GW climate and health scientists talk career tips – The GW Hatchet

A panel of early-career scientists talked about the skills and background needed to advance in the fields of climate, air quality and public health at an event Monday.

GW research scientists Kate O’Dell, Gaige Kirr, Tess Carter and Doyeon Ahn said students looking to enter research science careers should gain experience in tools like coding and statistics and should be prepared to network with people in the industry. The GW Climate and Health Institute hosted the event at the Milken Institute School of Public Health as the February session of the “Climate and Health Connections Series,” the second edition of a series focused on climate change and how it relates to health.

Kate O’Dell, a postdoctoral research scientist whose work focuses on topics like air quality and health, said having good writing and communication skills are vital in fields like climate and health. She said practicing these skills prepared her for “success in academia.”

“In science, a lot of people aren’t as skilled in written and oral communication,” O’Dell said. “So if you do have the skills and do them well, it really makes you stand out.”

Tess Carter, a postdoctoral research scientist focusing on topics like climate and science, said networking is another skill that students looking to enter these fields must cultivate. She said the “personal interactions” of networking leave an impression on the person the student is trying to get the attention of.

“This is a good segue to oral communication because networking is really just learning how to talk about yourself and talk about other people,” Carter said.

Gaige Kirr, a research scientist whose work focuses on topics like environmental justice and equity, said students also need to understand technical knowledge, like coding languages and statistics, to work in scientific fields because of the size and scope of data sets their fields to work with.

“I’m going to talk about a skill that I feel is important that might elicit some groans from you guys or from our virtual audience,” Kirr said. “But I feel really passionately that if you want to be doing research-related work in any of these fields related to health or climate or geosciences, you need to know computer programming.”

Doyeon Ahn, a postdoctoral research fellow focusing on topics like carbon dioxide emissions from global cities, said a firm understanding of statistics is key to success in these fields. He said being able to interpret data is valuable because it allows scientists to better piece out the notable information gained from a data set.

“And when that knowledge is having a large impact on a society, at a large scale in a positive way, I think that knowledge becomes the wisdom,” Ahn said.

This article appeared in the February 13, 2023 issue of the Hatchet.