Have you watched science TV shows and wondered what makes good TV in the world of science? How do you engage the largest possible audience? How do you balance accurate information with comprehensibility? How are the topics, presenters and narrative are chosen? Our communications ambassador Laura McCaughey was fortunate enough to learn the answers to these questions while working at the ABC for a week.
Read MoreTips from one our communications ambassadors, Rhys White, a PhD candidate in the Beatson Lab & The Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, The University of Queensland.
All of us face networking opportunities throughout our careers. From institutional social mixers to (inter)national conferences, symposia to workshops. In most instances, building networks can be crucial and even life changing. Don’t panic, I don’t know anyone who finds networking easy! Yet, introverts are repeatedly told to act like extroverts?!? Hopefully this blog post will come in handy at your next networking opportunity.
Read MoreIn today’s world, simply doing science is not enough, we must also communicate it. Science communication involves sharing, educating, and bringing awareness to scientific topics. Scientists are passionate about expanding knowledge and solving problems; however, we struggle to communicate our research findings outside of specialised scientific audiences. An important part of our job though is communicating our findings to individuals in other fields, government and policy makers, and the general public.
Read MoreHere our communications ambassador Christopher Stubenrauch, a post doc at Monash University, shares his thoughts on research metrics and impact.
Picture a ‘sliding doors’ moment, where in one scenario I publish in Nature and in the other I publish the same article in a (seemingly) “lesser” journal. To a funding body, that is all the difference in the world, but you and I know there’s no real difference…
Read MoreFor National Science Week our ASM communications ambassadors shared their journeys on social media using the hashtag #stemgotmehere. Here, Rhys White shares his journey into STEM and microbiology.
I had a placement with my Bachelor of Science at Cardiff University to Danau Girang Field Centre in Borneo. I saw deforestation and helped with rehabilitation by planting trees. We tracked primates using UHF downloads and radio telemetry, supervised primate surveys, field courses, and night walks. I developed my science communication skills at this time through co-writing newsletters.
Read MoreThis year I was very fortunate to receive the Millis-Colwell Award from the Australian Society for Microbiology (ASM) which supported my attendance to the American Society for Microbiology’s Microbe conference and a two-week research visit to Professor Deborah Hung’s laboratory at Harvard University. I was very excited about this trip to the US, encountered many excellent researchers and was inspired by their impressive research programs. So here I would like to share my experience with our community of microbiology researchers.
Read MoreFor our two plenaries, Noah Fierer shared what the microbial ecology of our homes can tell about us, and Sarah Gurr detailed the fungal plant pathogens that threaten native species and agriculture around the world.
In the evening Tilman Ruff AO delivered the Rubbo Oration and stunned us with the state of the world’s nuclear arsenal, yet gratified us as we heard the efforts of ICAN to establish a Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons - earning the organisation the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. Afterwards, delegates dined, drank and danced at the stellar Rubbo celebration.
Read MoreDay two started early for those attending the Nancy Millis Mentoring breakfast, and was filled with many great talks including our plenaries by Alan Landay and Karen Carroll, the recipients of the ASM Nancy Millis Student Awards from each branch, and the recipients of the ASM Frank Fenner and ASM Jim Pittard Awards.
Read MoreAttendees started to arrive on Sunday afternoon to the Adelaide Convention Centre, a central location with a beautiful view of the River Torrens. After picking up their conference booklet, registration tag and greeting friends they moved into the theatre to an acknowledgement of country and welcome to delegate by ASM President Dena Lyras.
Read MoreASM endorses the recent consensus statement signed by 30 scientists that documents the role and global importance of microbes in climate change biology, and calls for their immediate inclusion into research, technology development, and policy and management decisions.
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