Hi! My name is Martyna Kosno-Vega. I am a soon-to-be PhD at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, in the lab of Michael Rosen. In my PhD project, I study a potential link between biomolecular condensate formation and cancer-related transcriptional changes in cells. Prior to graduate school, I received a master’s degree in pharmacy from the Medical University of Lodz in Poland, my home country.

Outside of the benchwork, I am very passionate about science communication and outreach. To this end, I have been involved in a variety of educational projects targeted especially towards my fellow international students and women in science. Among others, in 2020, I recorded a podcast episode with Jennifer Doudna in the limited series “Dial Your Idol”, co-organized by the Lasker Foundation. In 2021, I won the runner-up award in the 3-Minute Thesis competition at UT Southwestern. And over the past couple years, I have been organizing a science communication course for international exchange students at UT Southwestern. I am very excited to now join the preLights community and contribute to this amazing science communication platform!

I firmly believe that effective interprofessional science communication between scientists and medical professionals is crucial to make patient treatment outcomes as effective as possible. My long-term career goal is to combine my dedication to science communication with my pharmaceutical training and skills gained during my PhD in biomedical sciences, to make clinical research accessible faster, for the betterment of human health.