Mary Spiro, MSc (2010) Biotechnology

Science Writer & Media Relations Director @ Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology

I spend my days meeting interesting people with interesting ideas and write about them for organizations that pay me enough to keep a roof over my head and food on the table.

Professionally, I write science news and manage media relations for Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology (INBT), a multidisciplinary research center with more than 200 investigators. We have also spawned two research centers: the Physical Sciences-Oncology Center and the Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence. I write about these centers as well.

For fun, and beer money, I write science news as the Baltimore Science News Examiner for Examiner.com, the web-based citizen journalist arm of Clarity Media Group. I like to use social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin to promote INBT news, as well as my own personal writing endeavors, and to connect with like-minded science writers and organizations across the country.

Through these tools, I have connected with people and entities interested in nanobiotechnology research; interacted with science writers and journalists, both professionally and personally; and I am beginning to position INBT and myself as a trusted authority for important scientific research news. My ultimate goal with social networking is to build a critical mass of “followers” and “friends” devoted to reporting and advancing ideas about science, and in particular nanobiotechnology.

I am intensely interested in science communications and in bridging the gap between science fact and science fiction. People who write about science have a responsibility to make science accessible to the public, make it relevant and make it interesting. People are very aware of science and how it impacts their lives. I want to find the best ways to reach the public with science news they can appreciate and to impress upon scientists the importance of disseminating their research findings.