An interview with Lina El Hajji

Lina was one of the three-minute talk presenters at our science communication event, SciCommConnect. At the event, which we co-hosted with the Node and preLights, we were treated to fantastic talks on a range of topics. Lina has kindly allowed us to share her presentation and we caught up with Lina to learn more about her research and her tips for making presentations impactful.

How did you first become interested in science and what has been your career path so far?

It was mainly in high school where I discovered an interest for physics and chemistry, and this has motivated me to pursue studies in these topics. I then did a bachelor in chemistry and I became interested in the interface between chemistry and biology so I enrolled in a master of chemistry and life sciences. I had the chance to attend several seminars and discuss with different researchers who introduced me to their fields of research and activities and researchers. I was especially interested in the field of biological imaging and fluorescence so I pursued my PhD on this topic, and more particularly on the development of new fluorescent chemogenetic reporters for monitoring cellular processes. 

We heard an overview of your research in your three-minute talk, but can you tell a bit more about your work?

In our lab we work on developing new tools for fluorescence imaging and control of cellular activity. We more specifically work on chemogenetic reporters, comprising a protein tag, which has the ability to activate the fluorescence of small fluorogenic ligands. The great asset of these reporters is the ability to modulate their properties through either protein engineering, molecular engineering, or both at the same time. In particular, during my PhD I used directed evolution to develop a near-infrared fluorescent chemogenetic reporter which we applied in several biological models as well as to design other tools for cellular activity monitoring and control. I also worked on identifying chemogenetic reporters for fluorescence lifetime multiplexing.

Congratulations on your recent PhD defence; what’s next for you?

I just started a postdoc in the same group, developing new tools for visualizing cellular activity.

Why do you think science communication is important, and can you tell us about any other science communication projects you’ve been involved in?

Science can often be perceived as intimidating or complicated, but through choosing the right way to deliver it, we can make it more accessible to non-expert audiences, and maybe even spark interest in younger audiences. For me it is an important part of our responsibilities as people working in research, and is a good complementary activity to teaching. During my PhD, I have been involved in science fair events, presenting experiments on the chemistry of colors and fluorescence microscopy.

What role do you think microscope images should play in science communication?

Microscopy images can make a great entry point to complex science and research, as pictures can speak more to people than big blocks of text. Through a single snapshot, one can explain a lot of different concepts about the biological model that is captured, the process or structure that is visualized, the technique which is used for labeling the sample or the imaging modality that is used.

How did you decide what key points to include in your three-minute research talk to make it accessible and engaging? Do you have any tips for researchers to make their presentation impactful?

Making a research talk that is accessible is a good exercise to take a step back on our research and try to capture its essence and select the most important messages to deliver. That is one difficulty I have personally faced when preparing for the talk, to actually only choose a few key points to focus on instead of trying to say everything. Some key points for making such a talk engaging and accessible is through refraining from using complex technical wording and think of good metaphors or comparisons that would speak to most people, especially when dealing with size or time scales.  I think keeping the message as simple as possible, and putting it in general context also greatly helps with understanding.

Finally, what were your main takeaways from the SciCommConnect workshop?

One of the things from the workshop that will for sure stay with me is from the writing part : to make writing a more constant habit rather than trying to make the perfect sentence on the spot. It is easier to put words on paper even if the phrasing is not perfect and work on that rather than being stuck in front of a blank page and not making progress. From Jamie’s talk I will remember to always actually actively engage with the audience when giving a talk.

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