Samantha Yammine
Samantha Yammine | |
---|---|
Other names | Science Sam |
Alma mater | University of Toronto |
Known for | Science Communication |
Website | www.samanthayammine.com |
Samantha Yammine is a Canadian Science Communicator and PhD candidate at the University of Toronto.
Education
Yammine is of Lebanese heritage and was the first in her family to pursue a degree in science. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Toronto, with a Specialist in Neuroscience and Major in Cell and Molecular Biology. She is a PhD candidate in the Department of Molecular Genetics researching in Derek van der Kooy's Neurobiology lab at the University of Toronto.[1] She researches activation and quiescence of neural stem cells and the fate specification of their progeny using clonal lineage tracing and single cell transcriptomics strategies.[2][3][4][5]
Career
Yammine is a popular science communicator. She worked privately as a math and science tutor for many years, and is a Teaching Assistant for Introductory Neuroscience and Genetics courses at the University of Toronto. She began science communication online doing the tweets for the Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine during the second year of her PhD.[6] Her primary platform is Instagram (@Science.Sam), where she shares pictures of brain cells, laboratory equipment and local science events to tens of thousands of followers.[6] Yammine created this account to increase transparency and communication between scientists and the public, and she now has one of the largest Instagram accounts run by a scientist sharing research from a lab.[7] She also communicates science via Facebook and Twitter.
In August 2017 she joined a group of science communicators to launch the Scientist Selfies project, a crowd-funded experiment using social media to test whether scientists sharing science through selfies on Instagram are rated differently in terms of warmth, trustworthiness, and competency.[7][8] Using the hashtag, "#ScientistsWhoSelfie", the international and interdisciplinary team raised over $10,000 and collected over one thousand images from across the world.[9] Yammine is very interested in how science communication can be done strategically and efficiently to advance access to science, and science literacy and policy.[10]
She was an invited speaker at the 2018 USA Science and Engineering Festival and the 2018 Science Writers and Communicators of Canada.[11][12] She has been profiled by several online platforms, including CBC Television, Plenty magazine, Signals, Thermo Fisher Scientific.[13][14][15][7][16][17][18][19] She collaborates with artists to make science more engaging to broader audiences, including Tjallien de Witte, who illustrated astrocytes Yammine grew in her lab.[20] She has also worked with calligrapher and engineer Jennifer Ma, and scientist and illustrator Maria Abou Chakra.
Yammine is an up-and-coming science video host and producer, and was recognized as such by the World Congress for Science and Factual Producers in 2017.[21] She has appeared as a science expert on several TV shows, including Secrets and Science on Leafs Nation Network, and When I Grow Up on TVO kids. She produced and hosted a web series with GE Canada highlighting unique careers for Women in STEM.[22]
In March 2018, Science magazine published a personal essay by a PhD candidate that critiqued academia’s readiness to celebrate Yammine’s and others’ use of Instagram as a way to correct for systemic gender biases in STEM fields.[23] The piece was met with frustration from many other researchers, communicators and journalists.[24][25][26] Yammine is passionate about science policy, equitable access to science education, and equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM, and she has contributed to several online blogs to discuss efforts towards improving these matters.[27][28][29][30][31]
References
- ↑ "Derek van der Kooy Lab | Neurobiology | Research University of Toronto". sites.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ Reeve, Rachel L.; Yammine, Samantha Z.; Morshead, Cindi M.; van der Kooy, Derek (September 2017). "Quiescent Oct4+Neural Stem Cells (NSCs) Repopulate Ablated Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein+NSCs in the Adult Mouse Brain". Stem Cells (Dayton, Ohio). 35 (9): 2071–2082. doi:10.1002/stem.2662. ISSN 1549-4918. PMID 28733998.
- ↑ "My PhD Research". samantha yammine. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ Reeve, Rachel L.; Yammine, Samantha Z.; DeVeale, Brian; van der Kooy, Derek (2016). "Targeted activation of primitive neural stem cells in the mouse brain". The European Journal of Neuroscience. 43 (11): 1474–1485. doi:10.1111/ejn.13228. ISSN 1460-9568. PMID 26946195.
- ↑ Samantha Y (2016-10-28), Samantha Yammine OIRM Pitchfest 2016 Audition, retrieved 2018-04-09
- 1 2 "The power of science communication". The Varsity. 2017-09-24. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- 1 2 3 "This U of T PhD student is fostering public trust in science, one selfie at a time". University of Toronto News. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "To Selfie or Not to Selfie - How Can Scientists Foster Public Trust on Instagram?". Experiment - Moving Science Forward. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "Building trust in scientists one selfie at a time | University Affairs". University Affairs. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "When Science Meets Communication – Samantha Yammine talks social media and modernizing research engagement". Scientista | Women in STEM. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "Science Writers and Communicators of Canada - 2018 Program". sciencewriters.ca. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "Samantha Yammine | USASEF". USASEF. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "Scientists Performing Inspiring Science | Thermo Fisher Scientific". www.thermofisher.com. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "The Power of Science + Social Media: An Interview with @Science.Sam | Plenty the Magazine". Plenty the Magazine. 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "Right Turn: Considering a career in science or engineering? | Signals Blog". www.signalsblog.ca. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "The Node and beyond–using social media in cell and developmental biology". Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology. 70: 90–97. 2017-10-01. doi:10.1016/j.semcdb.2017.05.009. ISSN 1084-9521.
- ↑ "How to Build a Brain with Samantha Yammine". Real Scientists. 2016-07-10. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "Superwoman in Science: Samantha Yammine". 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "If science had a Nike commercial, there is no doubt that Science Sam would be its star". Raising Nerd. 2018-01-08. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "🔬 samantha yammine on Instagram: "This beautiful drawing is today's (late) #ScienceSunday post. It was done by the talented Tjallien (@brimstodial), a fine artist whose…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ Docs, Hot. "World Congress of Science & Factual Producers". www.wcsfp.com. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ GECanada (2018-04-05), Be What You See: Explore possibilities for Women in STEM ft. Rebecca Kresta from GE Aviation, retrieved 2018-04-09
- ↑ "Why I don't use Instagram for science outreach". Science | AAAS. 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "Scolding female scientists for embracing Instagram doesn't solve the gender gap in STEM". The Verge. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "Why We Scientists Do Instagram". FromTheLabBench. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "Scolding female scientists for embracing Instagram doesn't solve the gender gap in STEM | | Infiniti". Infiniti Cloud Solutions News | Technology News & Products. 2018-03-16. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "Regeneration at your fingertips … literally. – The Expression". The Expression. 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "The slippery slope of genetic ethics". The Varsity Magazine. 2015-11-22. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "The science of funding science". The Varsity. 2015-11-02. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "Science in brief". The Varsity. 2015-10-05. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ↑ "Meet the PhD student who makes science accessible through social media | CBC Radio". CBC. Retrieved 2018-04-09.