When Science Speaks

Note for listeners: This week's episode with Jeremy Marcus, Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for U.S. Congressman Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania, was recorded in September 2020, prior to the riot at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.

This week's episode features Jeremy Marcus, who's served for 7 years as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director in the office of U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (D-PA). Previously, Jeremy served as Legislative Director for former Congressman Russ Carnahan, Democrat of Missouri.

On this week's episode, Mark and Jeremy discuss topics including:

How Jeremy views the role of science and academic research in the policymaking process

How Jeremy and his colleagues rely on outside experts

Strategies or activities Jeremy considers effective and beneficial for staffers who work cooperatively with outside scientific advisors

Unproductive or unhelpful behaviors from outside experts Jeremy has observed and pitfalls for PhDs and other experts to avoid

For scientists and other subject matter experts who want to help shape policy from the inside, some of the potential entry points into policymaking - either at the federal, state, or local level - that Jeremy considers likely to be more successful than others

How the policymaking process has been affected by COVID-19, and what accommodations that are being made Jeremy could see continuing even after the need for social distancing has passed

What Jeremy likes most about his job

Nathaniel Brooks Horwitz has had a set of rare experiences - particularly for someone still in the early stages of his career journey. His passion is to develop new medicines.

A Principal at RA Capital, a leading biotech venture capital firm in Boston, board member at Synthego Corporation, Quench Bio, GentiBio and others, Nathaniel was previously founding CEO of Nivien Therapeutics.

On today's episode, Mark and Nathaniel discuss a range of topics, including:

- How Nathaniel proceeded from research at Harvard University through founding his own company, dealing with the crosscurrents he described in his Washington Post op-ed, and then moving to his current role after graduating from Harvard in 2018

- What fuels Nathaniel's passion for medicine development

- How Nathaniel made the transition from labs at Harvard to the startup scene, including what prepared him for it, what surprised him, and what obstacles he confronted

- How Nathaniel balanced the need to remain accurate with the demands from investors, for example, looking for clear descriptions of the progress of his work

- The lessons Nathaniel feels he learned as a result of his experience with his start-up

- How Nathaniel's experience as a founding CEO informs his work now when he listens to pitches from entrepreneurs or participates in Board meetings

- What Nathaniel considers the key success factors - the essential skills and qualities - for being a successful entrepreneur

- How Nathaniel recommends listeners interested in entrepreneurship develop those skills and qualities

In today's episode, management consultant, professor, angel investor, columnist, and book author Peter Cohan joins Mark to discuss a range of interesting topics, including:

How he developed his dual interests in art and engineering and whether he sees them as disparate or complementary interests

Whether the experience of having a business in his family contributed to his interest in business and ultimately his career choice

As a longtime advisor to business leaders - and a lecturer in business strategy - some of the key leadership traits Peter sees in his clients who are effective leaders and also teaches to his students, as well as common leadership blindspots

Keys to resilience that listeners should keep in mind these days, which also were featured in Peter's column in Inc. Magazine.

As a highly-visible writer, commentator, and communicator for many years while also having academic training in technical fields - engineering and computer science - what advice Peter has for engineers who want to strengthen their ability to communicate with non-engineers, particularly when it comes to writing for general audiences

Peter's recommendations for books, training, or conferences that could provide useful information or insights for listeners wanting to learn more about the start-up ecosystem

- Note: Peter is the author of the just-released book, "Goliath Strikes Back - How Traditional Retailers Are Winning Back Customers From E-Commerce Startups", http://bit.ly/PeterCohanGoliathStrikesBackBook

7. How has COVID-19 has impacted his teaching and how it could affect it in the future.

Today's livestream with Dr. Amelia Burke-Garcia, an award-winning digital health communicator and researcher with nearly 20 years of experience, and Dr. Amy Leader, an Associate Professor in the Division of Population Science, Department of Medical Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, focuses on Dr. Burke-Garcia's and Dr. Leader's just-released article in the Journal Vaccine about the messages and motivations of social media influencers who are hesitant or refuse vaccination. The livestream is happening just as the U.S. federal government is rolling out vaccines against the COVID-19 virus that's caused the deaths of more than 300,000 Americans and rising.

Topics discussed include:

What led Drs. Burke-Garcia and Leader to initiate this research

Research results that surprised them

Whether their research findings make them more or less concerned - on a human level, not as an academic - about the chances for success of future public health efforts involving vaccinations?

The lessons policymakers, health professionals and others responsible for the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine should draw from their research

Thoughts on why anti-vaccine messages receive more attention across social media than positive messages

Their reactions to the comment of one of your interviewees in their study who said: "There was never any framing of vaccinations in a negative light growing up. It was just something you did." Why messages and attitudes about vaccinations have changed

The distinctly different way respondents viewed individual decisions about vaccination that affect their families compared to how these decisions impact communities, with implications for mask-wearing during the pandemic

The power of storytelling to persuade

Looking at the current campaign to inoculate against COVID-19 and knowing what they do about vaccine hesitant or refusing social media influencers, what recommendations they would give to those developing and implementing the COVID-19 vaccination program

On this week's episode of When Science Speaks (link in comments), I talk with Stephen Fantone, CEO and Founder of Optikos and the Optical Society (OSA) President for 2020. We discuss a range of topics, including:

- The projects to battle COVID-19 that OSA and its members have been working on, such as decontamination and sterilization of PPE

- OSA initiatives focused on contributing to efforts to respond to climate change

- How OSA helps its members interested in science policy get their voices heard on issues they care about and contribute their scientific knowledge and expertise to help inform relevant public policies

- OSA's pivot to digital meetings and lessons learned

- OSA's plans for the future

This week's episode features Nic DiPalma, founder and CEO of SpacetimeLabs, a creative agency for science.

SpacetimeLabs develops advanced communications for science and research to connect with the public through art, design, and creativity.

Nic also is Principal and Executive Creative Director at Nic DiPalma Creative, which is a design consulting group focused on accelerating client creativity and building a culture for developing innovative ideas through web design, motion graphics, design systems, and training.

On today's episode, we discuss:

SpacetimeLabs' focus, which is particularly important these days, as communicating with the public science - including the need for self-quarantines and business closures - has been a challenge.

Nic's career journey, and some of the key science communication lessons that stand out for him along the way

Nic's view on the importance of immersive experiences as a way both to communicate about science and also to build buy-in from listeners who may not accept scientific evidence supporting topics like climate change.

As an expert science communicator, where Nic sees shortcomings or room for improvement in the way that scientific topics and issues are described to general audiences

How Nic's philosophy, approach, and expertise gained through his career so far be applied to improve communication about COVID-19

In this episode, Mark and his guest, Prashant Natajaran, Director of Data Sciences and Analytics at Unum, discuss a range of topics, including:

What makes the U.S. unique and why Prashant is optimistic about the future despite the challenges

As an engineer, Prashant's perspectives on how to be a skilled communicator

Prashant's advice on how to become a strong communicator

How to prevent AI from reinforcing racism and biases in society

In this episode, Ihklaq Sidhu, PhD and Mike Grandinetti share information about "Global Venture Catalyst", a new hands-on, entrepreneurial education initiative they're launching to provide 500 engineers, technical students, and business school students around the world a transformative experience to work in diverse teams to develop new hight-impact projects.

Today's topics include:

Details about the Global Venture Catalyst, such as what participants can expect to experience or achieve

What Ikhlaq's and Mike's goals are in creating this innovative program and what would make it successful

Why they decided to create this offering

What makes it different from other programs out there

How students can apply and where should they go for additional information

The themes of Ihklaq's book, "Innovation Engineering", and what he was hoping to accomplish by writing it

How Ihklaq and Mike see the pandemic shaping engineering and entrepreneurship going forward, even after normal activities resume

Harvey Seifter is Director and Principal Investigator at Art of Science Learning and the Founder and Managing Director at Creating Futures That Work.

In this week's episode, Mark and Harvey discuss a range of topics related to how the arts can spark creativity in science education and the development of an innovative 21st Century STEM workforce, including:

• The investigative nature of science and the arts and the potential of ABL to foster passion for exploration and discovery in young learners.
• What first led Harvey to the hypothesis that incorporating arts-based learning could spark interest in science, spur innovation, and encourage collaboration in adults
• What Harvey's work found in terms of how the integration of ABL into science education can spur greater interest in the study of science and inspire students to want to learn more about, and potential pursue, careers in STEM fields
• Whether his work includes in its scope what may be happening neurologically to trigger this behavior, and if he has any theories at this point
• Details about the symposia and roundtables he's held at places like the Smithsonian, Illinois Institute of Technology, and California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology
• What fascinates him about his work
• What are the implications, in his view, of the connection between ABL and innovation
• Is art - which appeals to perhaps a different dimension than fact - an example of connection with students through emotion

Resources mentioned in the episode

artofsciencelearning.org

In this episode, Mark and his guests, Mary Woolley, President and CEO of Research!America, and Jenny Luray, Research!America's Vice President of Strategy and Communications, discuss a range of topics related to the health and economic benefits of medical research and how scientists can get involved in developing and influencing public policy, including:

• The recent Day ONE Project policy concept paper, "Modernizing the Relationship between Scientists and the Public", which Mary and Jenny wrote with Sarah Ackerman, PhD, a Science Policy Fellow at Research!America
• Why it's taken such a catastrophic event as COVID-19 for sustained encounters between scientists and the public, particularly since so much of scientific research is publicly-funded and scientific breakthroughs have such a major societal impact
• How this overall lack of familiarity has impacted the level of adherence, generally, to public health measures for containing the spread of the virus that are grounded in scientific evidence such as wearing a mask and social distancing
• Public Engagement (PE) training for STEM PhDs proposed in the Day ONE Project policy concept paper that would include instruction in effective communications with general audiences and policymakers and related skill-building
• The hunger for, and interest in, such training from STEM PhDs -- and Mark's own first-hand experience providing courses, workshops, and talks in these areas to grad students, PhDs, and Postdocs underscoring such interest
• How training in these skills are also more broadly transferable to all types of jobs outside academia
• Research!America's work and priorities and how the response to COVID-19 is an historic example of the value of public-private partnerships -- whether it's about PPE, vaccine development, or other critical needs to respond to the pandemic.
• How the pandemic could influence the conversation around federally-funded R&D

Resources Accompany the Episode

During a Highly Partisan Time in Our Nation, Survey Shows Broad Bi-partisan Support for a Stronger Focus on Science

Press release: https://www.researchamerica.org/bipartisan-support

Survey results: https://www.researchamerica.org/sites/default/files/ReleaseDeckAugSurvey100820-5.pdf

Civic Engagement Microgrants: https://www.researchamerica.org/civic-engagement-2021-microgrant-initiative

Day One Project: https://www.dayoneproject.org/

Modernizing the Relationship between Scientists and the Public:

https://www.dayoneproject.org/post/modernizing-the-relationship-between-scientists-and-the-public

Vote Science Strong: www.VoteScienceStrong.com