SCIENTIFIC LITERACY & THE PRICE OF MISINFORMATION

• How can we achieve this science literacy?
• What are the individual and societal costs of not addressing this issue?

Join us as we discuss strategies and business opportunities for scientific communication, including how the scientific community packages science information, the role of the media in sharing information, and how individuals encounter and react to it.

Join us on Wednesday, September 15, 2021.

This program will be moderated by Nini Munoz, Sr. Electrical Design Engineer for Garmin.

SPEAKERS

• David Robert Grimes, Phyisicist
• Mauricio Gonzalez Arias, Physician
• Michelle Wong, Educator and Content Creator, Lab Muffin
• Jeff Dennis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Public Health, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

DAVID ROBERT GRIMES, Physicist

David is a physicist, cancer researcher, and author. His work encompasses everything from how tumors use oxygen to the impact of disinformation and conspiracy theory on public understanding.

He has a strong focus on public understanding of science and medicine, contributing to BBC,  The New York Times, The Guardian, Scientific American, The Irish Times, The Financial Times, and PBS.

David received the 2014 Maddox prize, and his first book, “Good Thinking – Why flawed logic puts us all at risk and how critical thinking can save the world” is out now from The Experiment Publishing.

MAURICIO GONZALEZ ARIAS, Physician

Dr. González is an internal and emergency medicine physician with a strong passion for human nutrition. For the past 17 years, his primary mission has been to introduce a plant-based lifestyle to Latin America in order to counter the growing burden of chronic disease. Dr. González is an author, international speaker, and creator of the Veggie Power Summit, the largest plant-based medical seminar in Latinamerica.

During the pandemic, he became one of the most influential voices in Spanish-speaking TV news outlets such as CNN, Telemundo, and Univision, and currently collaborates with Latino communities through grants from the CDC. His work in medicine communication has attracted tremendous interest and recently was an invited speaker in the patient safety summit where he was featured along with Bill Clinton, Dr. Thedros, and others. At present, he lives in. NY and will be working at Metropolitan Hospital / New York Medical College.

MICHELLE WONG, Educator and Content Creator, Lab Muffin 

Dr. Michelle Wong is a science educator and content creator with a PhD in chemistry. She debunks persistent beauty myths and explains the science behind beauty products in an easy-to-understand way, to help consumers work out which products are and aren’t worth buying.

She started tutoring younger kids when she was 14, and completed some lab demonstrating, later taking up a teaching fellowship at the University of Sydney during her PhD. After graduating, she taught at Matrix Education, eventually becoming the head of chemistry where she helped write their teaching materials and train teachers.

She started her blog, Lab Muffin Beauty Science, in 2011 during her PhD, as a creative outlet and yet another means of teaching. That expanded into an Instagram account and a YouTube channel, which has now recently become her full-time job.

You can find her work on Instagram @labmuffinbeautyscience, on her blog labmuffin.com and on YouTube at Lab Muffin Beauty Science (https://youtube.com/labmuffinbeautyscience).

JEFF DENNIS, PHD, Assistant Professor, Public Health, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Jeff Dennis is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Applied Practice Experience in the Department of Public Health at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, TX.

He holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder and conducts research in the areas of social epidemiology and the intersection of mental health and criminal justice.

Originally from the West Texas area, he taught Sociology at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin for 5 years. He also spent a year on research faculty in Internal Medicine at TTUHSC. His research explores a wide array of social and behavioral factors as they relate to health and wellness.

MODERATOR

NINI MUNOZ, Sr. Electrical Design Engineer, Garmin

Nini Munoz, originally from Barranquilla, Colombia, obtained her PhD in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 2014. She completed her BS from Cornell as well. She currently works as the fabrication, design, and process integration lead engineer of inertial navigation systems for Garmin International in Goleta CA.

EVENT REGISTRATION INFORMATION