The Origin Story

Developed through a collaboration between Prof. Daniel Cohen (MAE, ODBI), Annetta Black of Odd Salon, and the Council on Science on Technology (CST), Lab Tales is funded by the National Science Foundation with additional funding and hosting by CST, and additional support from GradFUTURES. Cohen explained that he and Black were motivated to create Lab Tales to fill a lacuna in science training, which tends not to teach scientists about “understanding the human history of science.” 

“It’s this shared history that explains how we got to now, why we think the way we do, and why science looks the way it does today,” Cohen said. "Telling the stories behind the science can not only better inspire and motivate scientists, but improve how we communicate science to the broader community, which ultimately builds trust, accessibility, and appreciation for science and how it shapes us.”

Cohen and Black's partnership began in the San Francisco storytelling scene, namely through the programming of Odd Salon, which promotes historical storytelling as way to bring communities together. Cohen routinely gives public science storytelling talks (nearly 86 over the past decade) and helped to establish the New York City chapter of Odd Salon. Black, meanwhile, had run Odd Salon events every few weeks before she passed away in October 2024. Cohen had initially reached out to CST for assistance on the first Lab Tales iteration when he was developing a pedagogically-sound workshop that would meet the outreach requirements for the National Science Foundation CAREER grant which he received in 2021.

“Lab Tales participants represent the future of STEM research, teaching, mentoring, grants acquisition, and policy making,” Sami Kahn, Executive Director of CST, said. “Helping them to communicate science in accessible and engaging ways will make them more effective leaders in all facets of their work and better ambassadors for science at large. Lab Tales not only impacts the participant, but their current and future students, colleagues, and society – it’s a win-win-win!” 

Over 80 students and postdocs have received training from the initiative over 4 summer sessions since 2021. This year, 13 graduate students and 8 postdocs took part in the program, which took place from August 19-22, culminating in a storytelling showcase on the final evening. 

What Makes a Good Story? 

With a storyteller (Black) and a scientist (Cohen) at the helm of the workshop, Lab Tales aims to provide a comprehensive overview of narratives, covering, as Cohen says, ”why stories are so important to humans, what makes a story, where to find them, and how to integrate them into your work and life.”  

Cohen kicked off this year's workshop with a series of folktales that emphasize the power of stories to convey big picture information in a more rapid, lasting, and engaging manner than academic prose. He then presented the key elements of a story, illustrated via a history of rhinoplasty, one of several demonstration talks he performed during the week. There are plenty of “don’t”s for science-communicators-in-training given how different these kinds of narratives are from scientific papers. For instance, don’t get hung up on jargon, don’t oversimplify to the point of falsification (especially to non-specialist audiences), and don’t be afraid to show the messiness of the scientific process and the scientists doing it. Cohen and Black also provided some suggestions on where to find science stories (and how to establish a source’s credibility), from the Wellcome Collection to Wikipedia rabbit holes to your friendly local research librarian at Princeton or elsewhere. 

How Do I Tell a Good Story? 

The workshop offered participants a host of tools to use to tell their research stories. For instance, on the second day of the workshop, attendees tried their hand at the three-act arc by using tools to make compelling narratives out of quirky anecdotes from the history of science (e.g., Thomas Jefferson’s moose fixation). The tools provided guidance on how to: find a story center (i.e., does your story revolve around an object, a moment in time, or an idea?), use the “and, but, therefore” method, and answer the “Five Questions for Storytellers,” developed by Black to frame a universal narrative. Participants found that they each built very different narratives surrounding the same anecdotes, while using the same tools and research. That is, there is tremendous variation in the narrative form depending on what you want your audience to take away. Beyond the three-act arc, graduate students and postdocs practiced with other narrative structures, such as the hero’s journey and the looping narrative. 

Richard Thornton, a graduate student in Molecular Biology, wanted to incorporate elements of intersecting narratives into his presentation, which used the movements of people in crowds as a metaphor for cell migration. While ultimately he went with a structure that was more “freewheeling,” he reported that the experience changed his perspective on storytelling. “I gained a new respect for actual authors and writers,” he reflected.  

Why and to Whom Should Scientists Tell Stories? 

Throughout the workshop, Cohen made the case for how storytelling can be an effective and essential outlet for scientists: stories are integral aspects of how we learn, remember, and connect. Stories are especially important vehicles in facilitating access and inclusion, as well as in humanizing scientists – and thus building trust. Similarly, he advocates that storytelling is an important avenue for researchers’ “social contracts" given how much of scientific research is federally-funded and uses taxpayer dollars. All of this is reflected in the large number of outreach talks Cohen has performed and the drive to create Lab Tales. As he says, “You owe yourself, the research community, and the society our stories of how got to ‘now.'" 

Effective science communicators have the ability to pitch their research to a variety of audiences, including those with little or no context. To test participants’ communicative dexterity, Cohen arranged a role-play exercise. Attendees practiced talking about their research with diverse (playacting participant) audiences: a middle schooler, a media professional, a TikTok influencer, a foundation funder, a science-skeptical cousin, and a journalist. Kahn, who played a middle schooler, observed that “participants were surprised at how difficult it was to find the ‘sweet spot’ of clearly conveying their research to someone with little background without being condescending.”

Putting It All Together 

The final day of the workshop was dedicated to the performative aspect of storytelling, followed by presentation of the Lab Tales themselves. In addition to covering best practices for graphics and slides (i.e., minimal text and easy-to-follow visuals are key), Cohen went over elements of stagecraft, tips to counter stage fright, and an overview of the “flourishes” that make presentations compelling. 

In the evening, the 21 graduate student and postdoc participants each had 5 minutes to tell their tales. Princeton Vaughn, a graduate student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, crafted his narrative around “the unsung heroes” of evolution, the “very charismatic” genus of anole lizards. In his presentation, Vaughn foregrounded the pioneering work on ecomorphs by herpetologist Ernest Williams, who described similarities in anole morphology and habitat across various anole species inhabiting different Caribbean islands. “These lizards can help us key into the factors shaping the repeatability of evolution,” Vaughn explained. He then linked this foundational research into his own work on repeatable adaptations at the species level. Vaughn’s hope was that his narrative would encourage listeners to consider the lizard alongside the heavyweights of lab science (we’re looking at you, fruit flies and mice) when thinking about animals and scientific breakthroughs.  

For Richard Thornton, the graduate student in Molecular Biology, one big draw of the workshop was the “exposure therapy” it provided in public speaking. Looking back on his graduate career, Thornton reflected on his changing relationship with presentations. “I probably would not have done this or felt comfortable doing this,” at an earlier stage, he said. “I feel like this is a good milestone.” 

Vaughn – who won an Outstanding Presentation Award for his 2024 Princeton Research Day video submission – sees science communication as inseparable from his research. He received his “drive for science” from popular science programming such as Animal Planet, and now sees it as his responsibility to “help people understand and perceive our work” as scientists. To that end, Lab Tales was most helpful in showing Vaughn the communicative richness of historical narratives in presenting science to a general public. 

Amaya Dharmasiri, a graduate student in Computer Science, also highlighted historical narratives as uncharted territory in the context of presenting her research. “I really loved that they pushed us to find ways to narrate our own research,” she said. “I had not thought about the historical contexts of my research before, so it was a nice thought experiment as well as a shift in perspective.” 

Lab Tales has opened doors for participants beyond the summer programming. For instance, prior Lab Tales cohorts have been invited to year-round opportunities including a trip to NYC to attend Odd Salon performances, advanced science communication workshops, and, more recently, free tickets to a September showing of “Young Frankenstein” at Princeton’s Garden Theatre, where Cohen discussed the connection between the 1974 Mel Brooks film and research in bioelectricity. Cohen and Black also developed a LabTales_mini version of the workshop, which will see its twentieth iteration in mid-December at Cell Bio 2024, the joint American Society for Cell Biology and European Molecular Biology Organization meeting. 

Evaluations of the Lab Tales program consistently suggest that participants gain confidence in communicating their research to diverse audiences, as well as familiarity with the use of narrative/storytelling techniques and historical stories to share their work in compelling ways. To stay informed about future science communication events at Princeton, including Lab Tales 2025, follow CST’s upcoming events, and keep an eye out for information on science communication programming at the 2025 GradFUTURES Forum. 

Ed. note: Odd Salon co-founder and Lab Tales collaborator Annetta Black passed away on October 16, 2024, which is why no quotes have been attributed to her. GradFUTURES and CST send their sincere condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues.