Rona Strawbridge, MVLS
Published: 2 April 2020
Rona Strawbridge, UKRI Innovation / Rutherford Fund Fellowship at HDR-UK (Mental Health & Wellbeing), MVLS
Prior to taking part in the Glasgow Crucible I had not considered, and actually wasn’t aware of, The Conversation... After hearing about The Conversation during the Glasgow Crucible, I decided to promote my latest research by writing an article for The Conversation.
Firstly, this research was on genetics of suicidal behaviour, which is not the easiest subject to discuss in any setting. It was my first real effort at popular science and was challenging because trying to explain what I do in lay language is so alien to me. It was challenging and enlightening, to try to write in a way that I was happy with scientifically, that also met the requirements of the editor. The process was rapid and efficient and the Conversation article was published at the same time as the scientific article was published online.
As well as fulfilling career development aims (which in all honesty was my main reason to write the article), I have found it very rewarding! The article was republished by the Independent newspaper, which I only found out because a my dad’s colleague asked him about it. As a result, I have been asked for an “expert opinion” by a journalist. The resulting article was fine, albeit the headline was horrific (not sure I want to include that article in my knowledge exchange portfolio!). The Twitter response to the headline was, as expected, pretty bad, but being able to signpost unhappy people to The Conversation article was useful and appreciated. Subsequently, my funders also wrote a case study on this research and I have been asked to speak on the subject at the Festival of Genomics later this month, which is a huge opportunity for me to highlight my research. I have never had such interest in my work before (despite publishing some really cool stuff in some of the top journals in my field), so I am confident that this is due to the exposure gained through The Conversation. I would definitely do it again, and consider it a worthwhile use of time. Thanks to the Glasgow Crucible for making me aware of this opportunity!
First published: 2 April 2020