Our story.
Just make it make sense.
It’s a plea that goes unanswered all too often when science intersects with the public.
A few years ago, we began working together on a large government-funded study addressing the nation’s opioid crisis. We were tasked with spearheading the project’s dissemination, or the strategic process of spreading evidence and knowledge from the study to people who can use it. Many of the researchers working on the project had high hopes of communicating their evidence but encountered many obstacles to extending their reach beyond the realms of academia. Combining our expertise in strategic communication and data science, we developed a system for helping researchers translate scientific manuscripts into stories formulated for nonscientific audiences.
Together, we bring you the two sides of the research story: data and evidence, message and meaning.
Make Science Make Sense was born out of our passion to impart the relevance and real-world applications of recently published scientific articles. Through conversations with researchers, we hope to bring our listeners closer to the process and people who produce evidence for everyday life.
More About Us
Mia is a public health researcher and data strategist whose work sits at the intersection of data, implementation, and science communication. She believes that behind every dataset is a decision waiting to be made.
She began her career working directly with communities to implement evidence-based programs, using data to guide strategy and measure impact. Her work now spans academia, applied research, and the healthcare industry, giving her insight into how evidence moves from study design to real-world practice. She is as comfortable crunching numbers as she is thinking about what they mean, and is especially interested in making sure good research does not collect dust.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and a master’s degree in public health with a concentration in epidemiology. She believes deeply in the scientific process and that clear translation strengthens public understanding and shapes how we think and live.
When she isn’t working, she is doing her best to keep up with her two sons and husband or planning her next adventure, preferably one that involves the ocean.
Elizabeth is a social scientist and natural storyteller whose expertise is in strategic health and science communication. Fun fact: she was a drama club nerd who won state-level prizes for her storytelling abilities in middle school. She believes that at the heart of every scientific publication lies a story about human ingenuity and hope for the future. She sees her role as helping scientists mold their data into coherent stories and engaging audiences in the process of making sense of breakthrough scientific knowledge.
Early in her career, Elizabeth worked in equine marketing (blames a lifelong horse obsession) and then in healthcare public relations, where she found immense meaning in her work sharing stories about research studies and the heroism of real patients. She received a master’s degree in health communication from the University of Kentucky and a doctorate in media with a concentration on media representations of the drug overdose crisis from the Hussman School of Media and Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
She loves theory, classic literature, yoga, running, and baking. Like Mia, most of her free time is devoted to her two young kids.