Speaking
Where scientific rigor meets creative systems thinking—talks and workshops for scientific teams, graduate programs, and organizations navigating data, AI, and scientific culture.
I give talks and run workshops for audiences ranging from graduate programs and postdoc communities to startup teams, R&D orgs, and leadership groups. The through-line is the same: helping people make better decisions in complex systems—without flattening the science or outsourcing judgment to metrics, tooling, or hype.
Selected work
- Workshop (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jodfoa1mim4
- ISME interview: https://isme-microbes.org/july-2024-edition-16-team-lead-of-bioinformatics-and-data-science/
- Audio sample: https://microgreens.buzzsprout.com/
Formats
- Keynote / invited talk (45–60 min) — clear framing, memorable models, practical takeaways, Q&A friendly.
- Internal training (60–90 min) — tuned for teams adopting new workflows (data governance, AI readiness, interpretation practices).
- Workshop (90–120 min) — guided design + shared language; teams leave with concrete next steps.
- Series / cohort sessions — ideal for graduate programs or org-wide culture change where one session isn’t enough.
Customization: Each talk can be tuned for your domain (microbiology, biotech R&D, data systems, AI framing, cross-functional decision-making) and your audience’s technical depth.
Talk catalogue
From Dissertation to Decision: Navigating Life After the PhD
The PhD gives you a map—milestones, benchmarks, and a shared definition of success. This talk names what happens when the map ends: the disorienting gap between achievement and meaning, and the process of reclaiming agency to choose what comes next.
Best for: Graduate programs, postdoc groups, PhD career centers, early-career researcher communities.
Works well as: keynote + Q&A, or small-group workshop series focused on values-aligned transition and interview navigation.
Burnout Is a Systems Problem: Living and Working Inside Broken Systems
Burnout rarely arrives as a dramatic collapse. It shows up as slow erosion: shrinking containers, expanding expectations, and the quiet loss of the flame that brought you into the work. This talk helps participants recognize burnout early and build sustainability through boundaries, meaning, and collective responsibility—not performance theater.
Best for: Academic departments, research orgs, professional communities, startups.
Works well as: keynote, or facilitated session on recognition + boundary design + recovery-supportive practices.
Being More Than a Metric: The Human Work That Remains When AI Keeps the Count
Scientists have always lived inside metrics. The risk is when metrics quietly become identity. As AI takes over counting and optimization, the human role becomes clearer: judgment, ethics, sense-making, and direction-setting—especially when incentives pull toward speed over truth.
Best for: Universities, professional meetups, startups, teams navigating AI-driven change.
Works well as: keynote, leadership session, or cross-functional professional development.
Designing Data Strategy, Not Just Data Systems
Data programs don’t fail because of tooling—they fail because early decisions were made without alignment to scientific reality, business strategy, and governance. This talk walks through the decisions that determine whether data scales with trust (and AI readiness) or collapses under pressure.
Best for: Startups, R&D orgs, data teams, and C-suite/leadership groups.
Works well as: internal training or workshop where teams pressure-test use cases, ownership, metadata, and architecture choices.
Models, Metadata, and Meaning: Making Sense of AI in Science
Most AI projects fail before modeling begins—at the level of framing, data readiness, roles, and expectations. This session helps teams design AI work that’s interpretable, aligned with real decisions, and grounded in how scientific work actually happens.
Best for: Industry R&D, startups, mixed technical/non-technical teams, leadership groups funding AI initiatives.
Works well as: lecture or workshop where teams bring a project idea and walk readiness questions together.
Forming the Party: Designing Data Culture that Sustains the Campaign
Data rarely fails because of tools. It fails when roles, incentives, and responsibilities are misunderstood—creating brittle handoffs, mistrust, and rework. Using a campaign-style narrative, this talk gives teams shared language for role clarity, governance, and trust-building that protects both people and data over time.
Best for: Startups, industry teams, large university labs.
Works well as: keynote for mixed audiences, or workshop mapping your org’s “party roles,” broken handoffs, and governance gaps.
Choosing the right session
- For graduate programs: “From Dissertation to Decision” or “Burnout Is a Systems Problem.” + optional workshop series.
- For team trainings: “Designing Data Strategy…” or “Models, Metadata, and Meaning.”
- For org-wide culture: “Forming the Party…” or “Burnout Is a Systems Problem.”
- For AI-era identity/value: “Being More Than a Metric.”
If you’re not sure, tell me your audience, constraints, and what decisions you want the session to support. I’ll recommend a best fit.