By Brianna Alexander, 3/26/19 Small, delicate and intentional- this is what I remember from the first time I saw a living cell through the lens of a microscope. It was in a dish with a pinkish liquid that I later learned was its culture medium. There were protrusions, matrix proteins, adhesion molecules—all things which I had never heard of before but would later learn about. What are these things? How do they support the function of this cell type? I was in my junior year of college, a new research apprentice becoming quickly captured in the winds of scientific thought. Hi everyone! My name is Brianna. I’m a new writer for the iJOBS blog and thrilled to be on this journey of scientific communication! I am a third-year PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences Cell Biology Program at Rutgers-Newark campus. I am a transfer student, so I am fairly new to Rutgers, in general. There are two things that I have found myself passionate about over the years: 1) science and 2) communicating about it to others. This is quite interesting because I consider myself to be a rather introverted person. Yet when it comes to science, I enjoy engaging with others to discuss what’s being studied all around us! What I love about science is that it has a huge potential to change lives through discoveries. Whether it be a cure for cancer, a device to assist with mobility or a technique for disease detection. To me, science is a platform where curious minds can wander, and skillful hands can discover. It’s where curiosity meets cures and passion meets paradigm. It’s about finding answers that are revolutionary and setting the path that leads to new discoveries. It’s exciting and frustrating but full of hope and potential. One thing I firmly believe is that science should be inclusive. It should not be something that only a certain group of people know or are able to understand and access. With that being said, sometimes it’s difficult to explain why studying a specific protein “X” is important in understanding a disease mechanism, or why developing an advanced model “Y” is best for studying a new surgical technique. Sometimes, when explaining a complex scientific topic to a nonscientific audience, listeners may get lost and lose interest quickly - it’s tough. Nonetheless, it is important that we present our work in a way that is digestible and accessible to others. As scientific research impacts the lives of millions of people directly or indirectly, lucid communication is a great way to generate conversation, collaboration and learning. Speaking about the importance of scientific research, just recently former first lady Michelle Obama in her new book, Becoming, stated, “It astonished me, actually, to see how a big esteemed institution like a university medical center with ninety-five hundred employees traditionally operated, run primarily by academics who did medical research and wrote papers…” Scientific communication is a necessary skill and below I have a list of a few reasons why. 
1. Promotes learning One truth that cannot be denied is that when discussing science in a way that is accessible to others, it helps people to better understand the importance of what you’re doing and promotes learning on both ends. For example, this can be a discussion with a group of chefs on the bacteria lifecycle or even a group of 4th grade children who are learning how batteries operate. When we communicate our science in a way that people can understand, they become interested because they can join the conversation. I noticed this when I was getting a ride home one evening after lab. I was discussing what I study with my driver. He learned about my project, and I learned about a scientific writer that I had never heard of before, Ernest E. Just. This was a two-way learning experience that stemmed from a discussion about science.
- Introduces new perspectives and ideas
The other great thing about talking to people about your science is that they are likely to offer ideas and perspectives that you had not thought of previously. It is not uncommon for a scientist to exhaust themselves with ideas or become overwhelmed with possibilities. Sometimes, talking to someone who has no prior knowledge of the experiment or personal interest in the project can help jog ideas that may be feasible and practical.
- Invites Collaboration
This is a big one. Discussing your science with other people helps to promote the wonderful C-word…. collaboration! Collaboration is essential to the success of any scientific endeavor. Collaborators can help train on techniques, provide access to more resources, provide useful feedback/ advice and guidance to help keep you in the know and on track! In addition to all of these things- collaboration is a great way to build strong connections for future work. This topic is explored more in an article on the PlosOne Journal blog, “Science is the name but collaboration is the game.”
- Helps influence policy
Last but not least, communicating science is important because it can influence policies and laws that affect us daily. If you can explain to someone in political authority what you’ve done and the progress that you’ve made, this may help increase funding for more research in that particular area. For more information on the importance of science in politics, head on over to the iJobs blog and check out the recent article, “From Bench to Congress: The untapped potential of scientists running for office.” We should never underestimate the power of our work. While science may be tough to explain at times, taking the time to communicate it in a way that is clear and concise is a necessary part of our training. We learn, we teach, and we learn. It is an evolution. Science is a platform on which much has been gleaned, yet there is so much more to discover. What we do is amazing and can lead to revolutionary things. Let’s share it with the world! Image created with wordart.com This article was edited by Deepshikha Mishra and Monal Mehta.