A native of Poland, Anna is a 4th-year PhD student in the Biology Department. Her dissertation research is focused on how organisms regulate fat breakdown during fasting or stress. She is a Chair of Communicating Science Conference at UVA. She serves on the Communications & Outreach sub-committee in the Genetics Society of America and Secretary and Cultural Awareness Chair in the Polish Students Association at UVA. She also represents the Biology Department in the UVA Graduate Council.
Anna is exceptionally active in PhD Plus programming. She has participated in the PhD Plus Foundations series, Career Design, Data Literacy, Communicating Research, and Entrepreneurship & Commercialization modules. In the future, Anna wants to promote and communicate science to broad audiences. She would love to work in a science museum or write for magazines that promote science, like Scientific American. Another option is to have her own company that provides science communication training to scientists in academia and beyond.
Q: Why did you apply for the PhD Plus Liaisons Program?
A: I applied for the PhD Plus Liaisons Program, because I wanted to learn more about Science Communication. Under the guidance of my mentor, Marlit Hayslett, I have a chance to create my own Science Communication workshops and reach more students. My second reason to become a Liaison was to actively work to convince other students to participate in PhD Plus workshops, as well as listen to their professional development needs. PhD Plus workshops helped me find my career path, and I believe that many more students can benefit from its offerings as I did.
Q: What are you doing as a PhD Plus Liaison in the context of your department and “Communicating Research” area of focus?
A: I am organizing Research Communication workshops and events for PhD Students and postdocs. I am the Chair of ComSciCon at UVA, which is the first Communication Science Conference at UVA. I am also one of the organizers of Forum for Interdisciplinary Dialogue: Academics and Social Media. Additionally, in the Spring semester, I will run my workshop on how to write articles for non-scientific audiences.
Q: What professional skills are you developing as a PhD Plus Liaison?
A: While serving as a Liaison I want to improve my leadership, organization, and teamwork skills. I believe I will gain all those skills while serving as a Chair of ComSciCon at UVA. I also want to learn how to teach people about science communication by creating my workshops.
About PhD Plus Liaisons Program
The primary role of the PhD Plus Liaisons is to bring the professional training provided by the broader program into specific disciplinary/departmental contexts and to communicate the needs of specific departments and disciplines back to the broader program. Liaisons communicate with students and faculty in their home departments about their peers' professional development needs, helping to gather departmental feedback to be used for the development and improvement of the program and conferring with liaisons in other departments across the University of Virginia. In addition to supporting their fellow graduate students and informing the continued evolution of the PhD Plus Program, Liaisons themselves benefit from sustained access to training, mentorship, and support in a professional focus of their choosing.
Announcement
Over the following months, PhD+ Liaison highlights will provide an opportunity to get to know the Liaisons for Academic Year 2019-2020. Learn more about these PhD student leaders, why they decided to participate in PhD Plus Liaisons program, their professional development goals, and how they are collaborating with the PhD Plus program and their departments.
We will open the Call for 2020-2021 Applications for the Liaisons Program in Spring 2020.