When Science Speaks

In this week's episode, Matt Yako, M.Ed., CEO and Founder of Inner Circle Career Coaching LLC shares his insights on a variety of topics related to finding your dream job, staying plugged into the job market even while you're in your current position, and more, including:

- How Matt made a major career change while simultaneously finishing his Masters degree and starting a family and strategies he found helpful as he moved through this challenging period in his life

With his own experience starting Inner Circle Carer Coaching, how Matt would you suggest listeners pursue interests - or even potential career opportunities - beyond their immediate speciality while still fulfilling their research responsibilities

Details about Inner Circle Career Coaching and how he helps his clients

A common career mistake he often sees, and what job seekers should be doing instead

How COVID has impacted job negotiations, in terms of the importance of factors such as work-from-home arrangements

One thing listeners could do right away to make themselves a stronger job candidate, even if they're not currently looking for a job

This week's episode features Melanie Kitzan, Ph.D., J.D., Associate General Counsel at Alpine Immune Sciences. We discuss issues related to similarities and differences in the way lawyers approach their work compared to scientists, how Melanie operates effectively across scientific and legal cultures, and related topics such as:

How Melanie incorporates both the data aspects of decision making that are part of her responsibilities and also emotion, which is a key element of argument and negotiation

An example of when the tension between these two dimensions was particularly striking to her

A major challenge facing many scientists is how to translate the complexity of their work into accessible, engaging terms while maintaining accuracy without "dumbing it down" and how Melanie achieves this feat - making the complex both comprehensible to non-experts and also compelling

The value of relationship-building in her professional life and the keys to developing productive professional relationships, in her view

On this week's episode (link in comments), Holly Falk-Krzesinski, Ph.D. shares her mindset and approach to career advancement, including topics such as:

- How she moved forward from being the first in her family to graduate college (and grad school), to her college experience and extended internship in industry, and then grad school where she earned her PhD

- What Holly thinks were the key attributes or attitudes she had during this journey that made her successful and the greatest challenges she overcame

- The career transitions Holly made from Postdoc to Non-tenure Faculty to Research Development Professional and then to broader initiatives such as founding a national organization for research development professionals, serving as Editor-in-Chief at AWIS Magazine - Association for Women in Science - and further stops down the road to her current position at Elsevier

- How Holly was able to navigate the often difficult maneuver of transitions so successfully

- What Holly means by "service leadership", the term she uses to describe her leadership style, and why she thinks it's effective and fulfilling

- How Holly views the interrelation between the set of critical-thinking and scientific discovery skills in Ph.D. training and her work at the bench during her PhD., and how she puts these same skills she learned in academia into the various roles throughout your career to date

- What Holly calls her "Rocket Fuel for Success"

In this week's episode, John Fraser, President of Burnside Development & Associates, discusses academic technology transfer commercialization and start-up formation and financing as well as related topics such as: - The economic impact of academic-licensed products and misconceptions - and even complete blind spots - many people have about university-based research - Common qualities or expertise successful founders have, and those traits that John's seen again and again that tend to doom a startup - For university-based researchers listening interested in entrepreneurship and launching or joining a startup, the types of training and experiences they should out - For university-based scientists either making the transition to industry or getting active in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, some of the mindset shifts necessary to be successful in the business environment - What researchers in universities should know BEFORE they decide to make the leap to translational research and commercialization activities - Key strategic and tactical steps that should be taken - and which missteps avoided - when a university decides to make commercialization activities more prominent on its campus

This week's episode features Dr. Vicky Sherwood, an expert medical writer producing a wide range of communications materials supporting scientific publications and events. She's also a Ph.D. in molecular virology, a consultant with her own firm helping STEM researchers with resources to make informed decisions about their professional futures, and the famous "Biomed Badass" - a freelance blogger writing about career development for STEM researchers. We discuss a range of topics such as: Vicky's professional journey from a Postdoctoral Fellow and Lecturer to an Expert Scientific Writer at a major multinational pharmaceutical company Lessons Vicky learned along the way that could be instructive for listeners Vicky's current role - her focus and responsibilities The transition to industry, and how she was able to navigate it successfully Vicky's popular online course for those interested in taking a professional journey similar to hers Things she wishes she'd known during her time in academia before she set out on her career path to industry What listeners contemplating such a path can do now to better prepare themselves for the trip

This week's episode features Dr. Nadine Bongaerts-Duportet, whose professional passion is discovering the possibilities of engineering life at the smallest scale and designing cells with new functions. We discuss a range of topics related to genetic engineering and synthetic biology, science communication, and related topics such as:

How Nadine developed her expertise in both navigating the complexities of synthetic biology and also communicating about them in engaging terms accessible to general audiences

How Nadine communicates with the public or other non-expert stakeholders about the often emotional topic of synthetic biology without "freaking out" her listeners

Her research on tuberculosis and antibiotic resistance

The startup she joined after getting her Ph.D. - its mission and her role

How Nadine thinks the French government (she's based in Paris) has handled the severe challenges associated with the pandemic and her assessment of the French public's level of compliance with government-imposed public health mandates

Information about the organization Hello Tomorrow, which is focused on deep tech

The projects Nadine is working on and what pieces of work she is particularly excited about

On this episode of When Science Speaks, Liane Clamen, MD, an ophthalmologist and the Founder and CEO of Adaptilens, discusses her invention, an intraocular lens (or IOL) that imitates the human lens so patients will have near, intermediate, and distance vision without eyeglasses or contact lenses, as well as other topics such as:

- Her professional journey from majoring in English and American Literature as an undergrad at Harvard College to graduating from Harvard Medical School.

- Whether she feels being an English major in medical school posed any special challenges, and, alternatively, was it an advantage compared to classmates' academic training that didn't include writing and communication backgrounds?

- Liane's recent designation by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center as a 2021 winner in the MLSC's Massachusetts Next Generation Initiative (MassNextGen), a competitive program to support women entrepreneurs in early-stage life sciences companies.

- How, as an inventor, Liane can imagine novel ways of achieving improved results and, as an entrepreneur, how she's able to actually implement them.

- Why she's drawn to ophthalmology?

- Advice Liane has for those who may be thinking about joining or launching a startup, including whether there are any particular resources she suggests

- What's next for her company, Adaptilens, and whether Liane has any non-work related goals for 2022

Seema Yasmin, M.D. is a medical doctor, poet, professor, and professional debunker.

She's Director of the Stanford Center for Health Communication and a clinical assistant professor in the Stanford University School of Medicine. Yasmin teaches science journalism and global health storytelling and studies the spread of microbes and misinfodemics.

Seema is the author of the new book, Viral BS: Medical Myths and Why We Fall for Them.

In this episode, we discuss a range of topics related to how to combat misinformation, make professional transitions, tell high-impact stories, and other issues such as:

What Seema has found to be a useful approach and attitude to help her move through phases of her professional life

Her new book "Viral BS" and Seema's realization that to improve public health, she had to train as an expert storyteller, "combining narrative with medicine to make people care"

As a medical doctor and communications expert, how Seema developed talent in both the scientific and storytelling domains and how scientists unaccustomed to communicating with general audiences can sharpen their storytelling skills

What Seema means by using medical knowledge about fighting viruses to inform communication strategies for combatting misinformation, including what is meant by the "pre-bunk" approach she mentions in the book

The importance of empathy in countering misinformation and why Seema uses this approach and whether she thinks empathy, generally speaking, is used enough in our efforts to short circuit viral BS

Seema's comment in the book that "Whatever you think of facts, facts alone are not enough" to persuade", the writings of Aristotle more than 2,000 years ago about the need for emotion and credible, respected speakers to move audiences - not only facts - and why Seema thinks it sometimes seems we have to learn the same lessons over and over when we seek to persuade

In general terms, how Seema sees the interplay between politics and disease-fighting - including her own experiences outside the U.S.

Looking ahead - with the disparities in vaccination rates and the rise of the Delta variant of SARS CoV2 - whether Seema thinks there are any lessons from campaigns to respond to misinformation during the earlier waves of the virus that we should be - and maybe already are - applying now and whether there's anything we should be doing now to respond at this moment in the pandemic that would be more effective than what were were doing during our earlier attempts to quell the spread of the virus

In this week's episode, Rebecca Zucker, an experienced and respected coach working with C-suite executives and other senior leaders across the globe at clients such as Amazon, Clorox, Dropbox, Google, among many others, discusses key career challenges, including:

Her own early career path and how she pivoted towards her true passion

The mission and focus of Next Step Partners, the leadership consulting firm at which Rebecca is a partner

An area of Rebecca's expertise - how to cope with feeling overwhelmed - and some of the signals that might surface suggesting you're experiencing overwhelm

Key strategies that might help listeners overcome and break out of circumstances that are overwhelming

"Impostor Syndrome", which stalks many high-performers, and similarities between overwhelm and Imposter Syndrome that could indicate ways of combatting overwhelm also may be an antidote to Imposter Syndrome

Other "anti-overwhelm" strategies that could be effective, particularly with the new workplace norms being cobbled together right now to deal with COVID

Dr. Joe Shrand is a psychiatrist who works with adults as well as children and adolescents. After a career in theater, he went to Medical School and is now Board Certified in Adult Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Addiction Medicine.

Joe is an Instructor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Chief Medical Officer at Riverside Community Care in Dedham, Massachusetts, Founder and President of Drug Story Theater, as well as an author of several thought-provoking and innovative books, including "Outsmarting Anger", a valuable resource with seven innovative, yet remarkably uncomplicated, strategies to help turn powerful anger impulses into positive, success-oriented actions.

On this episode, we discuss a range of topics related to anger management and respect, including:

– What motivated Joe to transition from theater to medicine?

– The mission and activities of the non-profit Joe founded, Drug Story Theater.

– The roots of our anger reflex and Joe's innovative book "Outsmarting Anger"

– How to quickly get control of your anger

– Using respect to counteract anger