I have a PhD in Biology and have been working as a freelance science writer and fact-checker since 2019. I write reported stories about scientific mysteries and the people who uncover them. To do this, I read research papers, interview scientists, entrepreneurs, and technologists, and draft articles based on the information gathered.

Because I spent most of my PhD reading papers and reviews, and some time writing them, I am good at gauging the significance of studies. I can quickly get to the essence of a paper while appreciating the larger context. This also helps me interview scientists and ask them relevant questions. A science journalism workshop run by Anil Ananthaswamy and Peter Aldhous taught me the basic skills needed to write about empirical enigmas. I have refined these skills over the past 4 years by writing for outlets like BioSpace, Massive Science Consortium, The Scientist, and The Wire Science.

I write both short- and long-form stories, but have a penchant for the latter. I delight in weaving different viewpoints together to give readers snapshots of entire fields of research. I believe this helps people appreciate the nuances of doing research and the fact that science is rarely a straight shot from hypothesis to result. I also write press releases and profiles of people who conduct research in different capacities, be it as scientists, facility managers, or technicians.

As a fact-checker, I verify information by checking it against original sources. These can be numbers, names, dates, scientific claims, or anything else. I comb through articles, videos, and podcasts to check whether all the information published is supported by scientific evidence. I have attended fact-checking workshops (both basic and advanced levels) offered by the Knight School of Journalism at MIT. Through these workshops, I learned how to vet claims and find reliable sources. I use this training to check my own writing, and also offer fact-checking services to clients who need them. I currently fact-check STEM video scripts for the PBS Terra YouTube channel.