Communicating CRISPR

In 2025, scientific research in the United States faces major cuts to funding. The cuts come after an increasing lack of trust in science, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the election of Donald Trump. Leaders in science call for increased dialogue with the public as a way to rebuild trust and highlight the importance of basic research. However, scientific coursework often does not teach fundamental principles of communication. This personal narrative describes the process of critically analyzing and improving communication of the author’s own research through three public presentations of her work. She ties together theory on graphic design, narrative, and metaphor choice to describe her journey to implement CRISPR genome engineering in human cells, but most of all, how to share her work with the larger public.