Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science Will Offer Workshops

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 26, 2016) – Representatives from the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University will be on campus June 2 and 3 to host sessions for scientists, researchers, clinicians, professors, fellows, students and staff on effectively communicating about science to people outside of your field. Plenary sessions, which are free and open but require an RSVP, will be held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on both days in the Pavilion A Auditorium of UK Chandler Hospital.

UC San Diego workshop, Jan. 2015 from Alan Alda Center on Vimeo.

Established in 2009, the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science works to enhance understanding of science by helping train the next generation of scientists and health professionals to communicate more effectively with the public, public officials, the media, and others outside their own discipline. The mission of the Center stems from the belief that scientists have a responsibility to share the meaning and implications of their work, and that an engaged public encourages sound public decision-making. The ability to communicate directly and vividly can also enhance scientists’ career prospects, helping them secure funding, collaborate across disciplines, compete for positions, and serve as effective teachers.

The interactive plenary sessions will help professionals in the sciences learn to better distill their messages by speaking clearly and vividly about their work and why it matters in a way that non-scientists can understand, by finding common ground with an audience, speaking at diff­erent levels of complexity for different audiences, and answering questions about your scientific work.

“We all have our own jargon, whatever discipline we’re in,” said Victoria King, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and career development director for the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science, one of the sponsors of the event. “And we all need to be able to communicate, beyond that jargon, with people outside our field — whether we are speaking with patients, media, policy makers, donors, students, or community members .”

Afternoon sessions, which are not open to the public, will be held for junior faculty, K awardees, T32 trainees, and students in the MD/PhD and Clinical and Translational Science Training and Education programs.

“Part of our mission is training, education and mentoring, and being able to talk about what you do is an integral skill,” said King.

The event is also sponsored by the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) program and the MD/PhD program.

If you are interested in attending the plenary session on June 2 or June 3, reserve your place by emailing ccts@uky.edu and indicating which day you’d like to attend. The deadline to RSVP is Tuedsay, May 31, 2016. Light breakfast will be provided.

MEDIA CONTACT: Mallory Powell, mallory.powell@uky.edu