Hey there! I am Priyanka Tiwari pursuing Bachelors in Pharmaceutical Science from Savitribai Phule Pune University in Pune, India. During my undergraduate, I received an opportunity to work on a research project ,because of which I became terrified of ever succeeding as a scientist. Researching papers and understanding the ideas presented in them has always been a herculean task for me. I always wished someone would just explain the gist of the paper. So many like me would benefit from successful science communication.
Science communication ,in my opinion, is about simplification and the effective conveyance of information creatively. While contemplating my future goals, I often asked myself what made me want to have a career in science. The surprising answer that popped into my mind was stories.
My mentor had a peculiar style of explaining things. We were never taught a concept in the traditional way. Instead, we were told the story behind a certain invention. I remember learning about Gregor Mendel’s work from my mentor. He explained to us the circumstances in which Gregor published his work-the detailed experimentation that he undertook, and all the information that was available to him at that time. Slowly, step by step, he would tell us what Gregor’s thought process might have been, and after each part, he would ask us what we would do in his place. Unknowingly, we would grasp the concept at its core and when the class would end, we would know exactly why Gregor came to his conclusions.
That is the power of stories in science communication. Effective storytelling and simplification of concepts can change the way a person perceives a tough concept. As a pharmaceutical science student, drugs and their mechanism of action are a general part of my curriculum. Perhaps learning the thought process behind a certain drug invention can make it easier for me and so many others to both understand and grow in our love for science. This is what I am trying to learn from my experience here.