In addition to each Alumni Career Paths panel discussion, we ask our panelists several fundamental questions about their fields so you don't have to! Use the answers they've provided below to get a quick take on whether you want to further investigate this career path, learn about the differences between roles and organizations in this field, and as a starting point for informational interviews if you want to learn more:
- What are the responsibilities of someone in your role?
- Is a postdoc required, recommended, useful, or unnecessary to enter or excel in this field?
- What types of experience are important to highlight in your resume and interview?
- What characteristics make someone good at this position?
- What do the typical application and interview processes entail?
- What possibilities do international folks have to work at your company/organization?
Science Communication questions answered in April 2021 by:
Roshini Epasinghe, PharmD
Healthcare Design Strategist at UCSF (UCSF PharmD, 2011)
Karuna Meda, PhD
Science Writer at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (UCSF PhD in Neuroscience, 2017)
Pallavi Penumetcha, PhD
Manager, Scientific Communications at Weber Shandwick (UCSF PhD in Biomedical Science, 2018)
What are the responsibilities of someone in your role?
Roshini Epasinghe
- Work with clients to uncover actionable insights and translating those into meaningful uses of technology
- Researching to understand user behavior and advocate for those needs throughout the design and agile development process
- Create digital products for diverse clinical, research, and underserved patient populations
Karuna Meda
I'm a Science Writer at a University and Academic Health System so a lot of my responsibilities also fall under the role of Public Information Officer. I interview researchers and faculty about their research breakthroughs and write press releases that I place with regional/national/international media. I also write a wide range of stories from in depth features to Q+A on a range of science and clinical/health topics. I also create visual stories, either through graphics or videos, and manage our research social media account.
Pallavi Penumetcha
I am part of the Element Scientific Communications team, which is part of the broader healthcare practice at Weber Shandwick. Our responsibilities vary greatly depending on the account and project, but typically we are involved in making materials (e.g. press releases, internal messaging documents) for data or regulatory milestones, supporting material development for the social and earned media teams, and writing editorials for our clients, which are typically pharmaceutical companies.
Is a postdoc required, recommended, useful, or unnecessary to enter or excel in this field?
Roshini Epasinghe
Unnecessary. Healthcare has so many abbreviations and jargons that my clinical background helps me understand client needs quicker.
Karuna Meda
Unnecessary.
Pallavi Penumetcha
Unnecessary.
What types of experience are important to highlight in your resume and interview?
Roshini Epasinghe
A portfolio of design challenges, my solutioning process, and the final deliverable. Case studies and design challenges are common during interviews.
Karuna Meda
Any science communication and writing background - blogging, podcasting, writing for campus magazine, visual communication like graphical abstracts or videos like Youreka Science. Science communication on social media is also valuable.
Pallavi Penumetcha
Anything related to science communication. Could be a variety of things from written pieces (e.g. a science writing internship, or blog series) to videos to podcasts that shows your ability to turn complex scientific ideas into something that is meaningful and understandable for a particular audience.
What characteristics make someone good at this position?
Roshini Epasinghe
Being willing to be wrong and hear other people's points of view. This can sometimes go against how we were trained.
Karuna Meda
Manages multiple deadlines, able to establish relationships, understand a wide range of scientific and clinical concepts and able to translate them for a lay audience. Able to think creatively.
Pallavi Penumetcha
Critical thinking, creativity and an ability to adapt to changing circumstances (the work environment can be pretty fast paced, because we are at the behest of clients).
What do the typical application and interview processes entail?
Roshini Epasinghe
Recruiter -> Hiring Manager Screen -> On-site interview with panel +/- case study or design challenge presentation.
Karuna Meda
I had one interview with the person I would be serving directly under, and then a writing test where I had write a press release, a social media post about a new paper, and a graphical abstract. Then I had a second round interview with more people on the team.
Pallavi Penumetcha
I got this position via a connection, so there was no formal application, but I did have do a writing test on a topic they provided and then do an in-person presentation on that same topic.
What possibilities do international folks have to work at your company/organization?
Roshini Epasinghe
I work at UCSF and all of the developers in my group are international contractors.
Karuna Meda
I'm not 100% sure about whether our positions in my department are only open to U.S. Citizens. I know that in the University and in support departments to graduate programs there are opportunities for international citizens.
Pallavi Penumetcha
Anyone is welcome to work at Weber. We also have offices in many major cities around the world.
