Graduate Student Association

The Jefferson College of Life Sciences (JCLS) and the Graduate Student Association (GSA) are dedicated to providing well-rounded experiences and professional development opportunities to the JCLS community, as well as the extended Jefferson community. The research conducted by JCLS students is both important and inspiring. These research studies may profoundly influence the lives of friends and families, as well as policy-makers, school-age youth, taxpayers, future employers, and other constituencies. However, in an effort to become disciplined in communicating with peers, scientists can be caught up in jargon — subsequently losing the capacity to share compelling research with scientists outside of their discipline, as well as with the general public.

To help in these efforts to improve the communication of scientific research by JCLS students to a general audience, the GSA coordinated the Jefferson 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition for JCLS PhD and MD/PhD students in the spring of 2019 and the summer of 2020. In 2023, the competition was re-launched as a Science Slam, which includes JCLS MS, PhD, MD/PhD, and P4 students and Jefferson postdoctoral fellows.

In the fall of 2019, the GSA partnered with JCLS, the Department of Marketing and Communications, and the Office of Professional Writing, Publishing, and Communication to host a year-long series of monthly workshops, devoted to developing science communication skills and inspiring a passion for science outreach. In the fall of 2023, the series switched to a "do-it-yourself" model, where students, postdocs, faculty, or staff could participate in science communication activities at Jefferson or elsewhere. By attending, presenting, or organizing these events, participants can earn points towards a digital badge through Credly. The digital badge contains metadata specific to each participant and links to deliverables. The badge can be listed on resumes and online profiles to showcase the attainment of science communication skills.

All scientists have a responsibility to communicate their work in a way that ensures the audience understands their research, elaborate its benefits, contributes to the growing body of scientific knowledge, and advocates for advancement support. The ability to convey new and complex research developments — whether person-to-person or through multi-channel social media platforms — is a skill that must be actively cultivated and refined by all.

More information is available by emailing SciCommSeries@jefferson.edu.

• Story District
• Jefferson Academic Outreach Programs
• ASBMB: The Art of Science Communication 
• Science Sketches
• Write a blog article for the JCLS Admissions website – send submisson to Marc.Stearns@jefferson.edu