How science writing opens minds and opens doors
“For me, a lot of times it comes down to not only the science, but also the importance for the planet and how it’s impacting people’s lives. That’s why I love what I do now,” said science writer Angela Herring Page.
After completing her undergraduate career at Bennington College in chemistry and literature, Page started out as a research technician. While she was fascinated by the work and considered going back to school to get her PhD so she could explore other questions in chemistry, she worried that she would feel stuck if she chose one area to focus on for the rest of her life.
“Science writing was a perfect foil for that, because I could learn about anything I wanted,” said Page.
She began a blog publishing articles based on scientific press releases, which she used to pitch her work to local research institutions. This gave her the opportunity to write articles for places like the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the Broad Institute, a biomedical and genomic research center in Cambridge, Mass. In 2012, Page found a job at Northeastern University as a science writer.
“There was a big push on research when I started,” Page said. “They needed someone to tell all of those stories.”
Page describes her time at Northeastern as a “once in a lifetime treasure of an opportunity.” Her writing took her through many fields of research, interviewing professors all over the university.
“I would find myself one day getting a one-on-one personal science lesson in particle physics, and one day writing about marine biology research,” she said. “I loved learning about marine biology. I met such great people with deep personal missions to study the impacts of climate change and sustainability. They used their gifts as scientists to try to tackle those really pressing global problems, and I loved that.”
Page describes her time at Northeastern as a “once in a lifetime treasure of an opportunity.” Her writing took her through many fields of research, interviewing professors all over the university.
Now, Page writes in a different capacity. As the Communications Lead for the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH), Page plays an important role in helping to advance the mission of this international consortium which is working to create standards and frameworks for international genomic data sharing.
Genome sequencing has become more affordable and feasible around the world. “Five years ago, they were talking about tens of thousands of genomes for research studies,” said Page. “Now, they’re talking about millions of genomes being used all across health care systems.”
In order for this genomic data to be used to advance precision medicine, Page explains, it needs to be compared to other genomes across nations and ethnicities. The GA4GH works to create standards that institutions around the world can use so all genomic data is being collected, stored, and analyzed in the same manner.
As the communications lead, Page has launched a new website where she tries to write one story per week on the importance of data sharing. She also helped produce and launch the organization’s five-year strategic plan, which was released in October 2017. For that project, she coordinated leaders from all over the world expressing their confidence in and goals for GA4GH. Page said this type of collaboration is one of the best parts of her job.
“My favorite thing about science writing in general is working so closely with brilliant people,” Page said. ”To learn from them but also to have a voice in how their work is communicated — it’s a very empowering experience.”
Her work at GA4GH involves a lot of moving parts, but the end result is always worthwhile.
[…] science writing is a career that has the ability to give access to endless other careers in science […].
“My role makes it possible for the organization to function and succeed,” she said. “I feel like I’m contributing to the world for a good purpose, and people’s lives will be made better because of my work.”
She said that science writing is a career that has the ability to give access to endless other careers in science, and Page advises young science writers to remain open to every opportunity.
“Don’t necessarily decide right now what you’re going to be when you grow up,” she said. “You never know which connection will be the unexpected thing that could change your life.”
