

REYHANEH MAKTOUFI
Science communication researcher, producer, trainer, and strategist
About Rey
Reyhaneh (Rey) Maktoufi is a DC-based, Iranian researcher and science communicator. She is the co-producer, host and illustrator of PBS|NOVA's digital series Sciencing Out, a mini-series on women in history who have used different strategies to communicate their science. Rey successfully defended her Ph.D. in Media, Technology, and Society at Northwestern University. She is an HHMI, Tangled Bank Studio Fellow in Science Communication. Previously, Rey was a Rita Allen Foundation Civic Science Fellow in Misinformation at GBH|NOVA. As a researcher, media strategist/consultant, and producer, her main fields of interest are science communication, misinformation, curiosity, public engagement with scientists, and science communication in media. She was a visiting researcher at the Adler Planetarium, where she studied science communication and facilitated workshops on communication skills and she's also a producer at The Story Collider podcast. Before starting a Ph.D., Rey has been working as a health communication facilitator and cancer preventive/palliative care campaign manager in Tehran, Iran. Rey currently enjoys working with different nonprofits such as the Communicating Science Conference (ComSciCon). She also engages in science outreach through writing blog-posts and making science comics and has been interviewed on outlets such as the Smithsonian Magazine and the SETI Institute's podcast Big Picture Science.
SO WHATÂ IS IT THAT YOU DO?
Just like how we make decisions about vaccination, conservation, and engineering based on evidence and science, we also need the science of science communication to help us make good choices when we do public outreach, produce science media, or just talk to our friends and family about science.
So, I research the science of science communication and identify communication best practices and strategies. I also make sure to communicate findings from SciComm research to others. I do that through producing videos and comics, writing pieces, giving interviews to different outlets, facilitation trainings and workshops and consulting.

YOU CAN FIND MEÂ AT

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Ph.D. Media, Technology, & Society