By Allison Lea

On June 1, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’s (FASEB) Science Policy Committee (SPC) held its Annual Face-to-Face meeting in Crystal City, VA. This year’s symposium focused on communicating science, a topic that has been of recent interest among the scientific community. The discussion was led by FASEB Vice President-Elect, Hudson Freeze, PhD, and speakers included Paul McKellips, Executive Vice President of the Foundation for Biomedical Research, Seth Mnookin, Associate Director of the Graduate Program in Science Writing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Evonne Kaplan-Liss, MD, MPH, FAAP, Director of Advanced Graduate Certificate in Health Communications at Stony Brook University, and Meredith Wadman, BM BCh, Future Tense Fellow at The New America Foundation.

Mr. McKellip explained that scientists should develop a 30-second “elevator pitch” to help raise awareness of the need for increased federal funding for biomedical research. He noted that the pitch should focus on the research and past achievements in science and medicine, relate to the patient experience, and help the public understand the role and promise of biomedical research. He also emphasized the importance of finding a spokesperson to deliver the message on a national level, but warned that most celebrities or public figures are not interested because of the media attention surrounding the use of animals in research. Mr. Mnookin used the public reaction to misstatements about vaccines and autism as an example of the need for effective communication from the research community and discussed the importance of developing a message that counteracts these mistaken beliefs.

Dr. Kaplan-Liss explained that jargon, emotionless presentations, and failure to engage the audience are detrimental when communicating topics in science. Instead, researchers need to tell the story behind the science to share the meaning and implications of their work. She also discussed the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, which provides courses and workshops to MD and PhD students that include media and improvisation training, and learning how to connect with the community.

Ms. Wadman discussed how to tell a story through media. When giving an interview on television, visual effects and body language – projecting warmth, even if the topic is serious – matter as much as the message. For radio interviews, background noises of a working laboratory, for example, can be helpful. She also explained that scientists need to be willing tell their own story or else others – perhaps of opposing viewpoints – will end up telling it instead.

During the panel discussion with the speakers, Dr. Freeze asked what the biggest impediment is to getting the message to the public, and Mr. Mnookin answered that it is very difficult to compete for people’s attention with the constant influx of information that is available 24/7. Dr. Kaplan-Liss explained that transparency is the best approach; remaining silent on an issue can cause suspicion among the public. Others in the audience felt that the message is being told, but just not as broadly as it needs to be. Mr. Mnookin noted that it is important to determine what the difference is between the story that’s currently being told and the one you’d like to tell, and then use that to stand out in the crowd.