By Students, For Students: New BioMed Event Celebrates Research

Graduate students and researchers from across Brown’s Division of Biology and Medicine exchanged ideas at the inaugural Celebration of Science, a student-led showcase of their research and artwork, on March 31.

Melissa Walsh, PhD, director of Graduate Education Administration and Training Grant Support in the Office of Graduate Studies, says students organized the Celebration of Science to learn more about their peers’ work in other departments. More than 60 participants presented their research through lightning talks and poster presentations, and several students showed off their creative sides in the Art of Science Gallery.

“One of the great things is that we have a very wide range of research that falls under [BioMed],” Walsh says. “We have people that are doing field work in ecology, collecting samples in other countries, and then we also have people that are doing clinical research at local hospitals in Rhode Island.”

Elizabeth Harrington, PhD, associate dean for graduate studies and professor of medicine, says students were only “gently guided” in organizing the event, which mirrored professional meetings that many students have attended. 

“One of the observations we had is that, even though we work within the same division, students can become siloed because there is little opportunity to meet outside their respective programs in a scientific setting,” Harrington says. “Just by watching the attendees and seeing students interact with one another on the day of the event, there’s a lot of vibrancy here.”

Lightning talks—presentations lasting only a few minutes—demonstrated the array of research projects among doctoral, master’s, and medical students. These included a study of music therapy for cardiac rehabilitation patients by Ryan Conard ’23 MD’28, and another on the evolution of form and function in the curve of a heron’s neck by Rachel Fleming PhD’27.

These presentations are a critical part of training young researchers for public engagement, Walsh says, by emphasizing that science communication isn’t just about writing research papers or crafting posters.

“By challenging our students to convey their work through diverse modalities to a broad audience within the Division, we are equipping them with the skills to eventually share their research with the world with clarity, passion, and accessibility,” she says.

This training also extends to the networking portion of the event, which was driven by an intentionally spatial layout.

“The goal was to lower the barriers to entry, allowing for organic, cross-disciplinary conversations that drive innovation in research,” Walsh says. “By weaving together scientific posters, a gallery of research-inspired art, and social networking rooms, we created a dynamic environment where people could connect across specialties and interests in a variety of different ways.”

Montana Stone PhD’28, an ecology, evolution, and organismal biology student, created a mosaic, “Colonial Blue Trout,” for the art display. She says that art and science blend together naturally.

“Having creativity as an artist and a scientist to think differently and outside of traditional norms is helpful,” she says.

Walsh says such art displays help bridge the world of student research with the broader community, allowing students to translate complex thoughts into visual and abstract experiences.

“This makes the science more visible and it also makes it more inclusive, allowing everyone regardless of their technical background to engage with the groundbreaking work being carried out within the Division,” she says.

Stone helped organize the Celebration of Science, and says she hopes to see the event grow. She says the tragic Dec. 13 shooting on Brown’s campus spurred her to help bring the community together in a positive way.

“If you want to have a thriving community where people can freely talk and reach out to each other, you have to be part of building it,” she says.

Safe spaces like the Celebration play a major role in this.

“This opportunity and investment in building community also is an investment in the quality of the research itself. A connected community shares resources, solves problems more creatively, and attracts people who want to work in an environment that is as supportive as it is intellectually rigorous,” Walsh says.