bacteria illustration

About

I am a recent Ph.D. graduate in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Tennessee. I now work as an adjunct professor, course evaluator, and freelance data journalist and content writer. One personal mission of mine is to make science and scientific advances more mainstream so many in the public are not intimidated and can make better sense of the world around them. I am very lucky that my job includes promoting science to every facet of the public all the way to the White House.

My inspiration for this mission is my four year old daughter. I see the scientist in her in the questions she asks and the curiosity in her eyes. Making sure that curiosity is encouraged is job one.

Everything associated with this blog (illustrations, opinions, posts, etc.) are my own and are not associated with the University of Tennessee or any other institution.

29 Replies to “About”

  1. I definitely applaud your approach–and I personally feel that it is not very easy to do. I aspire to write about science and have started my own blog.

    Reply

    1. Thanks a lot. I appreciate others with a passion for science. My goal is to make sure we have more of us in the next generation coming up. I really like your blog. Keep it up!

      Reply
  2. Pingback: Science blogs that I recommend | Science on the Land

      1. I know! It’s so crazy that one wonders how Arpaio and his ilk can live in such a different reality than the rest of us. Just boggling….thanks again.

  7. Thanks so much for checking out ScienceSprings. I hope that you found items of interest. My mission is to spread the word, it’s all taxpayer dollars, D.O.E., NASA, our contribution to CERN, and the press just sucks.So, bringing places like Fermilab, Berkeley, PPPL, and Argonne to social media just makes sense to me.

    Reply

  8. Thanks so much for taking a look at Behaving Animals and for following it!!! Like you, I try to make science accessible. I’ll make sure cool posts come up in your reader 🙂

    Reply

  9. Hey Dr (congratulations on recently getting your PhD),

    Thank you for liking my post. I had a sports accident on 15th December 2011 and have been trying to recover since. My spinal injury has been the toughest challenge in my life, and I really want to say thank you for supporting me, it honestly means a lot to me.

    I’m sure you can awake the scientist in your daughter! Your great with science. Thank you for sharing it with the world!

    Your friend,
    Lucas

    http://www.leveluphealth.wordpress.com

    Reply

    1. Hi Lucas!

      Thanks for all the kind words! Science and studying the wonders of nature are a passion, so what I do doesn’t seem like work. Your story is an inspiration and it is stories like yours that led me to research to begin with. Thanks again and best of luck and determination!

      Matt

      Reply

      1. Hey Dr. Matt, thanks for the support. Please let me know if you find anything on nerve or spinal injury recovery 🙂 It would mean the world to me. You words are gold.

        Your friend,
        Lucas

  10. I love this – this is exactly the same mission that motivates and inspires me. Thank you so much for following Dinner Table Science – I’m following you back now. If you’d ever like to do a guest blog/feature on my blog, please feel free to let me know, I’d love to work together with our combined fan base.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for all the enthusiasm. It’s what science needs more of! I think you have a great blog with a clear direction, something that took me a while to find. I would love to do a guest feature for you. Also, just say the word, and you can add anything you want to mine. Keep up the great work, Rachel.

      Reply

      1. Sure thing! My eventual goal is to have once a month guest bloggers who are real scientists (like you!) talk about their job or their field or why they think science is important, as well as to feature a little bit about them. If you get some time/are interested in something like that, just get in touch with me – my email and such are on my contact page.
        I’m so glad you were able to find DTS – this is a big step up for me, follower-wise. 😀

  11. Hey Matt, just joined wordpress again after a 2 year hiatus and started following your blog. Always good to hear about the breaking news coming form the trenches. I especially love hearing about model organisms like yeast and flies (hint hint).

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    1. Welcome back to WP. I am a microbiologist by trade, so yeast was a stretch for me. I hate to admit it, but I loath Drosophila. I would find something else to do during flies seminars in grad school. I can’t explain it. I’m working on an update to DOE’s Bioenergy Research Centers brochure, so I’m starting to get interested in what they are able to do with microbes (bacteria, yeast, and algae).

      Reply

      1. Heh. Same for me with mice. When I was at NCI, I was not fond of working with them. Much rather enjoy yeast – good for experiments, and, of course, when used properly – good for beer. 😉

  12. Hi,

    I hope this finds you well. I represent Healthline Networks, and we were wondering if you could include Healthline’s Rheumatoid Arthritis Center (http://www.healthline.com/health/rheumatoid-arthritis) as a resource on your page: https://mhrussel.wordpress.com/

    Healthline provides a very comprehensive overview of Rheumatoid Arthritis as a critical starting point for individuals and/or their loved ones.

    Why you should include Healthline as a resource:

    -Video overview of RA by Dr. Paul Auerbach of Stanford Medicine
    -A free interactive educational tool on RA: http://www.healthline.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/anatomy-animations#1/what-is-rheumatoid-arthritis?
    -Breaking news (ex. http://www.healthline.com/health-news/arthritis-gum-disease-bacteria-worsens-rheumatoid-arthritis-091713) and in-depth, doctor-reviewed content

    For more information about our rigorous editorial process, to view our board of directors and more visit the Healthline about page: http://www.healthline.com/health/about-healthline.

    Please let me know if you are open to adding Healthline’s RA center as a resource. Thank you in advance for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing back from you.

    Warm Regards,
    Maggie Danhakl- Assistant Marketing Manager
    p: 415-281-3124 f: 415-281-3199

    Healthline Networks, Inc. • Connect to Better Health
    660 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94107 http://www.healthline.com

    Reply

    1. Hi Maggie,

      I appreciate you wanting to be included on my educational resources page. I usually wouldn’t oblige, however, one of my daughter’s best friends suffers from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. I would be happy to include your website. I will do so in the next day or so.

      Thanks,
      Matt

      Reply

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