UW-Madison Life Sciences Communication

08/24/2026

Congratulations to Ashley Cate for successfully defending her Ph.D. in Science Communication! 🎓🎉🙌🎉 We wish you luck on your next adventure and future career.

From left to right are: Planning and Landscape Architecture Professor Ken Genskow, LSC Professor Dominique Brossard, LSC Professor Kaiping Chen, Educational Psychology Professor Daniel Bolt, and LSC Professor Todd Newman (advisor).

Dr. Cate’s dissertation is titled: Negotiating trust, relevance, and agency — Understanding rural Americans’ interactions with science and technology.

06/10/2026

Congratulations to Lindsey Middleton for successfully defending her Ph.D. in Science Communication 🎉🎓🎉

We wish you luck on your next adventure and in your future career!

Pictured with Lindsey (from left to right) are: LSC Professor Dominique Brossard (advisor), LSC Professor Kaiping Chen, LSC Professor Nan Li, Education Professor Matthew Berland and Professor of Geography Matt Turner.

05/27/2026

We’re excited to share that there’s a new doctor in town! Isabel Villanueva has successfully defended her dissertation and earned a PhD in Science Communication.

In the fall, she will begin a new chapter at the University of Miami as an Assistant Professor. Congratulations Isabel, we wish you the best of luck on this next adventure!



Pictured with Isabel (from left to right): Professor of Political Science Katherine Cramer, LSC Professor Kaiping Chen, LSC Professor Dietram Scheufele (advisor), Research Scientist Michael Culbertson, Professor of Communication Arts Zhongdang Pan

05/22/2026

“Through the use of AI, Kaiping and her team help people break through their silos to understand the other side.”

The Capital City Hues chose to feature LSC Professor Kaiping Chen in their most recent “Urban Treasures” column, a recurring segment which celebrates exemplary Madisonians. We must agree that Kaiping certainly fits that bill!

Read the full highlight at:

05/20/2026

Aishwarya Veerabahu has had a whirlwind year after an article published in Current Biology last summer gained the attention of media platforms from the New York Times to Wisconsin Public Radio and more.

Veerabahu is a a PhD student studying Botany and minoring in Life Sciences Communication. As discussed in their article, her team found that invasive golden mushrooms (pictured here) are reducing overall fungal variety in the Great Lakes region.

Having the opportunity to discuss this research has also gone hand in hand with what she has studied here in LSC.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to discuss my research with public groups,” Veerabahu said. “I’ve learned that people are passionate about protecting native fungal biodiversity, even if they’re in the process of learning what that is and why fungi are important in maintaining the landscapes we know and love!”

Read the full article at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40675152/

Photo by study co-author Dr. Michelle Jusino

05/13/2026

The Morgridge Institute for Research for Research recently highlighted Natasha Strydhorst, a Rita Allen Foundation Civic Science Fellow and LSC Research Affiliate. Strydhorst’s work blends science, storytelling and public engagement, a niche where she thrives!

Read their full piece at:

Natasha Strydhorst finds in science communication a good way to marry her multiple interests — and to address “the wicked problems that science and society are facing”

05/12/2026

It’s always great to see LSC graduates getting the recognition they deserve 😊

Double major Molly Keebler graduated this past weekend with a bachelor’s degree in both Genetics and Genomics and Life Sciences Communication. Molly said that in LSC, she enjoyed learning how marketing concepts can be used to better communicate science to broad audiences and down the line, she plans to apply to Genetic Counseling programs.

Congratulations on all of your accomplishments, Molly. We can’t wait to see what you do next!

05/11/2026

Congratulations to the LSC Class of 2026 graduates from this past weekend! We are so excited for you to start your new adventure and can't wait to see what you do next. We wish you all the best, !

05/05/2026

LSC Professor Dominique Brossard had the opportunity to give a talk on science, misinformation and AI at Capital Lakes for the PLATO - Participatory Learning & Teaching Organization Madison’s 2026 speaker series.

Thanks to PLATO for putting together such an engaging way to learn and connect with community!

05/04/2026

Emma Longo is officially an LSC master’s graduate!

Congratulations Emma, we’re so proud of everything you have been able to accomplish 🎉

Emma is pictured here with two members of her master’s committee: LSC Associate Professor Sedona Chinn (left) and School of Journalism and Mass Communication Teaching Faculty Kajsa Dalrymple (right).