What is your current role? Tell us a bit about your work
I am a Chemistry Librarian at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. I teach courses in information literacy and design online educational materials for Chemistry students. I also prepare workshops and organize various outreach activities related to careers and education in chemical and life sciences. My education is in Chemistry. As a Chemistry Professor, I led a research group in the development of dopamine targeting drugs using boron clusters as pharmacophores. Now I use data science to explore topics closely related to publication and educational practices in Chemistry and related fields.
What are you excited about in science communication?
I am fascinated with a variety of ways to communicate science. It is unfortunate that during my career as a chemistry researcher, I was not fully aware of preprints. However, I became very interested in preprints in my librarian role and recently posted my first bioRxiv preprint. I would like to bring awareness of preprints to young researchers at our University and beyond so that they would be able to take advantage of using them while advancing in their careers.
Why did you choose to participate in the ASAPbio Fellow program?
I am very enthusiastic about the preprints. I see this program as an opportunity to connect to people with similar ideas and interests. I also look forward to enhancing my current outreach in promoting preprints to appeal to a diverse audience. I am delighted to be selected as ASAP Fellow!
Ask me about…
…several things. One is crystallography. I used to do a lot of crystallography during my chemistry research career and I am always happy to explore some structure-related problems. You can also ask me anything about the librarianship and about transitioning from being a Chemistry Professor to being a Chemistry Librarian. It makes you see the scientific research from a different perspective and question the traditional practices associated with science communication and scholarly output