From stem cells to science communication
In 2018, Professor Faye Suk-Ying Tsang joined Croucher Foundation’s training course for science communication aimed at Croucher scholars with an interest in reaching a wider audience.
We recently caught up with Tsang to hear about her research, her reflections on science communication, and the changing world of science generally.
We began with her research into the biology of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) and their cardiac derivatives. “The focus of research in my laboratory is really to try to understand the communication between different organelles or the functions of different organelles in the PSC-derived cardiomyocytes and how they would affect the maturation of cardiomyocytes derived from PSCs,” Tsang explained.
Cardiomyocytes are a type of cell that makes up the cardiac muscle tissue found in the heart. Tsang’s goal is to arrive at a greater understanding of the maturation process, which is the process whereby cardiomyocytes derived from PSCs develop into fully functional heart muscle cells. Additionally, “by understanding this process, maybe in the future, there can be more suitable cell types, more mature heart muscle cells that can be used for purposes such as drug screening,” she told us.
Tsang underlined the complexity of this process. “The maturation process in our heart during our development occurs in vivo with a lot of chemical, mechanical, and other stimuli. So I think maybe a mixture of these stimuli may eventually be needed for us to make a genuine mature cell.”
We then asked her what initially got her into science. “At the beginning, it was really curiosity. I think starting from when I was a child, I was interested in nature, in science,” Tsang told us. Now, she added, her motivation is broader. “Apart from curiosity, it's really the desire to use science to improve our health or improve our life.”
We asked her about any changes she has seen in the role of science in daily life over the year. “The science has always been there,” she reminded us, to describe the effect of what we eat or how we drive a car, for example. “But as I develop my career, as society moves on, I can see that people have started to be aware of the importance of science and the value of science. They’ve started to know the fun of science; maybe as a result of talks, shows, exhibitions, etc.”
Scientists are aware of the importance of public engagement
“I think STEM education in Hong Kong has also raised children's students' interest in science. So they are aware of the fun and importance of science,” Tsang added.
Another change Tsang has observed is that the career opportunities for young scientists have opened up. “Maybe in the past, when I was a graduate student, when we obtained a PhD, we’d usually go for academia.” But things have changed. Thanks in part to resources from government into encouraging start-ups, there are other opportunities.
“There are other choices, like they can go to a biotech company to be a scientist or manage a project. They can even start their own biotech company. So I’d say the opportunities for developing their career in other fields are different now.”
Tsang enjoyed her training programme with Croucher Science Week and her time interacting with audiences, even if she was initially a little nervous at having to audition to get on the programme. She has seen a growing need for and tendency towards public engagement in science.
“The general public, along with government and the rest of society, need to appreciate the importance of science. This will help us make an even better contribution to society, to the development of our technology to improve our health. So scientists are aware of the importance of public engagement.”
For Tsang, a key aspect of science communication or engagement is making the science relevant. “We need to think of a way that we can relate science to real life. And then, after they know its importance, you try to really simplify complex ideas into something more understandable.”
This is a skill that young researchers need to develop, she feels. “They will gain a lot from it,” she added. Another kind of communication, teaching is also important for researchers, stressed Tsang, identifying AI as both a challenge and an opportunity in her own teaching.
“I think AI can help with our teaching. So, for instance, in the past, I might ask my students to write an essay, but now if you go to AI, you can already ask it to write an essay for you. But whether that information is correct still requires you to use critical thinking. So now, I may not ask my students to write their own essay. But then they need to tell me whether this AI essay is well written or whether it has defects.”
“This is how AI can help to develop the critical mindset of our students,” she added.
You can read Tsang’s Croucher profile here.