ComSciCon Chicago 2024
Welcome to ComSciCon Chicago 2024!
Date: 19th and 20th of October 2024
Location: Engineering Research Facility (ERF), College of Engineering, University Of Illinois Chicago (UIC), Chicago, IL
Stay tuned to know more about the program and to register.
Follow us on social media
Instagram : @chicagocomscicon
X : @chicagocomscicon
Invited Speakers
| Katie Yurkewicz | |
| Chief Communications Officer and Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Argonne National Laboratory | |
 | Dr. Katie Yurkewicz is the head of Scientific and Technical Communications Lab and served as the Head of Events and Protocol at Argonne, where she led strategy, planning and execution for VIP visits, special events, conferences and tours. Prior to joining Argonne, Dr. Yurkewicz spent 13 years working in science communications at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, where she started as founding editor of an online publication about advanced computing for science, served for four years as the U.S. communications specialist at the CERN laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, and then spent 8 years leading Fermilab’s external and internal communications activities as the laboratory’s Head of Communications. Dr. Yurkewicz holds a Ph.D. in nuclear physics from Michigan State University, and bachelor’s degrees in physics and dance from Smith College. To know more about Dr. Yurkewicz work, visit Dr. Katie Yurkewicz Page |
| Jalees Rehman | |
| Physician-scientist and the Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Illinois, College of Medicine | |
 | Jalees Rehman is a physician-scientist and the Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Illinois, College of Medicine.He has also been a science writer and science blogger for more than a decade, writing for several blogs and media outlets including Scientific American, Huffington Post, 3Quarksdaily and Aeon Magazine.He is a member of the National Association of Science Writers and is especially interested in how science writers can communicate uncertainty and probability in scientific studies or rigorous critiques of scientific research to a non-specialist audience.His personal blog is The Next Regeneration at Dr. Jalees Rehman Blog |
| Maanasa Raghavan | |
| Assistant professor in the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Chicago | |
 | Dr. Raghavan research integrates ancient and modern genomic data within a multi-disciplinary and community-engaged framework to investigate evolutionary processes that have shaped genetic variation in human populations.Dr. Raghavan’s group is currently investigating the genetic and disease histories of populations in understudied regions of the world such as South Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas. As the topic of human origins can be sensitive for many, this research requires thoughtful ways to build and sustain collaborations, whether it is with international researchers or with Indigenous and Descendant communities. Her group is involved in efforts to integrate ethical and transparent methods in their research.Dr. Raghavan is also a co-founder of the South Side Science Festival, an annual event that brings together the broader South Side community and UChicago/affiliate scientists for a day filled with fun science, discussions, live experiments, food, and music. To know more about Dr. Raghavan work: X Dr. Maanasa Raghavan Lab page |
| Lily Burton | |
| PhD candidate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the University of Chicago | |
 | Lily Burton is a PhD candidate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the University of Chicago. She is a AAAS Mass Media Fellow and worked at WUNC Public Radio reporting on science in the North Carolina Research Triangle.She has also written for Microbites, Science Unsealed and UChicago’s The Forefront, covering everything from machine learning to stories of patients surviving cancer. To know more about Lily’s work: X |
| Constantine E Kanakis | |
| Transfusion Medicine fellow at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. Member of the ABC News Medical Unit | |
 | Dr. Kanakis adjunct faculty in the graduate MLS program of Loyola’s Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health teaching graduate courses in hematology, immunology, cancer, and blood banking. A Chicago native, he earned his bachelor’s in molecular biology from Loyola University and his master’s in medical laboratory science at Rush University. After medical school he returned to Loyola for residency. He has over a decade of direct, board-certified clinical laboratory science experience as both a generalist and specialist and has conducted public health work in the field during the Zika epidemic and COVID pandemic and has been awarded the inaugural Dr. Phillip and Sandra Barney Award for Resident Service by the ASCP, named to the International Pathologist Power List twice, honored as an ASCP Top Forty Under 40, inducted into the AOA and ACLPS, awarded the Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation and the ASCP Lab Hero Award, the CAP Leadership Development Award, recognized as an APC Kinney Scholar, and named an ASCLS Top Voice Under 40. Dr. Kanakis has delivered two TEDx talks and continues to give international lectures on topics in medicine, education, science communication, and is member of the ABC News Medical Unit. To know more about Dr. Kanakis’s work: X |
| Gillian King-Cargile | |
| Writer and Podcaster Professional Science Appreciator | |
 | Gillian King-Cargile is passionate about creating articles, books, digital media, games, and even stand-up comedy routines that help people learn more about the world around them. She has a B.A. in Film Production and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Southern Illinois University.At Argonne National Laboratory, Gillian works closely with researchers in the Computing, Environment and Life Sciences Directorate to share stories of Argonne’s cutting-edge research and pivotal discoveries in everything from human health to clean energy to climate resilience.In addition to her science communications work, Gillian is also the author of several books and stories for adults and children.In everything she does, Gillian seeks to use her humor, creativity, and curiosity to kindle a love of learning. To know more about Gillian’s work: Website |
| Delia Alkhatib | |
| PhD in Biomedical Sciences at Rush University IACUC Student Representative at Rush University | |
 | Delia Alkhatib is a PhD. student in Integrative Biomedical Sciences at Rush University. Her research, conducted in Dr. Ryan Ross’s lab in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, focuses on understanding Wnt signaling activity in both long bones and dentoalveolar tissues associated with X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH).Beyond her research, she has demonstrated inspiration leadership as the chair of the ComSciCon Chicago chapter for three years and as the chair of the IACUC Student Representative at Rush University. She is also recognized for her creative approach to science, designing scientific cartoon lab guidebooks and protocols for managing her research mice colonies.Delia’s passion for combining art, psychology, and science is evident both in her work and hobbies. She has developed a unique approach to managing her mice colony, creating a database that tracks each mouse’s behavior and family history, adding a personal touch to her research. Her childhood love for cartoons continues to influence her work as she sketches comics based on her research on mice, bringing creativity into the scientific community. Through her efforts, she has successfully integrated art and science, inspiring others to embrace creativity in their scientific pursuits. To know more about Delia’s work: X |
| Sami Sbei | |
| Post-doctoral research associate at Washington University | |
 | Dr. Sbei is a post-doctoral research associate at the Dr. Qin Liu lab at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Sbei completed his PhD in Human Pathophysiology and Translational Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch, where his graduate training was focused on elucidating the role of Mas-related G-Protein Coupled receptor B2 (MrgprB2) in mice, and its human homolog MRGPRX2, in migraine-like pain.Dr. Sbei’s ongoing post-doctoral research continues to focus on somatosensory disorders, especially Mrgpr-mediated chronic itch and chronic pain. |
| Raguez Taha | |
| Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in Illinois PhD student in the Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Illinois Chicago | |
 | Raguez Taha’s research focuses on using 3D modeling techniques to create digital reconstructions of civil structures, particularly in developing innovative repair solutions for aged steel bridges. This focus was inspired by her industry experience as a structural design engineer, where she designed and inspected various civil structures, including bridges, culverts, and retaining walls.Before her work in design, Raguez taught undergraduate civil engineering courses overseas, where she developed learning centers and an internship program to support students in collaborating with one another and bridging the gap between theory and practice. Beyond the classroom, she is actively involved in her community, both locally and internationally, developing outreach programs and materials to connect academia with the younger generation. Raguez has hosted and organized various outreach activities for students from elementary to high school. She is also a member of several professional organizations, including the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and the Structural Engineering Association of Illinois (SEAOI). Additionally, she mentors high school students and volunteers her time at Future City Competitions with DiscoverE, Girls Day events, and other STEM-related activities. To know more about Raguez’s work: X LinedIn |
| Jingfeng Xia | |
| University Librarian at Dominican University | |
 | Jingfeng Xia is the University Librarian at Dominican University in River Forest, IL. With extensive experience in library administration, he previously served as a tenured professor in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University. His research is concentrated on scholarly communication, with a particular focus on digital publishing and recent work addressing predatory publishing. He has authored three books and published nearly fifty journal articles. |
Sponsors
We are very grateful to the organizations and institutions who have contributed their time, money, venue, and thoughts, to helping our journey in “ComSciCon_Chicago_2024” to success.
Big thanks to our ComSciCon Leaders who give us always the inspiration, wise guidance, and motivation to be more creative and have successful events of ComSciCon at Chicago Chapter.
Because of you, ComSciCon_Chicago can continue to be a BEACON for the Science Communication workshops in Chicago, IL . In return, we’re proud to offer ongoing recognition and honor to all our sponsors and supporters!
Are you interested to be one of our supporters?
Contact us for more information about becoming a sponsor for ComSciCon_Chicago!
Application
Welcome to ComSciCon Chicago 2024
For the registeration of ComSciCon Chicago 2024 event, please fill up the form of Registration for attendees of ComSciCon Chicago 2024
Please note:
1) Only graduate students and early career professionals of Chicago-area are eligible to apply.
2) There is no registration fee, and we cannot provide any support for travel or hotel expenses for attendees.
3) Admission priority will be given to current graduate students who didn’t participate in ComSciCon Chicago previously.
4) Registeration is open until seats are full.
Follow us on social media: Instagram , X
or you can email us: Email
Write-a-thon
What is a Write-A-Thon?
A Write-A-Thon is a dynamic and collaborative workshop designed to help early-career scientists enhance their science communication skills. Participants will engage in intensive writing sessions, receive feedback from experienced mentors, and learn effective storytelling techniques to communicate their research to diverse audiences. Whether you’re drafting a blog post, an op-ed, or another piece of science writing, the Write-a-thon provides a supportive environment to refine your work and connect with a community of like-minded science communicators.
This year, our experts mentors will be:
Meredith Fore, MSc
Science writer for the Chicago Quantum Exchange
 | Meredith is a science writer at the Chicago Quantum Exchange, a consortium of academic institutions, national labs, and corporate partners with the collective goal of advancing quantum information technology.She became a full-time science writer after leaving the physics PhD program at the University of Washington in Seattle in her 4th year as a grad student, participating in the 2019 AAAS Mass Media Fellowship program at WIRED and freelancing for publications such as Physics, LiveScience, and Symmetry.She enjoys sci-fi television, anime, and hiking and backpacking with her partner and Brownie, their dog. You can find her on Twitter, LinkedIn and at her personal website. |
Alexandra “Sasha” Prokuda, Ph.D.
Executive Director at Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST)
 | Alexandra “Sasha” Prokuda, PhD, is a leader in STEMM communication, science diplomacy, and outreach. During her work with the Chicago Council on Science and Technology, Sasha has helped to develop over 200 programs, worked with local, national, and international partners to bring fun and engaging STEMM activities for the public, and prepared and presented reports on science outreach practices at conferences.She has also done extensive work with international science policy and diplomacy organizations, including NSPN, IREX, Meridian, the State Department, and several Embassies and Consulates. Before working at C2ST, she was a research and teaching assistant and contributing consultant for the UC Riverside Institute for Development of Education Applications (IDEA Lab). Sasha has interpreted science for the public and conducted research projects all over the US while working with birds, weasels, deer, bears and Giant Redwoods.Sasha holds a Ph.D. in Evolutionary and Behavioral Biology from the University of California, Riverside and a B.S. in Biology from Pennsylvania State University. |
Kennen Hutchison
Information design consultant for Acquainted World Consulting
 | Kennen Hutchison is an internationally recognized science communicator driven by a mission to empower audiences through empathy and education.He launched his career as a science communicator with the social media series “Science with Kennen,” which amassed 30,000 followers on Instagram over three years. Through his platform, he has partnered and collaborated with numerous science communicators, content creators, media companies, and global organizations to produce a diverse range of science-themed content. Alongside his digital media work, Kennen has worked as an educator, designing and teaching life sciences curricula at the middle school, high school, and collegiate levels.Currently, Kennen works as an information design consultant for his company, Acquainted World Consulting, and is in the process of launching a science communication media company called Acquainted World Media. |
Adelaide Grosse
Student Affairs Administrator, Geosciences at The University of Chicago
 | Adelaide (Addie) Grosse focuses on science communication for young learners. Illustrating children’s picture books on topics from sea slugs with a penchant for thievery to the many possible colors of dinosaurs.She also provides child life services professionals with visual tools to help pediatric patients understand complex medical realities about their bodies and the procedures they may experience. She has an M.A. in illustration from the University of Edinburgh’s College of Arts and is currently employed by the University of Chicago’s Geophysical Sciences Department. |
Sadie Witkowski
Senior Research Programs Lead at Slack
 | Sadie Witkowski, PhD has a passion for science communication and a love of telling compelling stories through science. She completed her PhD in psychology at Northwestern University with a focus on brain, behavior, and cognition in the Paller Cognitive Neuroscience Lab. Her dissertation focused on memory consolidation and how sleep can improve memory.As part of her love for science communication, she writes popular science articles for various outlets, has discussed the importance of good science storytelling as a panelist at San Diego Comic-Con, runs Northwestern’s SCOPE (a free scicomm training program for graduate students), and founded the PhDrinking podcast (an interview podcast that showcases graduate students’ research). Sadie was previously the Director of Communications and Engagement for the Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI), where she hosted and produced the podcast Carry the Two. She was also the Director of Communications for the Data Science Institute at UChicago, before jumping into an industry role with Slack as a Senior Research Programs Lead.In her spare time, she enjoys scuba diving across the world, cycling around the city, and creating a podcast about fandom research. |
Jane Kollmer
Director for communications at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center
 | Jane Kollmer is the director for communications at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center—one of two NCI designated cancer centers in Illinois. In her role, she is responsible for elevating the Cancer Center’s profile as a leading cancer research institution and raising visibility for the Cancer Center among members, staff, medical and research communities, news media and the public.As a communicator with more than 15 years of experience, Kollmer is well-versed in marketing strategies that attract and engage audiences through the strategic use of compelling content. |
Program
ComSciCon Chicago Gallery
ComSciCon_Chicago 2024 will be hosting for the first time this year!
“ComSciCon Chicago Gallery”
“ComSciCon Chicago Gallery” is an opportunity to present your field of education or scientific research in piece of art as like painting, crafting, photograph, microscope image, poem, microfiction story.
It will be hosted at the venue of the event on the event’s days.
The accepted attendee must bring their piece of art on the 1st day of event.
Organizing Committee
ComSciCon_Chicago 2024 is organized by:
Chair of ComSciCon Chicago Chapter
Social Media and Design Leader
Delia Alkhatib
Ph.D. student in integrated biomedical sciences, Rush University
 | DeliaAlkhatibis a PhD student of Integrative Biomedical Sciences at Rush University. Her research focuses on understanding Wnt signaling activation in the periodontalpathologies associated with X-linkedhypophosphatemia (XLH) atDr. Ryan Ross lab,Department of Anatomyand CellBiology,Rush University.Outside the lab, Delia has been chair of ComSciCon Chicago chapter for three years. She is chair of IACUC at Rush University, and she was chair of liasion TEDxRushU for two years. Delia likes to design scientific cartoon lab guidebooks, and CRC mice colony managment protocols. In her free time, Delia sketches cartoon paintings, sews, cooks and bakes, designs healthy cooking and baking recipes, writes short stories and poems, and volunteer in social activities and theater acting. Also, she likes to play basketball, hiking, table tennis and chess. She likes to explore on her travels and she takes care of a tiny-forest at her apartment too! ComSciCon means a lot to her! It’s the window of inspiration that help everyone to connect art and science through creativity.You can find her on Instagram, LinkedIn, X. |
Outreach Leader
Quinn Castaneda
Master student in Journalism, DePaul University
 | Quinn Castaneda is a 4th year journalism master’s student at DePaul University.Outside the university, Quinn enjoys music, podcasts, and reading Wikipedia.Attending ComSciCon last year was a valuable experience for her. She loves that it can provide an opportunity for scientists to explore other career opportunities and hone their communication skills.You can find her on Instagram, X |
Write-A-Thon Leader
Lindsey Ramirez, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychiatry, University of Illinois in Chicago
 | Lindsey is a postdoctoral fellow at UIC in the Psychiatry departmentOutside the lab, she enjoys watching and listening to true crime, sewing, thrifting and altering clothes, shopping for plants, zumbaDuring her graduate training, she felt inadequate when she could not understand a scientific presentation. Over many years, she learned that she wasn’t to blame. Instead, the problem was bad science communication on the presenter’s end. Being a scientist allows her to learn new things everyday, which she loves. However, the learning process can be extremely difficult so presenting the material in an understandable way is crucial! While scientific discoveries are needed to improve public health and policy, those discoveries will be meaningless if they are not effectively communicated in a language accessible to non-scientists. You can find her on X |
Finance Leader
Tobi Adejumo
Ph.D. student in Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois in Chicago
 | Tobi Adejumo is a 4th year Ph.D. student in Biomedical Engineering at University of Illinois Chicago, expected to graduate in 2025. Outside the lab, Tobi likes to read, hike, and play tennis, all the while he codes side projects, practices photography, and loves exploring new restaurants According to Tobi, attending last year’s ComSciconwas a game-changer for his sci-comm skills and network. For him, ComSciCon is all about making science accessible and engaging. He cannot wait to help create that experience for others this year!You can find him on Instagram, X |
Venue and logistics Leader
Raguez Taha
Ph.D. student in Civil Engineering, University of Illinois in Chicago
 | Raguez Taha is a third-year PhD student in Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her research focuses on advancing structural repairs through 3D metal printing.In addition to her academic pursuits, she is deeply committed to enhancing engineering education by investigating the impact of workshops on group dynamics and student perceptions of group work in senior design classes. Beyond the classroom, Raguez actively engages with engineering organizations, volunteering to inspire students from middle school to graduate level about the wonders of engineering.In her leisure time, she enjoys culinary adventures, painting, museum visits, travel, and reading. Having participated in ComSciCon Chicago 2023, she views it as a vital platform for fostering interdisciplinary community and knowledge exchange in innovative ways.You can find her on X and LinkedIn. |
Logo and Write-a-thon Posts Design Leader
Julien Guillard
Postdoctoral Scholar ,UChicago
 | Julien earned an MS in Biology and Health and a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Reims/France. After studying CAFs in his master’s thesis, in his graduate work co-mentored by Gerard Thiefin, Ganesh Sockalingum, and Roselyne Garnotel, Julien developed PhotoFib, a vibrational spectroscopy approach to analyze liver cirrhosis and discover new biomarkers for disease progression.Julien joined the Schwörer Lab in June 2023, focusing on the metabolic control of ECM synthesis in tumors. He is passionate about science communication, coordinating events like “Pint of Science.”Outside the lab, Julien tries to catch all the new movies in the theatre, likes to compete with his PI in movie soundtrack quizzes, and enjoys traveling across the country to visit all 50 states before finishing his Postdoc. |
ComSciCon 