The Challenge: Science Outreach
This series starts off with a pitch competition initiated by the Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine in 2016 – in which doctoral students involved in stem cell research across Ontario are challenged to summarize their work in one minute pitch videos. Five winners were selected to have their pitches turned into a full 2-3 minute animated video.
OIRM’s communication director, Lisa Willemse, worked with the winners to polish their scripts and provide some live video footage of them in their labs for the final animation.
Animated sequences were created and added to live video to help the viewer understand the intricacies and complexities of working with stem cells.
The result is a series designed to give the viewer a peek into the lives of these young researchers and the kind of work supported by the OIRM.
Behind the Scenes
With a series like this one, we work with the organization’s branding and pallet, and an art style is decided early on. This ties all the videos together and allows us to reuse animated sequences and assets across episodes. While production times vary, the first episode usually takes between 8-12 weeks to complete, with subsequent episodes coming together considerably faster.
Science Communication 101:
Each episode features a young researcher tackling a different problem, but there are distinct similarities across episodes.
1. Each episode starts off with a clear plan and a sense of urgency. In Nika’s video, she stresses early that the time a patient waits for an organ can mean the difference between life and death. This statement (called a hook – a trigger that entices your audience to continue watching) is delivered within the first few seconds of the video. You aren’t left wondering why her work is so important.
2. They cover only what’s relevant for a lay audience.
Nothing about working with stem cells is easy. The science behind how they grow and the decisions they make about their fate is hugely complex. If you’ve never tried to summarize several years worth of work in a two minute video, you quickly realize how ruthlessly you have to be willing to trust the editing process. The students worked with Lisa to distill down what was important for a general audience to know.
Everything else hits the cutting room floor.
We don’t get into any specifics about how data is collected or analyzed. There aren’t any acronyms that aren’t defined and there isn’t any jargon.
What remains is a glimpse into the problems they’re solving and the importance of the work. Viewers interested in learning more can reach out to the OIRM for additional links and information.
Nika
Personalized medicine (using our own cells to repair our organs should they fail) is one of the biggest goals for the future. Nika’s work involves taking adult cells and turning them back into stem cells. The process is called “reprogramming,” but it’s horribly inefficient. Nika strives to use mathematical models to predict which cells might be lucky enough to re-claim that elusive stem cell status.
More efficient reprogramming = more stem cells = better opportunities for regenerative medicine
Nika
Personalized medicine (using our own cells to repair our organs should they fail) is one of the biggest goals for the future. Nika’s work involves taking adult cells and turning them back into stem cells. The process is called “reprogramming,” but it’s horribly inefficient. Nika strives to use mathematical models to predict which cells might be lucky enough to re-claim that elusive stem cell status.
More efficient reprogramming = more stem cells = better opportunities for regenerative medicine
Samantha
Although therapies are available to treat stroke, they aren’t as effective as one might hope. Injecting healthy cells into an injured brain represents one option to treat stroke, but these cells are often subjected to hostile conditions and many don’t survive. Sam’s lab works with a biomaterial that, when injected with healthy cells, offers improvements over existing methods in animal models.
Marissa
Premature babies are at risk of developing a serious lung condition, called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). But, the consequences of BPD aren’t limited to lung development and function. The effects of lowered oxygen on the developing brain can be devastating. Marissa’s work focuses on how stem cells can successfully treat the lungs of developing rats with the hope that giving the lungs a boost may also protect the developing human brain.
Marissa
Premature babies are at risk of developing a serious lung condition, called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). But, the consequences of BPD aren’t limited to lung development and function. The effects of lowered oxygen on the developing brain can be devastating. Marissa’s work focuses on how stem cells can successfully treat the lungs of developing rats with the hope that giving the lungs a boost may also protect the developing human brain.
Sarah
Horses share many things in common with humans – one being the potential to develop osteoarthritis (when the cartilage in a joint and its underlying bone degenerates). At the Ontario Veterinary College, Sarah uses stem cells to engineer new cartilage disks. These are analyzed before testing in horses – with the ultimate goal of being to use them to treat osteoarthritis in humans.
Josh
Embryonic stem cells have the ability to become any cell in the body, but exactly how a stem cell decides its fate remains a heavily studied area. Josh studies metabolism (the breakdown of nutrients into energy and other materials) and how these materials might influence stem cell decisions.
Josh
Embryonic stem cells have the ability to become any cell in the body, but exactly how a stem cell decides its fate remains a heavily studied area. Josh studies metabolism (the breakdown of nutrients into energy and other materials) and how these materials might influence stem cell decisions.
“I have used Sciconic for several animation and social media projects. They understand what it takes to effectively target an audience and consistently go above and beyond to deliver a fantastic product.”
Lisa Willemse | Senior Communications Consultant
“I have used Sciconic for several animation and social media projects. They understand what it takes to effectively target an audience and consistently go above and beyond to deliver a fantastic product.”
Lisa Willemse | Senior Communications Consultant