Papa PhD Gold: From Bird Brains to Broadcasts - Dr. Kiki Sanford’s Science Communication Journey

Welcome back to Beyond the Thesis! This week, host David Mendes sits down with Dr. Kirsten “Kiki” Sanford, a science communicator with an unconventional path from bird neuroscience to the front lines of science storytelling. In this episode, Dr. Kiki shares behind-the-scenes stories of launching “This Week in Science,” collaborating with mentors like Leo Laporte, and mastering new technologies – much of it self-taught. She reflects on the real-world skills her PhD provided, the power of embracing change, and gives practical advice for anyone looking to turn obstacles into launching pads for new opportunities.

Whether you’re at a crossroads in your career or searching for inspiration to forge your own path, this conversation is packed with actionable insights and fresh perspectives. Tune in and get ready to rethink what’s possible after a PhD!

  Kirsten Sanford is a passionate science communicator whose journey began in graduate school, where she studied bird brains and discovered her love for sharing science with others. Today, she juggles multiple roles: producing her own podcasts and telling engaging science stories, running a production company that creates videos and scripts for scientists, and helping to unite fellow science communicators through her work with Science Talk. Through these varied projects, Kirsten is dedicated to making science accessible and exciting for everyone. Key take-home messages:

• Embrace Lifelong Learning: Dr. Kiki taught herself audio/video editing, production tech, and business management. Being open to learning new skills—even outside your academic training—can open new doors in unexpected fields.

• Leverage Your Research Skills: Project management, adaptability, and perseverance aren’t just academic buzzwords. These are vital, transferable skills that help you thrive in entrepreneurship and content production.

• Build and Nurture Your Network: Attending conferences and connecting with mentors (even outside your original field) led Dr. Sanford to collaborations and opportunities that fueled her passion projects.

If you’re ready to transform setbacks into stepping stones and chart your own unique path, Dr. Kiki Sanford’s journey is a must-listen!

Check out her work at This Week in Science (TWIS) and be inspired by a career that truly goes beyond the thesis.

Connect with Us: Have you thought about pivoting from the bench to broader impact? Would love to hear your stories below!

This episode’s links:

• Dr. Kiki Sanford | Instagram
• This Week In Science | Podcast
• Association of Science Communicators | Website

Episode Transcript

David Mendes:

Are you struggling to find your path to pivot from academia to entrepreneurship? On this new episode of Papa Ph.D. gold, Dr. Kiki Sanford shares the details of her journey from neurophysiology research to science communication. She opens up about the twists, challenges, and breakthroughs of building a fulfilling career on her own terms. So if you’re ready to transform setbacks into stepping stones and to craft your own unique path, listen now to get inspired and take action. Welcome to beyond the thesis with Papa PhD. Your weekly inspiration for post PhD career development with me, David Mendez. What steps brought you from your PhD to TWIS, to This Week in Science?

Kirsten Sanford:

After my PhD, I finished and I was like, okay, this is what I’m doing now. I’m going to be a science communicator. I’m going to try and re. And this is before science communicator was really even a term or a word. It was like this nascent idea. People were starting to use it, but it wasn’t really adopted yet. I remember going, what am I? Who am I? How do I describe myself to people? And yeah, thank goodness Science Communicator has grabbed a hold. But what I started doing is I started going to conferences and networking and trying to meet a larger community of people doing a similar thing. So podcasting. I no longer going to the science conferences, the research conferences so much. I started going to the podcasting conferences and doing the podcasting conferences. I started meeting a whole bunch of people in that field. And again, with mentors being so important, I met a guy named Alex Lindsey, and he worked on a podcast called this Week in Tech. And so I was at this podcasting conference and I saw his name tag with his podcast name, and I went up to him and I said, hey, you’re this Week in Tech. I’m this Week in Science. And he said, hey. And we started talking. And that led to a collaboration, doing a video program. And this is right at the beginning of itunes starting to offer video podcasts. It wasn’t eve