About Me
Here's a brief snapshot of what I've done, and now do.
I'm a genomics researcher by training.
In 2020, I completed my Master of Science in the Yuen lab, at the University of Toronto's Department of Molecular Genetics. Here, I used DNA sequencing to better understand how changes in our genetic code, such as typos (single nucleotide variants), repeated phrases (tandem repeat expansions), and altered chapters (copy number variants), could lead to different neurological disorders. I then worked as a research analyst at the University Health Network's Epilepsy Genetics Clinic.
I've won various awards, including a U of T COVID-19 Student Engagement Award, and a NSERC Science Communication Skills (Pilot) Grant. I've also received distinctions, including a University of Toronto Student Leadership Award, and was selected as part of the Genetics Society of America’s Presidential Membership Initiative.Here are my academic publications.
Outside the lab, I enjoyed telling stories about science and scientists.
I've spoken about different aspects of my journey in science at 50+ talks and panels, and in different media outlets. I've also held editorial roles, and written about science for various media outlets, including Forbes and Massive Science.
But I noticed common issues pop up again and again, including that scientists belonging to historically excluded communities face systemic barriers when pursuing a career in science; and that science seems to plays a limited role in informing decision-making.
To address this, I've led different science outreach, policy and communication initiatives to help build an engaging and inclusive science culture.
I roll up my sleeves every now and then to help address issues in science:
Wikipedia
To address Wikipedia’s well-documented gender biases, I've led Wikipedia Edit-A-Thons, where I've trained over 200+ individuals to edit over 1,000 Wikipedia pages, which have been viewed over 20.7 million times. (I'm still surprised!)
Science CommunicationThere are various issues when it comes to science communication, including hidden knowledge and limited training opportunities. To address this, I wrote and self-published a Beginner’s Guide to Science Communication Opportunities in Canada, which has been read over 7,000 times.
I co-organized the inaugural ComSciConGTA (Fall 2020) and the second ComSciConCAN (July 2020) workshop series for graduate students, focused on leadership and training in science communication. In addition, I co-developed and taught the Science Communication Toolbox for Researchers program with Dr. Tristan MacLean and Dr. Alana Wilcox.
In 2018, I co-founded the Toronto Science Policy Network (TSPN), a student-run science policy group at the University of Toronto, with Sivani Baskaran, Ellen Gute, Vasa Lukich and Molly Sung. Our vision was to build a platform where trainees, researchers and members of the local community could learn about and engage in science policy.
During 2019-20, I served as the TSPN president. In this year, I oversaw the team as we continued to host events, and led two national efforts:- The #VoteScience campaign: a national non-partisan effort to advocate for science the 2019 Canadian federal elections.
- A national bilingual survey to understand the early impacts of COVID-19 on graduate students across Canada, receiving 1,431 responses. These findings were featured in various media outlets, including Nature Careers.
