Each year, we host a workshop for one semester and invite a speaker for the other! We have also attended symposia and conducted live blogging. For the latest updates about upcoming events, check our Twitter feed or Facebook page, or email us at MiSciWriters.leaders@umich.edu!
2025
Beyond the Bench: Exploring Careers in Science Communication – May 23rd 2:30-4:00PM, OGPS 2955
This panel is designed for students curious about careers in science communication. Hear from professionals who’ve transitioned from academic research into roles in journalism, public outreach, policy, and even National Geographic. Panelists will share how they found their paths, what skills helped them succeed, and what they wish they’d known in grad school. Whether you’re actively planning a career shift or just exploring what’s out there, this session will give you insight into how to turn your scientific training into a powerful communication career.
We ask that you RSVP here so we have a headcount! Food will be provided and additional details are in the flyer below. Please let me know if you have any questions. See you there!
All about Editing (Part 2) – Senior Editing – March 12th 6-7PM, MedSci II 5623
Effective science communication is not developed in a day – but it can start in a workshop. In part 2 of the “All about Editing” workshop, MiSciWriters Editor-in-Chief Ryan Schildcrout will discuss the necessary skills to be a senior editor for MiSciWriters. This interactive workshop is designed to equip participants with strategies for communicating complex topics to lay audiences and developing editing techniques to maximize clarity.
Attendance is required for anyone interested in being an SENIOR EDITOR for MiSciWriters. Note that attendance in both Part 1 and Part 2 completes the training circuit for senior editing.
RSVP Here: https://sessions.studentlife.umich.edu/track/event/session/91069
All About Editing (Part 1) – Copy Editing – March 12th 5-6PM, MedSci II 5623
Effective science communication is not developed in a day – but it can start being developed in a workshop. In part 1 of the “All about Editing” workshop, MiSciWriters Editor-in-Chief Ryan Schildcrout will discuss the basics of copy editing. This interactive workshop is designed to equip participants with the basic skills of copy editing for science communication outlets, including but not limited to the MiSciWriters blog.
Attendance is required for anyone interested in being an EDITOR for MiSciWriters, and those hoping to become a senior editor in the future.
RSVP Here: https://sessions.studentlife.umich.edu/track/event/session/91068
How Poetry can Enhance Your Science Communication – w/ Kate Giffin
Join us for our first ever poetry workshop: How Poetry Can Enhance Your Science Communication on February 18th. This workshop – led by MiSciWriter’s EquilibriUM co-EIC, scientist, and poet Kate Giffin – discusses science writing lessons from poetry. Join us in learning more about the basics of poetry, delving into what poetic tools make poetry so effective, and how poetry can help us think about and communicate science.
Whether you’re a scientist, a writer, a poet, or an editor, this workshop will enhance your ability to communicate in a way that makes a difference.
This will take place on February 18th at 5pm in MedSci II 2817. RSVP at the link here: https://buff.ly/3QkvnEV
2024
Coffee and Careers – with Biology Field Application Scientist, Alisha Gawlik
Join MiSciWriters virtually for a Coffee and Careers on November 25th from 2-3pm EST with Alisha Gawlik! Alisha graduated with her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) from the University of Michigan and will share with us her path to becoming a Biology Field Application Scientist at MilliporeSigma. She will be discussing how she uses the hard and soft skills she learned throughout her PhD and scicomm training daily!
Feel free to forward this information to anyone that might be interested – the event flyer is below! We ask that everyone register for the event using the Sessions link above; there is also a QR code on the flyer if preferred. We look forward to seeing you there!
General Interest Meeting
Interested in MiSciWriters? Join us on September 12th from 6-7pm in Med Sci II 5623 to learn more about who we are, what we do, and how you can get involved!
Coffee and Careers – with MiSciWriter’s Alumni, Brittany Dixon
Join MiSciWriters on zoom for our alumni coffee hour on April 3rd from 4-5pm EST with Brittany Dixon! Brittany graduated with her Masters in Molecular and Cellular Pathology in 2015 and will talk to us about her path to becoming a medical writer at Johnson & Johnson.
Please feel free to forward this information to anyone that might be interested – the event flyer is below. We look forward to seeing you there!
Defining and Redefining a Story: How to edit science writing for the public
Join MiSciWriters for an editing workshop with Katie Vloet, editorial manager at UM’s LSA Magazine, on March 4th at 5:00PM. During this workshop, we will provide aspiring writers and communicators a guide to many facets of editing. Katie will walk us through high-level content editing, when an editor works with the writer on story structure, narrative style, and other core elements; and copy editing, when a near-final piece is refined via fact checking and proofreading.
No previous writing or editing experience is required! Food will be provided – please RSVP by Feb 23rd! This will be an in-person event at University of Michigan, location TBD.
Coffee and Careers – with MiSciWriter’s Alumni, Bri Barbu
Join MiSciWriters on zoom for our alumni coffee hour on January 25 from 4-5pm EST with Brianna Barbu! Brianna graduated with her Masters in Chemistry in 2019 and is now a science reporter at Chemical and Engineering News. She will talk to us about her path from being a chemist to a science reporter!
Please feel free to forward this information to anyone that might be interested – the event flyer is below. We look forward to seeing you there!
2023
Storytelling in Science with Amir Baghdadchi
November 9th at 5:00pm in THSL 5000. What could be more contrary to storytelling than science? The characters are lacking, the process is slow, the dead ends numerous, the material dryly technical, and the emotions — the emotions shouldn’t be there at all. And yet: your process as a scientist already contains the stuff of an engrossing suspense story – once you learn to look at it through the right framework. In this session, we’ll show you how the building blocks of a classic story type everyone loves maps to your research, and how you can deploy it to thrill audiences in presentations, papers, and, of course, parties.
Join MiSciWriters on November 9th at 5:00pm in THSL 5000 for a phenomenal workshop presented by local comedy and speechwriter, Amir Baghdadchi. Amir will take us through the nuances of storytelling and how we can captivate an audience in our own field of work. We hope to see you there!
Coffee hour with Ellen Brennan
April 11 at 3:00 PM EST. Join us on zoom for our next alumni coffee hour with Ellen Brennan! Ellen graduated with her Neuroscience PhD in 2021 and is now a program administrator at NASA. She will tell us about her path from PhD to working at NASA!
You’re a Science Communicator! Now, Change.
Tuesday, March 28th from 3:30-5:00pm. Join MSW in a science communication workshop with Jacqueline Goldstein and learn how to best communicate science to a diversity of audiences.
2022
November 10th from 4:30 – 5:30 PM in Med Sci II Room 3813/3817. Join us to chat with an incredible group of Michigan science communicators from many areas. This will be an in-person event only with masks required.
RSVP is required. Note: you can only RSVP with your UM email. Make sure to open the RSVP form with your UM email. Follow this link to RSVP.
The breadth of experience includes book authorship, podcasting, journalism, and policy. See speakers below.
Monica Dus – Associate professor at UM LSA, nutrigenomics research, podcaster and science writer
Kelly Malcolm – lead research communicator at Michigan Medicine Health blog
Abdul El-Sayed – candidate for MI governor in 2018, visiting professor at Ford (teaching classes including Public Policy Narrative Advocacy and Policy Change), former Detroit Public Health director, author and podcaster
Alicia Comer – UM Natural History Museum, science outreach grants manager and director of the Science Communication Fellows program
Johanna Youghans – Editor-in-Chief of Michigan Medicine’s Health blogs
MeiLan Han – Pulmonary and Critical Care Division Chief, UM Internal Medicine, author of Breathing Lessons, and spokesperson for the American Lung Association
November 2 at 4:00 PM EST. Join us on zoom for our next alumni coffee hour with Rebecca Dzombak! Rebecca graduated with her Earth & Environmental Science PhD in 2021 and is now a freelance science writer. She has written about “the natural world, past, present and future, with a special interest in conservation, ecology, and agriculture” for The New York Times and Scientific American among others. She will tell us about her path from PhD to freelance writing.
April 4. Join us virtually at 1pm for our next alumni networking event, as we host Dr. Christina Vallianatos! Christina who is a former MSW editor and MI DNA Day founder, will discuss her path from graduate school to an outreach career as a Genomics Educator for The Jackson Laboratory.
February 23. We will be hosting Robert Irion for a virtual writing workshop on February 23 at 4-5:45pm Eastern Time! Rob is a science journalist and Director Emeritus / Program Advisor for the Science Communication Master’s Program at the University of California Santa Cruz. During his seminar titled “Science Writing Tips and Tools”, Rob will cover basic approaches to sharpen your explanatory prose, finding hidden gems to pitch as news stories, working with editors and publications, and career first steps. Register for the workshop here.
Optionally, Rob invites participants to email him 1-2 short pieces of science writing (published or unpublished) ahead of time. Submissions should be intended for students or non-scientists (think New York Times Science section or MiSciWriters blog, not academic reviews or original research papers). During the first part of the workshop, Rob will share a few excerpts anonymously to show “before and after” editing tips. Please send samples to him directly by Wed 2/9. To thank you for submitting your science writing for this workshop, we have partnered with the UM SACNAS chapter to give away coffee gift cards to those who submit pieces – make sure to cc misciwriters.leaders@umich.edu on your submission email to Rob so we can get you a coffee card!
2021
November 16. How to Write a Blog (without the overwhelm): Writing a blog post should be fun, not overwhelming… On Tuesday, Nov. 16th at 4-5pm, MSW co-founder and alum Dr. Ada Hagan will walk attendees through the steps of writing a great blog post in a 1-hour webinar sponsored by MiSciWriters. Register here to obtain the link for this virtual workshop. We hope you join us!
October 8. For our fifth alumni networking event and first of the school year, we will be hosting Dr. Isabel Colón-Bernal, former MSW writer, editor, and translator, and current MSW Spanish Language Coordinator! During this round-table discussion, Isabel will talk about her transition from chemistry research during graduate school to her current position as a Technical Writer for Thermo Fisher Scientific. Bring your questions and beverage of choice, and join us for this virtual event at 5pm on the 8th by following this link: https://umich.zoom.us/j/95792177942. Hope to see you there!
April 21. For our fourth alumni network event, former MSW editor and MI DNA Day founder, Dr. Christina Vallianatos, comes to talk about her path from graduate school to outreach career as the Genomics Educator for the Jackson Laboratory. Join us at 5 pm on the 21st by following this link: https://umich.zoom.us/j/98173372858.
Mar 16. For our third alumni network event, former MSW editor, ComSciCon-MI chair, and RELATE-er Stephanie Deppe, Ph.D., comes to talk about her journey into space scicomm all the way from sunny California! Join us with this link: https://umich.zoom.us/j/96555158954.
2020
Nov 13. For our second alumni network event, former editor-in-chief Dr. Irene Park will be taking her lunch in California to talk about going from news, to science, to medical writing! Join us with this link: https://umich.zoom.us/j/99029002207
Oct 30. First of many alumni network events! Dr. Andrew McAllister will be doing a coffee hour meet and greet to let us know how he uses science communication skills in his science policy career. Join us with this link: https://umich.zoom.us/j/99029002207
May 21. Know Your Audience: Research Writing to Reach Non-Specialists with Jill Jividen, the Director of Research Development.
2019
March 18. Personal Branding and Scientific Impact in the Social Media Age, with Dr. Paige Jarreau.
2018
November 7. Writing Workshop with Jimmy Brancho and networking happy hour.
August 25-26. A host of ComSciCon Michigan 2018
March 30. Live blog the RNA Symposium.
January 22. Editing Workshop with Scott Barolo
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