scientific communication
Tips for the three-minute thesis slide
Famelab: Judge’s top tips

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/f6pe

Welcome back to Season Three of Let’s Talk SciComm – we couldn’t be more excited to be back talking about science communication with you.

To launch our new season, we’re joined by the fabulous (and funny) Dr Jessamyn A. Fairfield, a lecturer in the School of Physics at the National University of Ireland Galway. She leads research in neuromorphic nanomaterials, physics education, and public engagement with science. She is also an award-winning science communicator, and the director of Bright Club Ireland, a comedy night bringing academic research to the public.

You can follow Jessamyn and learn more about her work here:

http://jessamynfairfield.com/
https://twitter.com/ultrajessamyn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessamyn-fairfield-1044b925/
http://brightclub.ie/
https://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/jessamynfairfield/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/h6pe

#MyScienceMay

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/my8e

Procrastination is of the biggest challenges many of us come up against in our day-to-day work. And it can certainly be a major barrier to effective science communication. Whether you’re trying to write a thesis, an assignment or a blog post, chances are you’ve found yourself delaying getting started.

This week Jen and Michael share their experiences of procrastination and evidence-based advice on how to stop. Two of our wonderful UniMelbSciComm alumni, Caitlin Minney and Lily Ahlemeyer also share their experiences and advice about how to tackle procrastination.

Here are some resources to support you in tackling procrastination:

Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator - Tim Urban’s TED talk
James Clear’s Atomic Habits - a book well worth reading
James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter - which we also mention in the podcast
Why You Procrastinate (It Has Nothing to Do With Self-Control) - if procrastination isn't about laziness, then what is it about? Hint: it's more linked to your emotions and moods!
Why we procrastinate – Jen’s take on why we procrastinate, with tips on how we can stop procrastinating and start working
The Procrastination Doom Loop—and How to Break It - what it means to be caught in the procrastination loop, and how to get out of it
Why Procrastinators Procrastinate - a look into the procrastinator's brain
5 Types of Procrastination (And How To Fix Each of Them) - procrastination can look different depending on what type of procrastinator you are. Figuring out which type you are will help you beat your procrastination!

Plus a couple of tools we use to help beat procrastination:

Forest App – focusing on your work helps you build a virtual forest
Write or Die - an online word processor that forces you to write... or else suffer the consequences you choose - from spiders crawling across your screen, to your words erasing themselves
Cold Turkey Writer - this turns your computer into a typewriter - so you can't use it for anything other than writing. Great if you struggle with distractions!
toggl - a productivity and time tracker that might help you keep an eye on how you spend your time

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/4y8e

This week we’re so excited to introduce you to one of our former science communication students, Amy LeBlanc. Amy started off studying bird communication at the University of Melbourne but ended up graduating into full-time science communication instead! These days, Amy lives in Ghent, Belgium, where she is the Chief Editor of BioVox, an online news platform covering life sciences innovations. She spends a lot of her time interviewing scientists and industry leaders from around the world, writing articles, and editing content. She also works as a science communicator for Turnstone Communications, a consultancy company which provides strategic and hands-on communications support for research institutes, healthcare organisations, and start-ups. Amy is passionate about quality communication and diversity in STEM. She likes to spend her spare time with a book in hand, or cooking, travelling, and birdwatching.

You can follow Amy and find out more about her work here:

Website: https://biovox.eu/

LinkedIn: BioVox or Amy LeBlanc

Twitter: @BioVoxBelgium or @amylebird

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/fy8e

We all know videos are one of the most popular and effective mediums to share science and that it’s possible to make great videos on your phone. Gone are the days of needing specialist, expensive equipment! But we can still all benefit from learning about how professionals approach making exciting, engaging videos.

This week Michael and Jen are joined by our wonderful UniMelbSciComm colleague Dr Graham Phillips who has had a long and illustrious career presenting science on TV. As you would imagine, Graham has a heap of advice and tips to share! Two of our UniMelbSciComm alumni, Marie Kinsey and Charlotte Gerada also share their thoughts.

Plus here are a couple of resources to help you make better science videos:

Filming Science on a Phone! - Worried you don't have all the gear to get started filming? Fear not - here's a video about how to use your phone to film science.
What makes a popular science video on YouTube? - A good one for anybody thinking about getting into YouTube
Put it on camera: How to get into scientific film- and video-making - a great article if you're interested in using film to communicate science, and how to get started
10 steps to making DIY science videos for YouTube – a video about how to make good videos!
What makes a good science video? – A quick read with some good tips!

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/hy8e

We’re thrilled to introduce you to photographer extraordinaire Doug Gimesy in this week’s episode.

Doug is a professional conservation and wildlife photojournalist who focuses on Australian issues. A Senior Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP), his clients include National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, bioGraphic, Australian Geographic, Audubon, as well various mastheads like The Guardian and NewsCorp. Initially trained as a zoologist and microbiologist, he later completed a Masters of Environment and a Masters of Bioethics. Together, these two qualifications helped shape his thinking as what type of issues he should be focusing on and why – conservation and animal welfare issues.

Believing people should focus on the issues they care about and those that are close to home, his recent work has focused on the conservation and animal welfare issues facing the platypus and the Grey-headed Flying-fox – having recently facilitated the platypus being listed as threatened species in his home state of Victoria, as well as launching a children’s book with his partner on Grey-headed Flying-foxes titled ‘Life Upside Down’. Current on-going projects include covering the illegal reptile trade out of Australia, the use of scent dogs in conservation and a series of portraits called 'Wildlife Warriors, Conservation Champions and Animal Advocates’.

Doug hopes that the images and information he shares will inspire people to stop, think, and treat the world more kindly.

You can follow Doug and learn more about his work here:

http://gimesy.com/

https://www.instagram.com/doug_gimesy/

https://www.facebook.com/DougGimesyPhotography/

https://twitter.com/douggimesy

https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-gimesy/

https://www.trulyaus.com/doug-gimesy/

Some of Doug's recent publications:

National Geographic: This 'romantic' lizard is one of Australia’s most trafficked animals

Australian Photography: Life in the slow lane

The Guardian: Avian eye: how to take photos of birds that stand out from the flock

Ranger Rick: Wild Roommates (wombats)

BBC Wildlife: Behind the image – High-tech trafficking

BBC Wildlife: The Lost Voice – The Regent Honeyeater, a tiny bird found in Australian forests, has become so rare, it’s forgetting how to sing its own song

The Guardian: Fowl play: duck hunting struggles to stay afloat in Victoria – a photo essay

Transcript and more at: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/2y8e

In this episode, Michael and Jen are joined by our wonderful UniMelbSciComm colleague Dr Linden Ashcroft to discuss why editing is such an important skill. We all agree that allowing sufficient time to edit our writing is essential if we want to produce clear, concise and easy-to-read writing. Together we explore how we all learned to edit our writing and the different approaches we’ve learned along the way. We share our top tips and bond over the fact that effective editing can be a hard, but vital, skill to develop. In addition to our thoughts, hear fantastic advice from two of our UniMelbSciComm alumni, Ethan Wake and Connor McMahon.

Here are some good reads which may help your approach to editing:

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott - this is where the idea of the down draft, up draft and dental draft comes from.

Destuffing your writing - a great list of words and phrases that you can wipe out of your writing to make your piece clearer and more specific

Twenty-five editing tips to improve your copy - see how many of these address aspects of your writing that you can improve!

Five editor's secrets to help you write like a pro - five simple fixes that will improve your writing

Improve your writing with these editing tips - excellent tips to improve the clarity of your writing

Editing and proofreading - advice from the University of North Carolina

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/py8e

We can’t wait for you to meet Dr Catherine Wheller on this week’s episode.

Catherine has had a wonderfully diverse career and is currently the Communications Manager at the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF). The NYSF is a not-for-profit organisation that runs a number of programs to encourage young people in their passion for science.

Catherine is an experienced science communicator, and higher education teaching professional with a history of working in the university, tech, museum, and NGO/NFP sectors. As a communicator with a PhD in mineral thermodynamics, she is a competent analyst across emerging technologies (AI and IoT); global health (soil-transmitted helminths and mass drug administration); and earth systems (geology and climate).

Catherine has recently returned to Melbourne after 4 years in the UK at the Natural History Museum and University College London and is thrilled to contribute to increasing science literacy within the Australian public. Catherine is participating in Homeward Bound #TeamHB7 in 2022.

You can learn more about Catherine and some of the organisations she’s been involved with here:

https://twitter.com/catinthefield
https://au.linkedin.com/in/catherine-wheller
https://www.stemwomen.org.au/profile/catherine-wheller
Catherine’s 3MT talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhvFJKoUVtI
https://www.nysf.edu.au/
https://homewardboundprojects.com.au/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/8y8e

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘Publish or perish’. But what about the more recent maxim ‘Be visible or vanish’? Regardless of your career stage, there are many advantages to having a professional online presence: it will bring new opportunities, connections and visibility. But it can be hard to know where and how best to invest your time and energy when it comes to social media. In this episode, Michael and Jen talk about why to build your profile, where and how to start, and how to ensure you are developing your profile strategically.  We also specifically consider the value of LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram for scientists. In addition to our thoughts, hear fantastic advice from two of our UniMelbSciComm alumni, Kate Huckstep and Ebony Ciarrocchi.
We highly recommend listening to Kate’s podcast Curiosity Killed the Rat too!

Here are some good reads which may help as you create or build your profile:

Scientist Guide to Social Media - this article has an awesome table comparing the different platforms, as well as tips for each different platform
Twitter For Scientists - comprehensive online book with beginner, intermediate and advanced information
I’m a scientist and I want to use social media. Now what? - A good discussion of the different goals scientists have when using social media
Chemists are finding their place on Tik Tok and TikTok challenges us to communicate science - Two pieces about the potential of TikTok for SciComm
A social media survival guide for scientists - some excellent survival tips to responsibly using social media for science communication
How social media helps scientists get the message across - a study showing that research shared on social media (mainly Twitter) gets more academic citations
Social media as a scientist: a very quick guide - a quick, condensed guide to using social media for science, and examples of how you can use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to network, exchange scientific ideas, or advance a career
Social media: A network boost - a thorough guide how scientists can use Twitter to increase their networks, as well as how employers use Twitter when recruiting
Here’s how many followers you need - a look into how many followers is needed to start reaching the broader public
Why We Scientists Do Instagram - why Instagram is an awesome platform for scientists, and how it helps boost visibility and correct gender stereotypes, especially for women in STEMM. There's also includes a nice mind-map of the motivations to blog about science
One tweet led to a spot on Bill Nye's show - an example of opportunities social media can lead to

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/sy8e

Welcome to Season Two of Let’s Talk SciComm! We’re thrilled to introduce you to our first guest for this season, Dr Shane Huntington OAM.

Shane is the Chief Executive Officer of Little Big Steps; a charity helping kids with cancer. Shane is also a speaker, trainer and facilitator. He has been providing consulting services in communication and strategy for over 20 years.

He is the host and producer of 3RRR’s science radio program Einstein A Go Go. Over the last 30 years he has interviewed thousands of scientists and explained hundreds of scientific concepts to the public. In 2020 he was awarded an Order of Australia in recognition of his science communication work.

Shane is a prolific writer with articles on Medium.com read more than 80,000 times.

He is the Founder and Director of the Innovation Group Pty Ltd, a scientific equipment supplier in Australia and New Zealand since 1999. Until April 2021 he was at the University of Melbourne, where he had a distinguished career as an academic and leader of university strategy.

Shane was the Founder of the Telescopes in Schools Program, a Victorian based initiative designed to bring the wonders of Astronomy and education to low SES schools in Melbourne’s Northern and Western suburbs and rural districts through the prevision of research grade telescopes and support.

Shane was an academic until 2008 with a PhD in Physics. His specialty was in Photonics and Imaging and he has published more than 70 refereed journal papers. During his 10 years as a researcher he acquired more than $6M in competitive grants.

He holds an honorary appointment at the University of Melbourne in the School of Engineering and is an Ambassador for the Lost Dogs Home.

You call follow Shane and find out more about his work here:

https://shanehuntington.com/
https://twitter.com/DrShaneRRR
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shane-huntington-oam-684894/
https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/presenters/dr-shane
https://littlebigsteps.org.au/
https://www.instagram.com/drshanerrr/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ey8e

On the outside you appear confident, composed and on top of your game. But on the inside, you are wracked with self-doubt. You feel like a fraud and as though someone is about to tap you on the shoulder and ask you what you think you’re doing. You’re sure you’re not good enough, experienced enough or smart enough to be doing what you’re doing.

This week Jen and Michael chat about the Imposter Experience, better known as the Imposter Syndrome. Listen for our thoughts and advice on how to tackle feeling like an imposter plus tips from two of our UniMelb SciComm students, Stephanie Wong and Charlie Pattinson.

Here are a few good reads to help build your understanding of imposter syndrome and how to tackle it:
Imposters are us - feeling like you aren't good enough? Guess what! You're not the only one. This is Jen's take on imposter syndrome.
If You Struggle With Imposter Syndrome, Scientists Might Have an Odd Solution - an important tip to help you overcome imposter syndrome.
‘I’m not worthy!’ – Imposter Syndrome in Academia - reasons why we feel imposter syndrome in academia, and how to deal with it.
How I overcame impostor syndrome after leaving academia - advice on tackling the voices in your head telling you that you aren't good enough so that they don't sabotage your career.
Feel like an academic fraud? Tips for shaking off imposter syndrome - some great tips on how to manage the feelings of imposter syndrome.
Four tips to ward off imposter syndrome - four straightforward ways to silence your inner critic.
The Clance Imposter Syndrome Test – this is the test Jen and Michael talk about in the podcast. Respond to these 20 questions to see how strongly you experience the imposer syndrome.

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/iy8e

In this episode we’re so excited to introduce you to Catriona Nguyen-Robertson who is a singing scientist: she sings in the laboratory and dreams up immunology experiments in the shower. She is a researcher at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, studying the immune response in skin allergies. An advocate for diversity in STEM, she is Secretary of the Pride in Action Network, and was Vice-President of Women in Science and Engineering at The University of Melbourne.

Catriona is also an enthusiastic science communicator. She is part of the Science Communication Teaching Team at The University of Melbourne and a Learning Facilitator with Museums Victoria. She also works as the Science Communications Officer for the Royal Society of Victoria and Convergence Science Network, and is Associate Editor of the Immunology and Cell Biology scientific journal. She regularly engages with science mentoring and outreach programs, such as Skype a Scientist, Pint of Science, In2Science, BrainSTEM, and the Gene Technology Access Centre – sharing science online, in pubs, and in schools across Victoria and the world.

You can follow Catriona and find out more about her work here:

https://twitter.com/CatrionaNR
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_NtXSj9jH06SHNmsKhyfuQ (Nyuroscientist)
https://www.instagram.com/nyuroscientist/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/catrionanguyen-robertson/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/jy8e

In 2014, Steven Pinker published a piece in The Chronicle of Higher Education titled ‘Why academic writing stinks’. While we might take offense at the notion that our writing ‘stinks’, there’s no question that the way many of us have been taught to write as researchers and scientists can be difficult for our readers to make sense of. In this episode, Michael and Jen chat about why science writing can be so hard to read and a number of different approaches to improve the clarity and readability of our writing. We focus particularly on the style of writing that is most effective for communicating about science with non-scientific audiences.

Listen for our thoughts and advice on how to improve your writing plus tips from two of our UniMelb SciComm students, Randy Mann and Steven Tang.

Here are the papers we mentioned in the podcast:
Medical Obfuscation: Structure and Function. It’s really worth reading this short but pointed piece by Michael Crichton published back in 1975.
Specialized terminology reduces the number of citations of scientific papers. Research to suggest that if we want other scientists to cite our work, we should be avoiding using jargon – especially in the title and abstract.
UN climate reports are increasingly unreadable. Jeff Tollefson’s research into the readability of ICC climate reports.
The readability of scientific texts is decreasing over time. More research highlighting that science writing is getting harder to read. And this has important implications for research reproducibility.
The growth of acronyms in the scientific literature. Research into the staggering increase in the use of acronyms in science papers since 1950.

And if you’re looking for some great science to read, some of our favourites are Belinda Smith, Dyani Lewis, Ed Yong and Carl Zimmer.

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ry8e

In this episode we’re delighted to speak with Dr Graham Phillips, a very familiar – and much loved – Australian science communicator and journalist.

Graham was the host of ABC TV’s science program Catalyst for many years, and also a producer-reporter on that program. He began his career as a scientist (PhD in astrophysics) before quitting to become science journalist/broadcaster/communicator. He’s been a regular science commentator on all the free-to-air TV commercial networks, written about science for almost every major newspaper in Australia and had regular science columns in a number of them. He’s contributed to many, many hours of science on radio as both an interviewee and interviewer, and has had four popular science books published.

He's recently written and produced a series on extra-terrestrial life for Amazon’s podcast arm Audible - Astronomical: looking for life beyond Earth - and teaches science communication at the University of Melbourne.

You can follow Graham and find out more about his work here:
https://www.instagram.com/grahamphillipsscience
https://au.linkedin.com/in/graham-phillips-80b3b920

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/xy8e

All scientists need to give talks but being able to give a brilliant talk takes skill. Are you wondering how to best keep your audience’s attention? How to design slides that enhance, rather than distract from what you’re saying? And how to tackle your inevitable nerves?

This week Jen and Michael chat about how to give a better science talk. Listen for our thoughts and advice on how to plan, design and deliver a fantastic talk plus tips from two of our UniMelb SciComm students, Randy Mann and Stephanie Wong.

Here are a few good reads to help next time you’re preparing a talk:

Reframing stress - stage fright can be your friend. Very nervous about speaking in public? You're not alone, and there are ways to harness that fear to your advantage.

Get Excited: Reappraising Pre-Performance Anxiety as Excitement. This paper talks more about reframing anxiety by taking stress and turning it into excitement. We actually use the tip "say I am excited out loud" all the time and it works!

Use PowerPoint as a Tool, don’t be a Tool for PowerPoint. PowerPoint is full of pitfalls. How many slides are too many? What should your slides have on them? How do you use the slides in your talk? This article answers all that and more.

How to avoid death By PowerPoint | David JP Phillips | TEDxStockholmSalon. A TED talk that’s worth your time – it includes plenty of excellent advice on how to use slides more effectively.

How to be an Excellent Communicator — You Only Need 3 Axioms. Three pillars that make for good communication, no matter the medium. This is a longer read, but jam-packed with great information.

Making a short presentation based on your research: 11 tips. Tips on how to make 15 minutes count when talking about your research.

We also mentioned canva.com and piktochart.com which are both really useful tools for improving your talk visuals.

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/6y8e

In this episode we’re thrilled to chat with Dr Linden Ashcroft, a lecturer in climate science and science communication at The University of Melbourne, and a proud member of the UniMelbSciComm teaching team. She is also a historical climatologist, and uses pre-1900 documents and weather observations to explore the climate of Australia’s past so we can better prepare for the future.

Her career has spanned the academic, non-for-profit and government sectors, including a stint at the Bureau of Meteorology, and managing a national citizen science project.

Linden is a regular on community radio, gives frequent public talks, has contributed to over 40 media articles since 2018, and was featured in the 2019 Best Australian Science Writing Anthology.

She was a 2019–2020 Science and Technology Australia Superstar of STEM, received the 2020 Australian and Meteorological Society Science Outreach award, and was selected as a Victorian Tall Poppy by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science in 2021 for her excellence in scientific research and outreach.

You can follow Linden and find out more about her work here:

https://lindenashcroft.com/
https://twitter.com/lindenashcroft
https://www.instagram.com/lindenashcroft/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/linden-ashcroft-08640b59/
https://www.stemwomen.org.au/profile/linden-ashcroft

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ay8e

This week Jen and Michael chat about the important topic of ‘How to NOT be boring’ when communicating about science.

We’re sure you can all remember sitting through an incredibly boring science talk or struggling to read a boring piece of science writing. If you want to get your message across, it’s essential you capture your audience’s attention and convince them what you’re writing or speaking about is of relevance to them.

Listen for our thoughts and advice on how to be more engaging when communicating about science plus tips from two of our UniMelb SciComm students, Randy Mann and George Mechaalani.

Finally, here’s a good read on why we need to make science writing less boring and HOW we can do that: ‘Bored reading science? Let’s change how scientists write.’

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ny8e

In this episode, we’re delighted to chat with Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation in Deakin University’s Centre for Integrative Ecology and the School of Life and Environmental Sciences in Melbourne, Australia.

Euan has published over 150 scientific articles related with biodiversity conservation, wildlife ecology and management, ecosystem management, and environmental policy. His work has a strong focus on predators and their ecological roles, invasive species, fire ecology, and the ecology, conservation and management of Australian mammals. He was part of a research team whose work on the dingo won the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage Eureka Prize for Environmental Research in 2013, in 2017 he was named as one of the Australian Chief Scientist’s ‘Science Superheroes’, and in 2021 he was awarded the Australian Ecology Research Award by the Ecological Society of Australia. He is the Chair of the Ecology Society of Australia's Media Working Group and Deputy Convenor of Deakin University's Science and Society Network. Euan’s work has taken him to remote rainforests in Papua New Guinea, ponds in North America, Romania’s bear-filled forests, and savannas, woodlands, forests and deserts across Australia, among many other wonderful environments.

An incredibly prolific researcher, Euan is also a passionate and extremely active science communicator, frequently interviewed on radio and having written over 60 articles for The Conversation, read more than 1.3 million times.

You can follow Euan and find out more about his work here:

https://twitter.com/EuanRitchie1
https://www.facebook.com/DrEuanRitchie
https://www.linkedin.com/in/euan-ritchie-07915512/
https://www.youtube.com/user/RitchieEuan
https://euanritchie.org/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/zo8e

Welcome to Let's Talk SciComm! In this trailer episode, hosts Dr Jen Martin and Dr Michael Wheeler introduce themselves and season one of the podcast.
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