I always enjoyed talking about science with friends and family. But I only truly realized how important it is for scientists to communicate science to the public in an accessible manner during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a scientist who was privileged to have access to information that was not easily accessible by the public, I felt it was my duty to share what I know with my community. I took my first step towards science communication at the end of 2020.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines explainer video
I shared my first explainer video in December of 2020. It aimed to explain the how the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines worked, and rebuttal some of the misinformation spread throughout the world. I used adobe aftereffects, adobe illustrator, and adobe audition. All of which are programs that I never worked with prior to this video. I spent many hours learning and trouble shooting and getting frustrated. However, the result was worth all the hard work. I shared the video on my Instagram page where it got over 600 views. It got shared by my department from Qatar University as well as by my friends and family. So many people reached out to me telling me they enjoyed the video, and how it made them a bit more comfortable with mRNA vaccines.
*Note: the video is in Arabic
COVID-19 and Vaccine Q&As with Experts
In May of 2021, I was fortunate to be selected among the 50 participants of ComSciCon Canada (The communicating Science workshop for graduate students). This 2.5 days workshop is meant to be a mini bootcamp for sciences communicators. As part of the program, we submitted SciComm pieces which later got evaluated by professionals in the field. I was extremely excited about this workshop I created a new COVID-19 Q&A session, where I interviewed experts and asked them to clear common misconceptions about the vaccine. Although getting the academics on board was quite the challenge, the experience in itself and the feedback I later received was more than I could ask for.
Experiment demonstration for undergraduate students
In December 2020 I volunteered to be filmed while performing an RT-qPCR experiment for students who were unable to attend lab courses in person due to the pandemic. I also assisted in post editing the video. The demonstration is very detailed and walks the student through the entire process, starting with 1) getting the starting material (RNA isolation from macrophages), followed by 2) cDNA library preparation, and ending with 3) running the actual RT-qPCR reaction.
RT-qPCR demo
Science communication Courses
I grew passionate about science communication and therefore took a couple of McGill courses in science communication where I learned, and continue to learn, more about community outreach, effective communication, policy etc.
I also picked up the basics of using illustrator to create the artworks I need sometimes to fully deliver an idea to an audience. You can find some of my artworks here.