1/ A thread about my research! Many know my undergrad & grad degrees are in biology, & I've worked as a corporate scientist in drug discovery, etc. In my Ph.D., I switched gears & did a novel study of how representations of scientists in media impact adult STEM interest.

2/ My research stems (no pun intended) from a music video I put out last year that is my creative expression of my liberation as a Black woman in STEM. That video is called "Big Ole Geeks". It went viral. I'm linking it in the thread but you can also Google it!

3/ I made the video because I was TIRED of people telling me that I was a "token Black" and I "didn't look like a scientist" after years of conforming to all of the eurocentric standards & customs that most Black women have to force themselves in to get by. So I liberated myself.

4/ I describe these experiences in the TEDx talk that I gave earlier this year. I highly recommend that you watch it. Here is the link

5/ When I put the video out, it honestly was scary but I knew people were going to mistreat me regardless of how I lived, so I was going to live my life unapologetically & stop trying to please people who oppress me. What happened after caused me to focus my research on the video

6/ There was an outpouring of responses from a huge diversity of people across gender, race, age, etc. The overall response to the video was incredibly intriguing. I wanted to know more; and I focused a study on Black women's responses to later expand to a general audience

7/ I interviewed 18 people about their perceptions of what they believe is the most represented image of a scientist in America, if they identify with that, and how they experienced my novel representation of scientists. Also, if they can be themselves at work. What did I find?

8/ The findings revealed shared experiences consistent between 18 Black women as a general population, across STEM and non-STEM professionals. These women collectively had a shared narrative that reinforced the following main themes listed below. Not all are listed fyi

9A/ Overrepresentation of **** scientists in the media; non-identification with images of **** scientists in the media; unprecedented images of Black women scientists; experiences of code-switching and identity negotiation in the workplace; AND...

9B/ twerking to celebrate Black womanhood and release trauma; non-STEM professionals’ identities with science; and, science-based hip-hop as a classroom tool for learning. There was SO MUCH that was learned in the study that will fill a HUGE gap.

10/ The study I will present this week presents the co-constructed narrative of 19 women (18+me) and their incredibly powerful responses to my "Big Ole Geeks" science-based music video.

11/ My research results have implications for ensuring that students experience relatable images of Black women scientists early in their K-16 experience and that being a Black scientist should not require sacrificing your cultural identity.

12/ My study is among the first to focus on the perceptions of both Black STEM & non-STEM Black women in the general population in a study on STEM identity, the first to examine the impact of science-based music videos on adults and.....

13/ The first study investigating the impact of Black women scientists' alternative media representation.

14/ Here is the music video that is at the centerpiece of the study

/15 Doing this work has been rewarding, fulfilling, and the best decision I could have made. I’m glad that I’m a strong enough woman to do it, whether the world was ready for it or not. Training my brain to think as a social scientist has been the greatest exercise of my life.