Tell Me About Your Science: the first, highly competitive, science communication contest

May 20. Tensions are rising onstage at the CHUM Research Centre amphitheatre. The timer counts down the seconds. Mercilessly. Unrelentingly. Unmoved by the balancing acts of the scientific popularization acrobats who, in a feat of bravery and audacity, tell their science stories at the 1st annual Tell Me About Your Science contest.

For one afternoon, 17 students and postdoctoral fellows have shown up to this science popularization contest put on by the CRCHUM Student and Postdoctoral Affairs team.

Breaking science down for a general audience is a precise art. Let’s just say that if you can explain your research project in five minutes with just one PowerPoint slide for reference, with a captive audience of over a hundred people from the CRCHUM community, well… that’s a work of art.

Congratulations to the participants for their commitment and willingness to share their knowledge with the public, who are curious and intelligent, but not specialists.

The importance of popularization

“Speaking of science in simple terms, explaining to close friends and family what you’re working on in the lab. It all starts there. Popularization is essential in order to share knowledge with the general public. And it’s a skill that one should learn in their scholarly pursuits,” says Isabelle Doré, Interim associate scientific director of Student and postdoctoral affairs, at the start of the event.

Perrine Coquelet, judge and winner of the People’s Choice—Media Challenge awarded in 2024 at the provincial Science Pop competition, says that her participation in this type of event increased her self-confidence and ability to speak in front of a large crowd. She invites CRCHUM research team managers to encourage their students to take part in this adventure.

“The popularization contest allows us to connect with the general public, to break down barriers between scientists and those unfamiliar with the domain. We are all sharers of knowledge. It’s up to us to popularize science,” says Inès Cherkaoui, the event’s mistress of ceremonies and winner of the local Science Pop competition (popularization challenge) held at the CRCHUM in 2024.

A vibrant and talented community

No one is born an expert in popularization, but these 17 people, who put themselves forward on the Tell Me About Your Science stage, have shown that by practising it’s possible to become one.

The public had the opportunity to experience passionate, engaged, stimulating and sometimes winding presentations on various topics. For example, the use of the zebrafish as a model to study rare diseases, osteosarcopenia, oncolytic viruses, the effects of cannabis on mental health or the crucial role played by blood vessels during kidney transplants (see the detailed list below).

After deliberating, the jury singled out our people in the field of popularization doing remarkable work.

• Salma Bricha (Cancer Research Theme) won 1^st place, with a prize of $500, for her presentation Immunothérapie : donner un coup de pouce à notre système immunitaire pour mieux traiter le cancer.
• Lisa Bellemare (Health Innovation and Evaluation Hub) won 2^nd place and a prize of $300, for her project La revue de littérature : une étape indispensable et un devis expérimental à part entière.
• Anita Abboud (Neuroscience Research Theme) won 3^rd place and a $200 prize for her presentation Cannabis sans high : que fait réellement le CBD?
• François Kajiramugabi Maneraguha (Health Innovation and Evaluation Hub) received the Centre of Excellence on Partnership with Patients and the Public (CEPPP) Favourite prize, for his project L’éducation sexuelle entre leurs mains: une application de santé mobile à la fois.

The CEPPP gives him the opportunity to chose whether to publish his project in a specialized review dedicated to patient partnership, to participate at a conference lunch as a guest speaker or attend a 5 à 7 to exchange with patient partners involved in research.

The winners of the top three prizes will also have the opportunity to develop their personal brand during a one-hour, one-on-one meeting with event partner Sarah Oirdighi.

This first edition of the Tell Me About Your Science contest has shown once again that an incredible multitude of talents in popularization can be found hiding away in the student and postdoctoral community at the CRCHUM.

One could bet that the entire CRCHUM community will come back even stronger next year to cheer on the members of their teams taking part in this popularization contest.

Bring on next year’s edition!