In May will be the next Pint of Science event!

Pint of Science is an annual festival that was founded by Michael Motskin and Praveen Paul. Every May scientists present their research to a public audience in a pub or a bar. It started in the UK in 2014, and it’s now spread throughout the world, with official events in 24 countries. In 2018, 120 000 people visited Pint of Science events. The events are planned by local teams, which make up the 3000 volunteers.

In this episode I spoke with Pint of Science organizer Elodie Chabrol, a former neuroscience researcher, who is now a full-time science communicator.

Dr. Susanne Tönsmann is managing director of the Participatory Science Academy in Zurich, Switzerland.

There, Susanne provides scientists and non-scientist citizens with the knowledge and training they need to efficiently work together. The core idea behind their work is to have citizens play an active role in science, rather than just paying for it via their taxes. Susanne and their colleagues are trying different methods and formats to make that happen. This job provides a wonderful opportunity to engage the public (“whoever that is”) and to make science more relevant to the many problems that the world faces today.

Susanne thinks that science, scientists and universities have a responsibility to solve real world problems; this should not be a side effect of research, but at the core. However, researchers in academia are mostly rewarded for publications and acquired grant money.

During their week at @SfPRocur, Susanne will discuss how the academic merit system can get in the way of that responsibility, and what could be done to improve things.

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Dr. phil. des. Fanny Gutsche-Jones is Community Manager at the Citizen Science Center Zürich in Switzerland, where she works to tear down barriers between academia and the rest of society. The Citizen Science Center promotes real collaboration between academics and other members of society; not just increased dialogue between the two.

Fanny thinks that anybody should be able to do research about questions that interest them. “Contributing to that in a position where I am at the intersection between academics and non-professional researchers, or those who will become ones, is very exciting and fulfilling.”

In her week at @SfPRocur, Fanny will tweet about ongoing citizen science projects and about the potential for change that comes from public participation in knowledge production.

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Bart and I invited three scientists from both sides of the canal to talk about Brexit and how it impacts scientists and the scientific endeavor. Our guests are Andrew Phillipides (British citizen, and professor at Sussex University, UK), Thomas Nowotny (German citizen, and professor at Sussex University, UK), and Clare Hancock (British citizen, and PhD student at Göttingen University, Germany).

Pilar Vesga, MSc, is a PhD candidate in the plant pathology group at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, where she studies how some bacteria could be used to combat harmful insects and plant diseases. Her work helps lay the groundwork for better pest management, which could eventually help solve the world’s food crisis.

In her week at @SfProcur, Pilar will discuss biological pest control, the food crisis, the role GMOs can play in solving it, and what the alternatives are. As a microbiologist and general bacteria enthusiast, she will also share some of her favorite curious microbes.

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Ever wondered what animal bones can tell us about the past? Or wished you knew a bit more about the ancient lives of animals? If you ever had these very specific, niche thoughts, then do we have the podcast for you!

Arnold Schwarzenegger famously (and half-jokingly) proclaimed that if you need more than 6 hours of sleep, you should sleep faster. Many successful people claim to sleep very little and use the extra time to be productive.

But is this sound advise? I talked with Dr. Lars Dittrich, neuroscientist and former sleep researcher, about sleep.

Lars answer questions like What does sleep do? How is it regulated? What are the side-effects of acute and chronic sleep deprivation? How do I know if I sleep enough? How could sleep research inform policies and business practices?

We support outreach efforts of science communicators, educators, science policy workers, open science community, and other members of the – what we call – Science Progressive Community.

Such projects are usually done by small groups or individuals that can’t afford to invest time into build a following on social media for effective social media promotion.

This is how we can help:

1. SUBMIT AN INFORMATIONAL BLOG POST that links back to you and your project
   
2. ADD SOME PICTURES AND SHORT TEXTS
   
3. WE PROMOTE THE POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA
   
4. PROFIT! 😉

It is free! unless you want us to do some of the work for you 🙂

IN DETAIL, we offer

“If we constantly have to talk to people about why fake science is wrong […], we will not be able to move biomedical research forward.”

Dr. Hillary Stires is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University (Washington DC, USA). She is currently transitioning from cancer research to science policy work.

Hillary is particularly passionate about including patient advocates in the dialogue for the next frontiers of cancer research. She encourages other scientists to consider the patients’ concerns when designing experiments, and hopes to improve patient-researcher relationships by raising awareness in researchers.

During her curation on @sfprocur, Hillary will talk about the scientists’ responsibility to communicate their science with broad audiences. Not only are many researchers and institutes in biomedical sciences funded by the public, there is a lot of misinformation by non-scientists that is slowing biomedical progress.

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Tabitha Moses is an MD-PhD student specializing in translational neuroscience at Wayne State University in Detroit, USA. Her work focuses on substance use and mental health in underserved and stigmatized communities.

She is also interested in understanding the different views of physicians and activists about the rights of people with disabilities, such as deafness or autism. Through her research, she hopes to make long-term changes in our understanding and policy about these issues.

During her curation on @sfprocur, Tabitha will talk about the ways she is involved in changing society. She wants to show that there is always an opportunity to work for the change you want to see in the world, no matter who you are or what your career looks like at the moment.

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