{"id":15892,"date":"2021-10-14T13:52:47","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T18:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medschool.prd.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/?page_id=15892"},"modified":"2025-11-18T13:53:45","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T19:53:45","slug":"aspire-module-biomedical-research-and-the-media","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/aspire-module-biomedical-research-and-the-media\/","title":{"rendered":"ASPIRE Module: Biomedical Research and the Media"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\"2025 Submit your application here <\/a> Home <\/a> About the Module <\/a> Time Commitment <\/a> Earn a badge! <\/a> Home<\/p>\r\n

Biomedical Research and the Media is an opportunity for biomedical PhD students and postdoctoral fellows to develop science communication skills and an understanding of the role of university Public\/Media Affairs in communicating scientific and medical breakthroughs to the public. At the conclusion of the class, students will understand the process of interviewing one or more sources and writing a publishable news story on a biomedical research or health topic; understand the daily interactions between the local and national media and a medical center such as Vanderbilt that seeks to influence both public health and its national reputation via media relations; and understand the key role of social media in the modern media environment. Students will also have the opportunity to become more skilled at being interviewed and accurately conveying information, even in a challenging environment. Additionally, the students will have an understanding of some of the key differences in professional assumptions between media professionals and science professionals.<\/p>\r\n

About the Module<\/p>\r\n

Module Dates and Times:\u00a0<\/strong>Wednesdays 9a-10a, Sept. 24 -Nov 29 (no session Oct. 15)<\/p>\r\n

Content:\u00a0<\/strong>Writing stories for print journalism, media relations, social media, media training in interviewing. Participants will complete three writing assignments during the module.<\/p>\r\n

Learning Objectives:<\/strong> At the conclusion of the class, students will understand the process of interviewing one or more sources and writing a publishable news story on a biomedical research or health topic; understand the daily interactions between the local and national media and a medical center such as Vanderbilt that seeks to influence both public health and its national reputation via media relations; and understand the key role of social media in the modern media environment. Students will also have the opportunity to become more skilled at being interviewed and accurately conveying information, even in a challenging environment. Additionally, the students will understand some of the key similarities and differences in professional assumptions between media professionals and science professionals.<\/p>\r\n

Assessment Plan:<\/strong> The module director will evaluate students based on written and class participation, including an understanding of the choices of communication tools and techniques; mechanisms for identification of appropriate stories to put before the public; and in what formats.<\/p>\r\n

Readings<\/strong>: Class readings will be news and feature stories from contemporary sources, including news stories about developments in biomedical research, first person medical stories, and longer form pieces about medical and research topics. In addition, selected readings will be assigned from the provided text: A Field Guide for Science Writers, Blum, Knudson and Henig, Eds. Written Assignments: students will contribute three written pieces during the course: one aliquot (150 words) and one news piece (300-600 words) suitable for publication the VUMC Reporter or VUMC Voice, and one profile piece (500 words) to be included in Basic Sciences\/BRET publications.<\/p>\r\n

Questions<\/strong>:\u00a0Please contact Angela Zito\u00a0(angela.zito@vanderbilt.edu<\/a>), Assistant Director,\u00a0 BRET Office of Career Development ASPIRE Program<\/p>\r\n

Time Commitment<\/p>\r\n

This module will meet for 8 weeks, 1 hour a week. Wednesdays 9a-10a, Sept. 24 – Nov. 29 (no meeting Oct 15)<\/p>\r\n

Attendance Policy<\/h2>\r\n

Because the course is a limited enrollment opportunity, course\u00a0participants need to attend\u00a0all sessions and participate\u00a0fully. Participants should discuss time away from the lab with their research advisor\u00a0in advance<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0of the course. Anticipated absences, such as for scientific conferences, should be discussed\u00a0with the course director.<\/p>\r\n

Earn a badge!<\/p>\r\n

ASPIRE is awarding micro-credentials through Badgr! See the webpage<\/a> for more details.<\/h2>\r\n
\r\n

EARNING CRITERIA<\/h2>\r\n

Recipients must complete the earning criteria to earn this Badge:<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n
  1. Complete readings of news and feature stories from contemporary sources and selected readings from the module textbook,\u00a0A Field Guide for Science Writers<\/em><\/li>\r\n
  2. Write an Aliquot (150 words) and a news enterprise piece suitable for publication in the VUMC Reporter (500-600 words).<\/li>\r\n
  3. Interview a current or former Vanderbilt graduate student, postdoctoral fellow, or faculty member and write one profile piece suitable for publication in the BRET or Basic Sciences newsletter (500 words).<\/li>\r\n
  4. Tour the VUStar media studio and record a media-style interview (pending studio availability).<\/li>\r\n
  5. Participate in discussions with guest experts in science communication.<\/li>\r\n
  6. Attend all meetings with no unexcused absences.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Submit your application here Home About the Module Time Commitment Earn a badge! Home Biomedical Research and the Media is an opportunity for biomedical PhD students and postdoctoral fellows to develop science communication skills and an understanding of the role of university Public\/Media Affairs in communicating scientific and medical breakthroughs to the public. At the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":23520,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page_onecolumn.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15892","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15892"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23523,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15892\/revisions\/23523"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}