{"id":2357,"date":"2020-05-04T08:14:43","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T08:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/?p=2357"},"modified":"2020-05-04T08:14:43","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T08:14:43","slug":"whats-it-like-towork-in-research-communications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2020\/05\/04\/whats-it-like-towork-in-research-communications\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s it like to\u2026work in research communications?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2359\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2020\/05\/IMG-20200423-WA0010.jpg\" alt=\"Woman smiling\" \/>By Dr Justine Alford, Communications Manager, IGHI<\/em><\/p>\n<p>My journey into research communications was somewhat serendipitous.<\/p>\n<p>During my undergrad in biology I\u2019d become really passionate about HIV. I embarked on a PhD studying the virus in the lab, envisioning my name in scientific lights as I contributed towards a cure. The reality of pipetting minuscule amounts of liquid into test tubes while sporting an oversized bottle green lab coat was far less glamorous.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>I admired my colleagues who had the tenacity to endure the heartbreak of failed experiments, but lab work wasn\u2019t for me. As a distraction from my remarkable ability to contaminate my petri dishes, I\u2019d taken up a hobby of bemoaning poor science journalism in a ranty blog. My thinly veiled sarcasm and nerdy exuberance scored me my first job as a science writer. It was gratifying having an audience larger than my thesis ever managed to accrue.<\/p>\n<p>While I never planned this career path, working in research communications is incredibly rewarding. I get to stay at the forefront of exciting research that\u2019s changing the world for the better, galvanising my inner geek without having to lay a finger on a conical flask. And it\u2019s given me some unforgettable experiences: seeing Stephen Hawking give a talk was a highlight of my life.<\/p>\n<p>I love my role at IGHI because of the sheer breadth of what we do. From artificial intelligence to robot surgeons, mental health to children\u2019s hospice care. Every day I\u2019m learning the new ways in which we\u2019re making a difference to people\u2019s lives, whether that\u2019s the clinicians on the frontline or patients and their loved ones. Working in so many important areas sometimes makes it challenging to succinctly communicate what we do at IGHI \u2013 but all efforts are married by our overarching goal of using evidence and innovation to transform health and care. And it\u2019s my role to help spread the word of this laudable work.<\/p>\n<p>My favourite part of comms is storytelling. As an academic institution, we have a duty to be open and transparent about the work that we do \u2013 but I firmly believe communications should be more than a bland tick box exercise. Creatively building narratives that bring research to life and shine a light on the people behind these amazing advances helps to meaningfully engage people in what we do. Doing so helps to affirm how we\u2019re making a difference while also highlighting areas in need, helping to drive change and inspire action.<\/p>\n<p>My current job is definitely the most varied comms role I\u2019ve had in my career to date \u2013 drafting press releases, organising events, planning social media campaigns, engaging with researchers and writing blogs keeps me busy and never bored. Seeing our efforts pay off by making headline news creates a real buzz \u2013 but that\u2019s still dwarfed by the energy I get from immersing myself around a pool of incredibly talented people who just want to help make the world a better place.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m truly in awe of my colleagues across the Institute and it\u2019s a privilege to be able to work with my team \u2013 Nikita and Nicolette \u2013 to share their stories and showcase their achievements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Dr Justine Alford, Communications Manager, IGHI My journey into research communications was somewhat serendipitous. During my undergrad in biology I\u2019d become really passionate about HIV. I embarked on a PhD studying the virus in the lab, envisioning my name in scientific lights as I contributed towards a cure. The reality of pipetting minuscule amounts [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1013,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[273211],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ighi-people"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What\u2019s it like to\u2026work in research communications? - IGHI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr Justine Alford, communications manager at the Institute of Global Health Innovation tells us about her journey in research communications.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2020\/05\/04\/whats-it-like-towork-in-research-communications\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What\u2019s it like to\u2026work in research communications? 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