Honors Link

Oregon State University researchers conduct groundbreaking work, innovating and driving science forward with each new discovery. However, it’s one thing to do the research – it’s entirely another to communicate the results to a broad audience. That’s where senior honors Biochemistry and Molecular Biology student Victor “Tori” Puoci comes in.

Tori is spending his summer working on his honors thesis here in Corvallis. “Through support from the College of Science Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program, I am working to expand the accessibility of science by creating a science communication podcast,” Tori says. “I will be interviewing undergraduate students involved in research at OSU and creating episodes where we chat about their work, implications of the research, and the story of their involvement in science.”

“I did a year-long internship in molecular biology lab research and really enjoyed it, but struggled with trying to explain my work to people who weren’t somehow involved in the field,” Tori explains. He later took a class that introduced him to the field of science communication, and he added a certificate in Scientific, Technical, and Professional Communication to his degree. After further exploring the field, Tori knew that he had found a topic for his honors thesis.

“There is so much interesting research going on at OSU and in other organizations, but it is often difficult to understand this work if you don’t have considerable background knowledge,” Tori says. “By making complex science topics easier to understand for those not trained in the field, we can help people understand scientific research that impacts their lives and empower them to make informed decisions.”

Be sure to keep an eye out for ‘At This Point’, the podcast that Tori is creating for his thesis; the first episodes are set for publication in late September.