About the Toolkit

The CUNY SciComm Toolkit was created to provide tools for honing your science communication skills at every level. We hope you find the guidance and resources helpful in communicating your research to different audiences. This toolkit is a product of the Science Communications Fellowship initiative, a joint venture between the Graduate Center’s (GC) Office of Career Planning & Professional Development and Office of Marketing & Communications. The toolkit was born out of a student-led effort, spear-headed by the developers below.

Funding for the Science Communication Fellowships was generously sponsored by a grant the GC’s Office of Career Planning & Professional Development received from the CUNY Central Office Career Success – Workforce Development Initiative. Guidance and logistical assistance was provided by the GC’s Office of Marketing & Communications.

The Toolkit Developers

GC SciComm Fellows (2020-2021)

Melina Giakoumis

Melina Giakoumis is a PhD candidate in Biology at the Graduate Center. She studies population dynamics of sea stars in the North Atlantic Ocean, using genomics to understand the impact of climate change on marine species. Melina is interested in using her research to inform marine conservation. She is currently a Second Century Stewardship research fellow at the Schoodic Institute of Acadia National Park, where she is surveying the abundance of sea stars in protected areas across New England, and is communicating this science to resource managers, park visitors and the general public. She has always been interested in learning how to effectively communicate science to the public, and is particularly focused on communicating conservation science in the face of climate change. Melina is a native New Yorker who grew up in Queens, and prior to doing her PhD she completed a B.A. in Environmental Science and Anthropology at Adelphi University and a M.A. in Conservation Biology from Columbia University. She also worked as a research technician in the Genomics department at the American Museum of Natural History, where she spent many hours extracting DNA from animal scats and other unappealing materials.

Alyssa Martin

Alyssa Martin is a PhD student in the CUNY Graduate Center’s Neuroscience Collaborative. She studies dopamine circuitry and synaptic communication between neurons and white matter in the brain. Her work aims to understand how dopamine neurons impact white matter development throughout adolescence, and what implications this connection may have in substance abuse disorders. With a background in neuroscience and museum studies, Alyssa is passionate about educating the public about science in interactive and engaging ways and is interested in how scientific findings can impact policy. Her experience as a GC SciComm Fellow has prepared her for work outside of the lab, bringing scientific advances to the people they impact the most, and has inspired her to follow such a career path.

Additional Contributors

GC Office of Career Planning & Professional Development (CP&PD)

Carly Batist

Carly Batist is a PhD Candidate in Biological Anthropology and also a member of the inter-institutional New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP). Her dissertation research focuses on vocal communication in black-and-white ruffed lemurs in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar, where she conducts fieldwork. To learn more about Carly’s research, visit the Primate Molecular Ecology Lab (PMEL) website. In the CP&PD office, Carly plans events and creates resources specifically for STEM students that explore both academic and non-academic career paths in the sciences. Carly is a born-and-bred New Yorker, who grew up fairly close by on the North Fork of Long Island. Prior to starting her PhD, she received a BS in Animal Science from Cornell University and an MS in Primate Behavior from Central Washington University. When she’s not wearing her PhD hat, Carly loves horseback riding, hiking, being on the water and following NYC sports teams.

Joseph Paul Hill

Joseph Paul Hill is a PhD candidate in Theatre and Performance at the Graduate Center. His dissertation focuses on the ways in which disability and d/Deaf theatre companies attract, engage, and educate communities. Joseph has taught intro to theatre, acting, script analysis, and theatre history courses at CUNY and Marymount Manhattan College. In the CP&PD office, he helps manage the office’s digital presence and event promotions. Joseph is a Southern California transplant who, after more than nine years in NYC, still has a hard time adjusting to winter-living. He received a BA in English and Theatre Arts from California State University, Fullerton. Joseph lives in the Heights with his brilliant and charming wife, adorable newborn daughter, and obnoxious chocolate Labrador.

Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC)

Jaquawn Miller

Jaquawn Miller is a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate student at CUNY’s City Tech College where he studies Manufacturing and Robotics. His dream is to design an apparatus that makes water potable in areas that receive little rainfall as well as robots that police litter and trash in the inner-city. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Outside of school, Jaquawn enjoys photography, film, fashion, graphic design and animation.