Please provide a brief biography about yourself. This may include what you do for work, what you study, what projects you’re involved in, or what you are passionate about. Maximum 700 characters (~100 words).
During my 6 years as a UCSF postdoc I have been deeply involved in open science advocacy, as an Ambassador for iBiology and ASAPbio, as a producer for the podcast Carry the One Radio, as a committee member of the Science Policy Group at UCSF, and as part of the Mozilla Science Lab community where I am co-developing a Preprint Journal Club Starter Kit with Daniela Saderi. Open = fair and honest, which are at the core of who I am, therefore, my passion for Open Science runs deep. I am particularly driven to bring the art of research back to the science itself and, through preprint advocacy, help remove the pressure to comply to Impact Factor culture. Let’s make science fun again!
In your own words, tell us why you are interested in Open Access, Open Education and/or Open Data and how these issues relate to your work. If you are already working on these issues please tell us how. Maximum 1400 characters (~200 words).
I became aware of OpenCon when Gary McDowell invited me to speak at OpenCon SF (2017). This was a life-changing event as I met Danielle Robinson and Kirstie Whitaker (Mozilla Science Lab fellows) who invited me to speak at the mini-WOW-PDX meeting; this led to my first experience of working open. I am now immersed in the open community and all thanks to the OpenCon satellite meeting. I want to attend OpenCon Berlin to empower other open science advocates, like I was after OpenCon SF. My drive for OA stems from a passion for open flow of science from the bench to the public. As an iBiology Ambassador, a Carry the One Radio podcast producer, and a co-organizer of the Bay Area Science Communication MeetUp group, I am dedicated to promoting Open Science Education and the training of scientists to become better communicators. As a researcher, I have struggled with the unfairness in which we reward and incentivize scientists, through publication Impact Factors rather than actual research impact. I was naturally drawn to ASAPbio and I’m committed to promoting their goals: to accelerate open and rapid access to scholarly works by promoting the integration of preprints into Biology. From Day 1, I have been a dedicated ASAPbio Ambassador, co-hosting town hall meetings and representing ASAPbio at various conferences.
The biggest goal of OpenCon is to catalyze action to advance Open Access, Open Education and Open Data. Tell us what ideas you have for taking action on these issues, and how you would use (or are currently using) your experience with OpenCon to have an impact. Maximum 1400 characters (~200 words).
I have long been pro-open but, to me, this meant open dissemination of finished products. My eye-opening moment stemmed from the OpenConSF satellite meeting where I met Danielle Robinson and Kirstie Whitaker. They invited me to the Mozilla mini-WOW in Portland and this opened my eyes to how science should be done. At the meeting, I was introduced to the practice of "Working Open" where I co-developed an OA project to promote the adoption of preprints into journal club practices and provide educational tools to train researchers in peer review. From its inception, the project was completely open on our Github repository, promoting inclusion and diversity. We launched the project at the Mozilla Global Sprint and since then we have attracted much attention, including offers for software development and funding to support the project. I want to bring my experiences to OpenCon Berlin, and show the community the benefits of working open. By November we will be well into Phase II of our project, and will be at a prime stage to share our progress and form new collaborators for Phase III (full dissemination of our resources). Also, as a producer on the science podcast Carry the One Radio, it is my goal to produce a podcast about the Working Open movement. I would love to set up a drop-in booth to create an audio montage of insights from the OpenCon community.
All of the events listed below are global and open to participation, so anyone, anywhere can be involved. Please indicate which of the following events you have participated in, or plan to participate in next year. Check all that apply.
- Open Access Week
- Open Education Week
For the events you checked, briefly explain what you did or plan to do. Maximum 700 characters (~100 words).
For October's OA week, I am in discussion with the UCSF library to host a preprint information session and panel event as their main OA week event. I aim to invite representatives from various stakeholders, including journal editors, funders, University policy makers, and academics that have experience posting preprints. This will enable open discussion about the current state and future milestones for the preprint ecosystem. My aim is to video the information session component to provide an educational resource for other institutions, which will be disseminated in preparation for OE week in March 2018.