Octopus researcher Meg Mindlin on science art and video for social media

This grad student livestreamed her thesis and created a platform for her research and science communication online.

What’s it like to be an artist and scientist? Meg Mindlin studies octopuses, shares videos for Instagram Reels and TikTok. And, she’s a talented artist who helps people communicate science in engaging way. I felt lucky to attend her thesis defense live on YouTube. And in this interview I learned that she found her grad program because she attended another student’s live thesis defense and was like that’s research I wanna do. How cool is that?

We talk about her research, dealing with the political spectrum when speaking up on social media, and sharing her art online. Scroll down to check out Meg’s art! 🎨

Meet Meg Mindlin, artist and researcher

Jennifer: Hi everyone. I am Jennifer Van Alstyne. Welcome to The Social Academic Podcast. I am so excited because my friend Meg Mindlin is here. She is an artist, a scientist, and someone who is really good at social media. Not just good but curious about it, and I thought she would be a great guest for The Social Academic. Meg, would you mind introducing yourself and a little bit about your research for people?

Meg: My name is Meg Mindlin. I am a scientist and an artist. I research octopuses and this molecular mechanism that they do called A-to-I RNA editing. I study specifically how ocean acidification impacts this product, this mechanism and what they’re changing as a result. I also do a lot of science communication on the internet where I frequently combine my artistic background with my science and make it all pretty and nice.

Jennifer: Would you be open to sharing a little bit about your artistic background? Because I feel like you don’t just work in one medium. You are a talented artist in a variety of areas.

Meg: I was always art first. I think my earliest memory is my first day of preschool where my parents were trying to say bye to me and I was just like, “I don’t need you. I have my notebook and I have my pens. Please leave me alone.”

I’ve been doing art for as long as I can remember. I really thought my whole life I was going to be a full-time artist, or a full-time, I had a lot of different ideas of what I wanted to do. For a while, I wanted to do animation and then graphic design. I played around with a lot of things. But eventually once I hit high school, I had been kind of doing art as a career. I would do album artwork for bands. I did graphic design for, we had a uniform in high school, so I made all the school’s club T-shirts and things like that.

I had been doing it as a career for a couple years and then that in combination with AP Studio Art. I was making a painting every week. I just kind of hated it. I realized that I lost a lot of my passion for it. It no longer was a thing that I was doing for myself. It was now a thing that I was doing for others and that kind of sucked all the joy out of it. And I decided that I didn’t want to do art anymore. Instead of applying to art schools I had planned, I decided I wanted to go into marine biology. I’d always loved the ocean. My AP Studio Art portfolio was all ocean-based and I was like, “Screw it. I’m going to go do this because I don’t know what else I would do, but this is the next best thing.”

I didn’t do art for a few years. It took me about two years to even pick up a sketchbook again and get going at it because I was just tired of it. And then, yeah, I kind of found a way to merge the two together. I think I was never going to be able to get rid of art. It’s so central to who I am as a person, to how I deal with things, how I communicate. I’m just always going to be an art kid. And so when I got into science, it was just so easy for me to bring my science or bring my art into science. There was a need and I felt like it made my communication better and it just made everything I talked about more engaging and I don’t know how I would do anything without it at this point.

Art for science communication

Jennifer: I love that. Okay, the science, it does make it more engaging, but there’s so many people who I feel like don’t have your talent. They don’t have the artistic capability to create what they envision in their head, but they can work with someone like you, right?

Meg: Oh yeah, totally. There’s a lot of different initiatives I’ve seen that have tried to connect artists with scientists. I think University of Oregon does work with their art majors to create little comic books for the science, It’s so cool. There’s definitely ways that you can connect with an artist and help translate your work in a more beautiful way, but I think even it is pretty easy to teach yourself some fundamentals of design.

And Canva is so accessible and easy that I really feel like there’s not an excuse to not do better in terms of presenting your work in a more aesthetic manner. You just need to know a few things, how something looks nice on a page. There’s whole websites that will give you a color palette that looks well together. I feel there’s just so many resources out there nowadays that you can learn it yourself and you don’t need to learn how to draw. You just need to learn what makes things look nice together, like dividing things up in thirds and how to organize space. And it’s just very simple things that I feel anybody can learn.

Jennifer: I love that. So if you’re listening, you can build your capacity to really reach more people, but also create your own creativity for expressing your science or your research. And right now, I wanted to mention that on Friday I have a Website VIP day with a research lab. I designed their website. It’s been up for a while and one of the things that I love about them is that they collaborate with this artist. They had this artist do their logo, do a flyer for an upcoming symposium, and now they have new art that represents the research they’re creating in new areas. And I think that collaboration doesn’t just happen like one-off. Sometimes it is a partnership that can last over years. I think that’s really beautiful.

Meg: No, it’s so beautiful and even now I’m thinking about it. There’s this new organization that just popped up and I don’t remember the name, but I remember lindzeamays_illustration, who’s also a scientific illustrator and was a scientist at one point, too. She helps run it and literally its whole purpose is connecting scientists with artists to sort of bridge this communication gap. It’s great. I wish I could remember the name of it.

Jennifer: I’ll look it up and anyone who’s listening later can see it in the description.

Meg: Yeah! No, it’s fantastic because also, you build a connection with an artist and they really get to know you and what you do, and that just helps you even further of creating things that really get to what you’re trying to communicate with your work. Artists just know it. They see it. I feel like that’s what made me a better science communicator, is having the art background because you just have the brain for it. We’ve been training our brains to think this way for so long. You know what I mean?

Jennifer: I’m so glad that I had you on to have this episode. This is perfect.

Meg: I’m so glad you asked me. Just to spend time together.

Jennifer: Oh, I know. I miss hanging out with you.

Subscribe to The Social Academic blog.

The form above subscribes you to new posts published on The Social Academic blog.
Want emails from Jennifer on building your online presence? Subscribe to her email list.
Looking for the podcast? Subscribe on Spotify.
Prefer to watch videos? Subscribe on YouTube.

Livestreaming her thesis defense

Jennifer: One thing that I felt really honored to be able to do this year was to attend your thesis defense, and I loved how much of your original art you put into that. What was that project like?

Meg: It was probably one of the most frustrating projects I’ve ever done. Mainly because my master’s thesis was built off of, it was a continuated project from two other graduate students, and I was kind of mainly just making it work. And putting all, it was entirely troubleshooting, so it was probably one of the most frustrating things that I’ve done, but incredibly rewarding, which is why I love science so much. You slam your head against the wall, but eventually you get to the cool point, the results, and then you’re like, “Oh my God, wait. I actually found some things and they’re cool.” And I think from the get go, I had already been experimenting with how to communicate RNA editing because it’s complicated. It’s a molecular mechanism, people hear about DNA and RNA, and all of their knowledge goes out the window. Nobody remembers that from high school.

I only picked one result and I built a story behind it, which was my advisor’s advice because originally I was like, “Oh, I just have to present everything.” And he was like, “No, you don’t have to present everything.” And that’s where the fun came. I was like, “Oh, okay, I’m literally just telling a story. I love to do that already.” And I had been thinking and understanding the subject for so long that it was like I’m naturally visualizing it in my head, so let me just put it on paper.

Jennifer: That creativity is already happening. Even though it’s extra work, you already know it’s worth it.

Meg: Yeah, I already know the subject. I know a lot about it. I think about things visually already, and in creating a presentation or a PowerPoint, you are like, “Man, I really wish I had this one graphic that would really sum it all up,” because nobody has graphics for what I do. My field is brand new. Nobody has a graphic. And so I was like, “Well, I just have to make my own graphic.” And I drew them, but I think I could get it done even without having artistic skill. I really think, there’s so many things. Canva, you could put some Canva figures together and it’d be fine. I mean, there’s BioRender out there. It’s kind of crazy what scientists have access to in 2025. But yeah, it was just all about creating a story, building a narrative, and then doing it in a way that kept people’s attention because I’m talking about something that’s typically really boring and goes over people’s heads.

Jennifer: Yeah, that’s interesting because, I mean people were really engaged. When people say livestream, sometimes the chat is friends and family who are listening and supportive, but they don’t always understand the content. And I really felt all the people who were in the chat felt welcomed to participate, were curious, and because you were so good at telling the story, they were able to follow what you were talking about in a way that created opportunity for engagement. I was so happy to see what potential there was for this kind of livestream.

Meg: No, yeah, and I think that’s the thing really, from my own personal experience getting into this, tapped into it because people hear about it and they’re like, “Oh, that’s cool, but I don’t know anything about this.” And I’m like, “If we can approach it from a way where you keep that cool factor,” or you’re like, “Oh, this is cool.” You keep people’s attention and then meet them where they are. I’m going to have to explain some things, but I can do it in such a way that it’s entertaining and it’s engaging. And I think art plays a central role in that because you have to, if I just had a white screen up there with text, people would be like, “Oh my god, what is this lady doing?” But I got pink graphics. I put some jokes in there. I made some cute little things. I did it in such a way that it was, people are going to pay attention a little bit more than they would otherwise, learn some new things. And then you’re like, “Oh, wait, I can understand this. I do. I’m following it. I just needed to be reached in the right way with the right support and the right tools.” That’s why I love teaching RNA editing because it’s like, “You are capable of knowing this. You just have not been reached in the right way to really pique your interest.”

Jennifer: I feel like some people aren’t open to doing the work, but you found that doing the work was naturally happening for you, but also that it was valuable and worth it.

Meg: Oh, definitely. Because it does take more time, but the final product is so much more rewarding. To know that people understand what it is you’re talking about. And I just love that. It’s a challenge to me almost. And I think I’m really happy. The very first research lab I was ever in in undergraduate, our first task was to learn how to explain our research to our grandma. And I am so thankful that my undergraduate advisor did that because I just think it’s so important. And we were working on complex stuff too. I was doing RNA editing research in undergrad, and I did learn how to explain it to my grandma. But you also have to get them, whoever you’re explaining it to, have an open mind. To be like, “No, you can. I know this seems huge and out of your worldview, but you can understand it. I really promise you. It’s not the most difficult thing ever.”

Jennifer: What prompted you to think livestream? Was that something that was pre-planned or did you have this idea kind of last minute?

Meg: Well, I think it was already planned out because my advisor does the YouTube livestream. That’s how I first came in connection with him, is the original grad student who did this project was livestreaming his thesis defense and one of-

Jennifer: Oh my goodness!

Meg: Yeah. I was reaching out to people trying to figure out graduate programs and one of them, I think it was Dr. Kerry Alberton, was actually, “I know this man who’s grad student is doing RNA editing and I think his thesis defense is tomorrow,” and sent the link. And I literally watched it and then at the same time emailed Kurt and was like, “Hey, I want to be in your lab and I want to do this.” So really it wasn’t my idea. I knew that he was going to do it. It’s not, not everybody does it. They can choose not to, but I’m at this point, I have the platform I want.

Also my parents and everything, people who couldn’t come to Washington and watch. I wanted them to see it too. And so I was just like, “Yeah, let’s just put it up on YouTube.” And I was so nervous beforehand. I honestly did not, I didn’t really broadcast it to my social media. It was sort of, “If you want the link, reply.” Then I chose, I was like, “I don’t know.” I didn’t want to send it to everybody, but it went much better than I anticipated, and now it’s still on YouTube, which is fantastic. It makes really great, just for me, networking to be like, “Here you go. Here’s my thesis defense.”

‘Am I an influencer?’ Meg’s social media platform

Jennifer: I really appreciate that. Now you have quite the social media audience and it has brought some negative things, but also some amazing opportunities too. Tell me about what social media is for you as someone who I would, you’re an influencer. What’s it like?

Meg: Am I an influencer? I don’t know.

Jennifer: Well, you influence conversation even if you’re not thinking about it monetarily. I mean, you really start conversations, you make people think in beautiful ways.

Meg: Yeah, it kind of was a thing that happened out of just boredom, which to be fair, I think that’s how all my social media presence has happened because I’ve been doing things on the internet since I was a child. I just didn’t have my name associated with it. And I think it was more so I really loved science communication. I had gotten my first whiff of it in my undergraduate and I just adored it. So it kind of came to, I graduated from my undergraduate. I was really struggling to try to find PhD programs, graduate programs because I graduated in the middle of COVID. I was working a job I didn’t like, and I was just, “I want to talk about the things that I want to talk about.” And I just did it, which was a really big step for me because even though I now have this platformand people are always like, “Oh, you’re so good at it,”

it was so out of my comfort level because any internet content I did was anonymous with no face. It was just, I had my username, I made stuff. I never showed my face on the internet. And being in front of the camera, doing the whole influencer thing, so out of my comfort zone. It’s still weird to this day. And then, yeah, it’s just even more weird because your face is online and I’m like, “Oh, golly gee, everybody knows I do this.”

Because in the beginning I was only TikTok and I just didn’t tell anybody about it, was just having a grand little time in my secret TikTok account. But yeah, it’s grown a lot, which is bonkers to me still. But it’s fun nonetheless, I really value connections I make with people and the different types of people that I meet. And I met my best friend on the internet. I’ve met multiple best friends on the internet. I love the internet, I love the community it brings, but now being front and center and putting myself out there in a way that’s very outside my comfort zone. So the influencer thing, I’m like, “Oh God!”

Jennifer: Sorry, that turned gets people sometimes.

Meg: No, but I think I’m horribly awkward and just kind of slightly embarrassed of it still. It took maybe two years for the undergraduates I taught to be, “I found your Instagram, why didn’t you tell any of us that you did this?” And I’m like, “Oh, please don’t talk to me about this. This exists on the internet and the internet alone.”

Jennifer: I love that. That’s so interesting. So it sounds like you were always a faceless account. When did you start on social media?

Meg: I mean, I started my science communication stuff maybe a little bit over three years ago.

Jennifer: Wow.

Meg: Cause it was like the end of my undergraduate degree. Yeah, it was about three years ago. In terms of when did I start my internet content era? I was making YouTube videos at 10 years old.

Jennifer: Just a kid. Amazing!

Meg: And it was all art. When Instagram first came out, I had an Instagram account and I built that up really quickly with my art on that platform. And so that was kind of the first maybe social media. I don’t know if YouTube and DeviantArt really counted as social media at the time.

Jennifer: I would say that counted. There was a good, it was interactive.

Meg: It was, and you felt so famous in the early days of the internet. I remember I had a thousand followers and it felt like every single one of them were talking and interacting with me. And I was like, “Wow!” I was like, “These are all my friends!” And now-

Jennifer: Talk about an engaged community. That kind of reach is unheard of these days.

Meg: It was literally, and I’m so sad because I was so embarrassed of my previous content creation online that I deleted all of it. I never wanted anybody to see the light of day. But I remember the comment sections under my YouTube videos and really talking and chatting with people and having these whole, I just loved it. I loved it so much. I miss the early days of social media so badly because even the Instagram account I had, I built it up to a hundred thousand followers just from drawing other scene kids. It was so immersive and you really got to know all the members of your community. To this day, I have friends that followed me all the way back there and they knew me at 13 years old drawing scene kids. It’s just so wholesome and so nice.

All the weirdness that I feel putting myself out there, all the community that comes from it and the connections that come from it are a hundred percent worth it. I’ll embarrass myself on the internet any day as long as I can keep this community and connection alive. You know what I mean? I just want to talk to people.

Landing on the wrong side of the internet

Jennifer: And you are actually, you’re someone who I really admire when it comes to talking to people. That brings me to my next question, which is about with so much reach with the content you create that there are negative reactions and sometimes those negative reactions are ones that you want to engage with. And I had Dr. Walter Greason on the show and he talked about how engaging with negative reactions felt like something he was called to do. I’m curious about how you feel?

Meg: I mean, the negative reaction, it depends on the type of negative reaction overall. There’s different types of negative reactions. There’s ones that can be sort of like a learning opportunity, and there’s ones that are just mean-hearted and people being, “Oh, all that metal in your face. Really? Are you the expert?”

And it’s like, bro, this is 2025. A nose piercing is not a crazy thing to have, but in terms of deciphering out of, is this something worth engaging with, I do engage with the negative step every once in a while because it’s just I may not reach them, but somebody else who comes across the video and maybe has a similar opinion or didn’t know something, I’ll reach them. Which I think that’s the best thing about all of it is there is more opportunities to reach other people that are maybe in the middle or maybe just aren’t very knowledgeable about whatever it is.

I mean, especially with, I think the last video that popped off in London on the wrong side of the internet was just a video I made in solidarity with the other grad students right now. The audience was very specific. It was for early career scientists in the US who are going through it because I’m also going through it and we got to let out our emotions a little bit sometimes, but that landed on the wrong side of the internet and it was just filled with misinformation about science in America.

And so in those instances I’m like, “I’m not going to change your mind, but maybe there’s some information that other people don’t know about how science works in the US.” And then I’m going to engage with negative comments and things like that. I will say I’m a bit argumentative, so sometimes it’s not always good for me because I love to win and I love to argue, but in general it can be a good time. But if you see me in a comment section, I’m sorry.

Jennifer: Oh, actually I have a question about that because I feel like when I have received negative reactions in the past, just one of my posts went viral. I got a lot of negative reactions. It was about how academics and researchers should be paid for speaking engagements if they are invited, especially if they a corporation or a keynote, something big. People did not like that. I got lots of negative reactions. But I also got so much support from my community, support from friends, people reached out, people were in the comments fighting for me. Do you find that your community is like that?

Meg: Oh, definitely. When my stuff ends up on the wrong side of the internet, which tends to be Instagram more than anything else, there will be my friends fighting in the comments and standing up for me.

I think that’s really what I love most about it, is your little community comes together and tackles the problem with you because at first it is overwhelming and you’re like, “Oh my God!” I mean, really my thing about it is I don’t care if anybody tries to come at my expertise or undermine my knowledge or takes jabs at me. When it’s the most heartbreaking is like, “Oh my God, people believe this stuff. This is really your opinion about scientists in America.” That breaks my heart. But then as many negative comments as there is, like you said, you do reach the community you want to reach and there are people in there sharing their stories, sharing their perspectives, sharing their struggles.

To me that’s all worth it. I can get thousands of negative comments, but the hundred that are like, “Oh my God, I’m going through the same thing. Thank you.” I am so glad to hear that. I’m not glad to hear you’re struggling, but that other people are in the same boat and that I’m not alone in this. And ultimately that’s my goal. If I get more hate comments than the supportive comments, the hate comments push me to more of the supportive community I want to reach at the end of the day. Whatever. It really is the community connection that is still there regardless of haters in the comments.

Subscribe to The Social Academic blog.

The form above subscribes you to new posts published on The Social Academic blog.
Want emails from Jennifer on building your online presence? Subscribe to her email list.
Looking for the podcast? Subscribe on Spotify.
Prefer to watch videos? Subscribe on YouTube.

Grad students on social media

Jennifer: There are so many grad students who feel like, “I’m not ready,” or “I haven’t done enough,” or “I don’t know how to do the things.” What advice do you have to share with grad students about social media?

Meg: I mean, it’s hard because I’m in the same boat as them. I am going through the same things that they are. I’m experiencing the same things that they are. And it’s hard for me to sometimes give a position of advice when I feel like I’m struggling with the exact same things. I think overall though, because even as a scientist graduate student, the number one thing that you hear from others about, “Oh, you’re doing online science communication,” is “Aren’t you so worried about your career prospects? This is not a thing that’s going to be beneficial to you. This is only a thing that’s going to hurt you. It’s going to hurt your career chances.” You’re going to get judged by. I just constantly would receive that feedback that was just like, this isn’t a thing that you should be prioritizing.

It doesn’t put yourself forward. And for that, I say if you really care about an online social media presence and connecting with the community, spreading knowledge, doing science communication, I think that’s always going to be a priority over some supposed downsides that you may face because there probably is a chance that my job projections are maybe a little bit affected by being an online science communicator. There’s always that chance. It’s what I’ve been told. But at the end of the day, I think that any job I take, if they had a problem with that, it wouldn’t be the right job for me. It just wouldn’t. I, at this point, online science communication is so important to me and it’s something that I enjoy so immensely that if there’s going to be negative effects, I feel it’s just not the right place for me then because it feels so crucial to who I am and my morals and my values to partake in this endeavor.

If a company or a job prospect doesn’t understand that, maybe that’s not the place where your skills and your knowledge will shine. For graduate students that are uncertain about partaking in the endeavor, you kind of have to accept that there may be downsides that maybe you even aren’t aware of. I get a lot of old people trying to tell me that social media is going to destroy me, but how much do old people really know about the social media landscape and job prospects in this day and age? Not much. And so if it’s something you’re passionate about, you do you. I think it’s great to be conscious of what you put on the internet. I’ve definitely put some things out there that they made me laugh, but were they something that I want a prospective job, employment to see?

Maybe not, but also at the same time it gets buried rather quickly. And I think if you have fun with it and it fits in your values and your morals of the importance of science and education, that’s always going to reign supreme. And if you’re scared of other people’s reactions to it: One, do they have any idea of what they’re talking about because I’m sorry, old people do not understand how social media interacts with jobs at this point. I don’t think the fearmongering over social media is the most relevant thing anymore. You’re just doing science communication, man. It’s not like you’re cussing and yelling at strangers on the internet. I think it’s just kind of a silly thing that people do and they’re like, “Okay, whatever.” But yeah, I’d say just go for it. What are you waiting for?

For me, I was waiting to do science communication until I felt like I was at a level of expert to be, “Oh, I have now earned the title to be a science communicator in the public. I have enough knowledge and expertise.” And I think that’s not even, just start somewhere. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be your ideal title that you want before you start this because you got a lot of learning to do either way. It’s not just something that you’re going to be good at from the get go. You got a lot of learning to do, and you can do that learning now and build your skills now. So then when you actually come out of your graduate program, you’re in a much better, more competent place. You built those skills at the same time. Yeah, that’s what I’d say. If it’s something you’re really passionate about, just do it. Just do it. We need more science communicators, more scientists who are science communicators, one hundred percent.

Science communication skills are good for grad students

Jennifer: That makes me really happy. And earlier when you were talking about what people have said to you, negative things about your job prospects when it comes to science communication, I was kind of shaking my head because I hear the exact opposite.

First, I hear that people at high levels, especially in the sciences, they need communication skills, but they are celebrated and promoted because they have them. That hiring managers love when you bring more skills to the table, even if you don’t use all of them in your work, you can support the team just by your knowledge. It’s really interesting to me that you’ve heard a lot of that advice. I don’t even hear that from universities anymore. A lot of universities would like their scientists and researchers to be more open about communicating the research impact that they have. And, how their students are already supporting their communities and really creating things that can be lasting. At least in the conversations that I’ve been having with universities, this is not necessarily the case.

So, if you have that opinion that your graduate students should not be practicing science communication, that they should not practice their writing and storytelling skills or maybe even express an artistic interest for incorporating into their research, I want you to reconsider that. I really want you to reconsider that because there is space for both.

Meg fit both in, and her platform helped her get mentioned in The New York Times. There are opportunities.

Meg: There’s so many opportunities. Everything that I have gained recognition for is because of my online science communication, and it’s been a great networking thing and everything. I think some people are just old and don’t understand the value of science communication. I mean, there’s some other scientist professors who don’t see the value in science communication. I think especially in the field that I’m in, in cephalopods, and animal research, they can see a lot of downsides and potential dangers to putting that sort of content on the internet. But I think at the end of the day, more and more people are valuing science education. And I think it’s just kind of a tired, old belief because no matter what, people are going to have social media. And I feel if you see a potential candidate’s social media and all they’re doing is science education, that looks much more favorable than just some personal page.

And it’s like, “Okay, whatever. Here’s that button.” I don’t know. I get both. I do feel I’m constantly though, fighting the narrative that is, ‘This is going to harm me and I shouldn’t be doing this.’ And it’s just kind of so frustrating because I see the value in it. I know other people see the value in it, but there’s people outside the field that only see social media as a harm and not a good. It’s really difficult to explain the environment that I’m in and why the social media thing can be good to people who only see social media as a harm.

Jennifer: I guess it helped that your advisor is already on YouTube.

Meg: Oh yeah. Kurt’s the best. I mean, that’s part of the reason I chose him is because of how much he loves science communication already. But yeah, I think the tides are turning. I think older professors are sort of understanding the value of science communication more and more. It’s definitely still common, especially when I was applying for grad schools. I had somebody tell me, don’t be surprised if you get rejected because of your science communication. And I was like, “Oh, okay.” I think that narrative is going away, but it is still there and I feel you do still get it, and you kind of have to think about it and not everybody’s advice needs to be taken too seriously.

Jennifer: Yeah, fascinating. I mean, I’ve helped research labs bring on graduate assistantships specifically for science communication. This is really, I needed to hear your story and your experience. Thank you for sharing it with me.

Meg: Well, I mean, I love hearing from you. That there’s so much importance in this, so that’s great.

Jennifer: Yes, yes, there is importance in this and there is things that we can do to change.

If you’re a professor who’s listening to this and you’re like, “Oh, okay, my grad students can be on social media. They can do more, but I don’t know how to support them.” There’s tons of resources to help you on The Social Academic.

There’s also people like my last guest on The Social Academic, Lily Rosewater from Pitch Science. She is an Australian Science Communicator, and she actually offers done for you science communication. So if your lab is like you’re too busy to do it yourself, you need someone who can do that content machine for you. There’s ways you can get supported in that process. I want you to know there’s options for you if you are like, “I don’t have capacity to do it myself.”

Meg: Yeah. That’s good to know. That sounds like a great little resource.

Jennifer: Meg, is there any way that your offering ways folks can work with you on science, art, or anything

Meg: I should do that. No, not currently. I mean, I’ve had a few commission pieces from labs of wanting things done. I’m really bad at advertising myself, so I should do that more. I think, yeah, I should do it more. I guess if anybody sees this and needs somebody, now you know. But yeah, I’d love to do it more.

Jennifer: Amazing. I’m so glad that you came on The Social Academic to chat with me today about your social media, your online presence, but also how your art and research are tied together. Is there anything you’d like to add before we wrap up?

Meg: I think every scientist should take an art class. I guess that’s what I have to add. Take Art 101, learn some color palette and color theory and design just for fun. And I think it would really help not only better presenting your work in a more aesthetic and engaging manner, but also training and working a side of your brain that will help you in your scientific endeavors. Because learning how to be creative will always help in science, and there’s no better way to learn how to be creative than to pick up a paintbrush and start doing a little art.

Jennifer: Meg Mindlin, how can people connect with you after this livestream?

Meg: Yeah, so I am everywhere on socials as @invertebabe. Instagram just has a little dot underneath between @in.vertebabe because someone stole my username. And if you need some science, art, just slide in my DMs.

Jennifer: Thank you so much for joining us for this episode of The Social Academic. I’m Jennifer Van Alstyne, and this is Meg Mindlin. I hope you have a good rest of your day.

Subscribe to The Social Academic blog.

The form above subscribes you to new posts published on The Social Academic blog.
Want emails from Jennifer on building your online presence? Subscribe to her email list.
Looking for the podcast? Subscribe on Spotify.
Prefer to watch videos? Subscribe on YouTube.