A Powerful and Personal Journey in Scientific Research

This week's episode features an interview with Tyler Parsons, Ph.D.,  a medical scientist with strong communication and leadership skills. Tyler has presented and won research awards at university, state, national, and international conferences and is passionate about translating complex discoveries at the bench into understandable, tangible science to reach a broader audience for the ultimate goal of clinical application and improving patient outcomes. Tyler also has a personal connection to his current research, a topic we explore during the episode. Additional topics discussed this week include: The unusual career journey Tyler has charted so far, starting with his interest in being a lawyer focused on intellectual property, and how he found his way from his focus on a legal career to being a Postdoc at Washington University School of Medicine First in his family to graduate college (not including his siblings), and then to earn a Ph.D, Tyler responds to my hypothesis that strong science communicators often are part of the first generation in their family to graduate college Challenges Tyler has experienced in sharing his research with general audiences, even as a seasoned and skilled science communicator Tyler's experience in speaking to, and entertaining, audiences as he was growing up Tyler's experience in public policy, including as a leader in student government activities. The key success factors - and pitfalls to avoid - Tyler has  encountered during his science policy activities Tyler's recent powerful and inspiring LinkedIn post that connected the two of us and the story behind it