20.109(S24):Communication

BE Communication Lab

Throughout the semester you will participate in workshops provided by an Instructor from the BE Communication Lab, Dr. Chiara Ricci-Tam <chiarart@mit.edu>. These workshops will help you prepare your major communication assignments. The resources provided at these workshops will be posted below.

To schedule an appointment for help from a BE Communication Fellow:

• BE Communication Lab

For assistance finding research articles, managing citations, etc.

• Howard Silver, the MIT Library's biological engineering expert
• MIT Libraries Biological Engineering Research Guide

Workshop Slides and Resources

• Workshop #1: Figure Design
  • Slides
  • Additional Resources:
    • Schematic Figure Design + Intro to Comm Lab resources
    • Figure design tip sheet
    • BE CommKit article: Figure Design
• Workshop #2: Figure Captions
  • Slides
  • Additional Resources:
    • Tips for figure titles and captions
• Workshop #3: Abstracts and Titles
  • Slides
    • Abstract worksheet
  • Additional Resources:
    • Strategies for crafting effective abstracts
    • BE CommKit article: Journal Article - Abstract
• Workshop #4: Oral Presentations
  • Slides
  • Additional Resources:
    • Tips for slide presentation and design
    • BE CommKit article: Slideshow
• Workshop #5: Research Manuscripts
  • Slides
  • Additional Resources:
    • Strategies for structuring a research manuscript
• Workshop #6: Research Proposals

Additional resources

Tips from Prof. Jen Heemstra

• Part 1: It’s not magic (go for quantity of ideas)
• Part 2: This could get ugly (defer judgment)
• Part 3: Ask questions (be curious)

Ideas for brainstorming

• IDEO's brainstorm rules, full list
• Post-its for innovation
• One professor's method of Post-its for research ideas

Examples from NIH

• NIH R03 grants info and examples
• NIAID info and examples