Japan SciCom Forum 2022

Ayumi is Director of the National BioResource Project Public Relations Office, National Institute of Genetics. She co-founded Japan Scicom Forum in 2018 to build a platform that brings together science communicators, press officers and researchers engaging in English-language science communication in Japan.

She has over 15 year of experience in communicating research from Japanese academic institutions such as the University of Tokyo and the Japan Science and Technology Agency. Her primary research areas are institution-level science/research communication in Japan and Asia.

She is also interested in the intersection of science and culture, especially how cultural contexts or the language used confine the science or research being communicated.

Thilina is an Assistant Professor and Director of Communications at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) in Tokyo. His research interests are public engagement evaluation, science & society strategies at research institutions, astrobiology communication, and decolonising science. He heads the ELSI PR Office, teaches science communication for graduate students, supervises science communication internships, and coordinates science and society projects.

Heather Young is purpose-driven communications leaders with almost 20 years of experience in the field. Her expertise spans public relations, media relations, marketing, public affairs, corporate social responsibility, and events.

At OIST, the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, she serves as a vice president where she and her teams work to advance the visibility of the institute’s research and education.

Prior to OIST, Heather held leadership positions at an innovation-focused NGO, a health and safety agency, and the Special Olympics.

Diego Araujo is a scientist-turned illustrator. Through self-learning, he acquired and employed several artistic skills in his work as a scientific illustrator for the Mechanobiology Institute at the National University of Singapore. He is skilled in both traditional (watercolour, acrylics, ink and sculpting) and digital media (2D and 3D), and has created more than 150 figures for academic papers, research grants and editorial covers for several journals. Diego has a great interest in visual storytelling and its role in creating editorial work that engages the audience. His major influences are artists that focus on storytelling and have a strong philosophical approach to their art, and include Hayao Miyasaki, Brian Froud, Iain McCaig and James Gurney. You can check more of his artwork at the MBInsights Annual Archive.

Sara is senior commissioning editor for 360info, a new wire service providing insight from academics to the mainstream media. Previously, she was executive editor for the Asia-Pacific region of Nature Research Custom Media and has worked at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. With higher education qualifications in arts, science and science communication, she started her journalism career on an environmental trade publication, she later became deputy editor of Cosmos magazine, and was also the founding editor of G magazine, a sustainable lifestyle magazine. Her neglected Twitter account is @ms_sara_p

Lauren Sallan is a ‘next generation’ paleobiologist who applies cutting-edge methods from data analytics, ecology, and even engineering to reveal how environmental challenges and the rise and fall of species shape biodiversity at scales outside human observation (macroevolution). Dr. Sallan recently became the head of the new Marine Macroevolution Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). There, she is building an international team of disciplinary scientists from multiple fields to investigate the origins and evolution of marine ecosystems. Prior to joining OIST, Dr. Sallan was the Martin Meyerson Assistant Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Sallan received the Stensio Award for top early career paleoichthyologist in 2015, and the University of Chicago Biological Science Division Alumni Distinguished Service Award for Early Achievement in 2018. In 2019, Dr. Sallan received an NSF CAREER award and became a TED Senior Fellow. Her multiple TED Talks on the evolution of fishes, mass extinction and paleontology have received over 3 million views. Dr. Sallan’s research has been published in high-profile venues such as Science, Nature, PNAS, and Current Biology, and been featured by popular outlets such as The New York Times, the BBC, Forbes, the New Scientist, and the Discovery Channel.

Prof. Shimpuku is a midwife and a researcher in global health, conducting field research in Tanzania to improve maternal and child health. She completed her Ph.D. in Nursing at University of Illinois at Chicago. As a former Executive Committee of the Global Young Academy and a member of the Science Council/Young Academy of Japan, she has been contributing to discussion and writing statements for a wide scope of issues in science and society, such as post pandemic recovery, SDGs, etc. and invited to at the IAP Conference, STS Forum, G Science, and S20. She was recognized as one of the 100 outstanding women nurse and midwife leaders by WHO, UN, and other international organizations in 2020. She was appointed as the Vice President of International Public Relations in 2022.

Elizabeth Tasker is a researcher and science communicator at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). She works specifically with the international outreach for the Hayabusa2 and Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) missions, and writes the “Cosmos” blog for JAXA’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences. Elizabeth is also a member of “The Future of Meetings” (TFOM); an international group of researchers interested in developing better online solutions for meetings.

Yoko takes initiative in promoting media literacy programs for schools and colleges, and also manages some study sessions on the social responsibility of digital platformers. Before joining SMRI, she was a director of a consulting company, an deputy director at Cabinet Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. She holds LL.M from University of Tokyo, MPA from Kennedy School, Harvard University and a Doctor of Policy Studies from National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.

Marcos has experience in coordinating global citizenship-related research initiatives, designing education programs, and supporting collaborative projects with international organizations and educational institutions in the fields of ICT, education and media literacy. Born and raised in São Paulo (Brazil), Marcos holds a BA in Architecture and Urbanism from the University of São Paulo (FAU-USP) and earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in media design from Keio University.

Ayumi is Director of the National BioResource Project Public Relations Office, National Institute of Genetics. She co-founded Japan Scicom Forum in 2018 to build a platform that brings together science communicators, press officers and researchers engaging in English-language science communication in Japan.

She has over 15 year of experience in communicating research from Japanese academic institutions such as the University of Tokyo and the Japan Science and Technology Agency. Her primary research areas are institution-level science/research communication in Japan and Asia.

She is also interested in the intersection of science and culture, especially how cultural contexts or the language used confine the science or research being communicated.

Thilina is an Assistant Professor and Director of Communications at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) in Tokyo. His research interests are public engagement evaluation, science & society strategies at research institutions, astrobiology communication, and decolonising science. He heads the ELSI PR Office, teaches science communication for graduate students, supervises science communication internships, and coordinates science and society projects.

Brian Lin is Director of Editorial Content Strategy at EurekAlert!, a science news-release distribution platform operated by the non-profit American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He has more than two decades of experience as a science communicator, having first interned at a national daily technology TV show in Canada before serving as a press officer at the University of British Columbia, where he helped scientists communicate their research and delivered media training to faculty and students. Since joining AAAS in 2014, he has more than tripled web traffic at EurekAlert! and led the development of a new platform that launched in 2021. His current focus is in expanding access to EurekAlert! in low- and middle-income countries and fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in and through science communication.

Kate Whitfield is the Director of Zeroverse and a Sustainability Specialist at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. Her work focuses on developing and implementing strategies to reduce carbon emissions from the academic research sector, and includes conducting carbon footprint analysis, developing equitable and sustainable travel policies, implementing green lab practices, and engaging professionals and students through a training program accredited by The Carbon Literacy Project. For more information please see: Zeroverse - Home

Niklas Marzinek is a passionate Science Engagement advocates and community builders. As part of the Berlin-based Falling Walls Engage team, their mission is to connect and support established and emerging Science Engagement and Communication stakeholders all around the world to generate mutual benefits for science and communities. He belives in the power and creativity of an international network of practitioners to tackle global challenges together.

Sara Kobayashi is a science communicator in National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan), Tokyo, Japan. Kobayashi has been involved in science communication through a variety of activities over the years; as a PR Officer at the International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS) of the University of Tsukuba, as a freelance scientific illustrator/animation creator, and as a science communicator in Miraikan. Kobayashi enjoys multiple aspects of science communication and works on explaining complex scientific ideas through visual mediums and engagement.

Douglas Keddy has led research communications efforts at Western University in Canada for nearly 20 years; founded Research Communicators Canada to build capacity and connections in the field nationwide; and has served as the first non-journalist president of the Science Writers & Communicators of Canada, which has been our national association of science/medical journalists (and now communicators) for 50 years. Keddy is a steering committee member of Engage Hub Canada.

Shane has been running online school engagement activities since 2002. His flagship project, I'm a Scientist, Get me out of here has connected 100,000's of students with 1,000's of scientists from across the world including the UK, USA, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Kenya and Vietnam. He is passionate about equality, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Mohamed Daoud has a decade of work experience in the field of Science Engagement. He is currently working as a Research Support Officer at the University of Malta managing two EU Horizon 2020 Nature-based Solution projects. Mohamed previously managed many community-led projects to break the wall between science and society, including the initiative The Funlab in Egypt. His work has been recognised to be one of the winners of Falling Walls Engage 2020 and the winner of UK Alumni Social Action Award 2022. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Science Communication at the University of Manchester in 2018.

Edna Muthamia is a PhD research student at Okayama University under a JICA scholarship. She is a young career researcher affiliated to the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya, and a Fellow at Mawazo Institute, a women-led African organization supporting early-career women researchers in a program dubbed Mawazo Learning Exchange (MLex) Program. Edna is trained in Horticulture and her expertise includes research for development of biological pest control products, as well as lead auditing for environmental and sustainable agriculture standards. She is a tutorial fellow/trainer at a Kenyan University. She is passionate about Climate-smart Agriculture, floriculture and green spaces.