This is a question that I have been asked many times over the course of this year. I am currently in my final year of study, and am working on my honours thesis project at the BC Cancer Agency. Since I am frequently either on my way to or from the lab, my thesis often comes up in conversation with my friends who have little to no background in the sciences. I also had to field many questions at the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner table from my family, which meant I needed to figure out how to explain my research.

My honours project is focused on two components of a protein complex called the MRN complex, which is involved in the Fanconi anemia DNA repair pathway. I am investigating whether these proteins, Mre11 and Nbs1, are able to reduce the level of R loops in human cancer cells and therefore promote genome stability. Explaining this to my relatives, some of whom did not complete high school, was a huge challenge over Christmas, but I eventually figured out a way to explain it. “Cancer is caused by mutations, and there are these structures in our DNA called R loops that make mutations more common,” I explained. “I’m studying a couple of molecules to see if they can fix the R loops and prevent cancer.” An oversimplification? Sure, but now my relatives and friends have a better grasp on what I am doing in the lab all day.

This has made me understand the importance of knowing how to simplify complex concepts for the general public in science. Granted, in my case this ability to explain my research has little effect on the state of scientific research as a whole, but the same skills must be used by scientists who are communicating with the public every day. As the political climate in the United States has shown, particularly with regards to climate change, scientists can often be seen as “elitist”, and research can be challenging to explain to people with little formal education. It is important to always be mindful of our audience in science, especially as research becomes increasingly specific and the public becomes increasingly hostile towards that which they do not understand.