Multi-award-winning molecular biologist. Science communicator. Culture commentator. Keynote speaker. I make science feel like it belongs to everyone.
As a kid I had a million questions about the world, and science seemed like the most fun way to get answers. That feeling never left me.
I worked in drug discovery, finding potential treatments for diseases like dementia and cancer. Then I watched the country falling out with science, and I wanted to do something about it. I chose education. I took science to socials in 2016 and earned a Ph.D. examining how messenger credibility, message design, and cultural context shape public trust in science. That research became this platform.
These days I create science content full time as Dr. Raven the Science Maven, bringing the molecules behind everyday life, from the caffeine in your coffee to the melanin in your skin, to a combined following of more than 650,000 and a reach in the tens of millions.
contact@thesciencemaven.comWriting about me? Grab the media kit
In sixth grade I won a scholarship to U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. My hometown paper, the News & Record, covered it.
My mom told the reporter I said: “If they offer me a chance to go to space, I’m gone.”
“She’s a sponge.”
“If I had a class full of students like Raven, I’d be in heaven.”
“Sixth-grader sets her sights on career in space” · News & Record, April 2004
I earned my B.A. and M.A. at SUNY Buffalo State and my Ph.D. at the University at Buffalo, then came home to deliver Buffalo State’s commencement address.
B.A., Biological Sciences · SUNY Buffalo State
Undergraduate
M.A., Biological Sciences · SUNY Buffalo State
Graduate
Ph.D., Curriculum, Instruction & the Science of Learning · University at Buffalo
Doctorate
Immunological Strategies to Study GRP170 in Caenorhabditis elegans
Master’s thesis · SUNY Buffalo State · 2017
Doctoral dissertation · University at Buffalo · 2022
Dysbiosis and succession in the scientific infobiome
Comment · Nature Microbiology · 2026
Trained in biological and social sciences research.
How do cells keep their proteins working under stress? And how do antibodies find their targets? I studied the machinery behind both.
Could this molecule become a treatment for dementia or cancer? I ran the screens to find out, including how prostate cancer cells respond to hormone signals.
What happens when science communication reflects the people it serves? That research became this platform.
I work inside institutions too, on the science that has to be right. Manuals, curricula, and counsel for the organizations the public depends on.
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
I co-authored the first United States clinical manual for infection-associated chronic illnesses, a 180-page implementation resource spanning Long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis, and post-treatment Lyme. Adopted by more than 5,000 clinicians, patients, and caregivers in its first month.
Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration
I developed the curriculum and lesson content for this free vaccine education resource, five modules and sixteen lessons with more than thirty videos on how immunity works, aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. The Foundation contracted me directly for the work. RTI International built the platform, and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation funded the project.
I’ve also trained federal executives on talking about vaccines with the public, advised the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration on culturally responsive science communication, participated in White House National Space Council roundtables, and I founded and chair the Science Communication Consortium on Ethics at the Association of Science Communicators.
play, authenticity, & delight.
Over 10 years of making science learning meaningful and actionable
I break down science in rap music. I produce the beats, write and perform lyrics. You can stream it on all major platforms.
I set a vision and carry it forward, making space for others in science to be bold and vibrant. Nerdy Jobs is my original series. I do STEM professionals' jobs for a day, right alongside them. Do you want to sponsor an episode at your research site? Email contact@thesciencemaven.com.
Pfizer’s flagship, award-winning podcast. I co-hosted Season 5, hosted Season 6, and brought flavor and candor to technical conversations about vaccines, engineered antibodies, molecular glues, and the tech that carries chemo straight to a tumor. Season 6 went deep on cancer, from early-onset colorectal cases to biomarkers, survivorship, and AI in the clinic.
My podcast and newsletter. Everything at the intersection of the technical and social sciences, plus updates from me. Listen here.
Over 100 federal, corporate, and academic stages. Keynotes on belonging in science, trust between science and the public, and the molecules running your everyday life.
There's science everywhere, and I work with brands to craft unique stories that work seamlessly with my platform and my clients' goals. If you want to pitch a campaign, email contact@thesciencemaven.com.
Book me to speakSee my creative workSee the case studiesThe podcast
Selected awards and recognition.
Headshots, bios, and current numbers all live in my media kit.
Give this woman a show! I learned more in the last 2 minutes about science than all of my 4 years of college.
So y'all basically out here saying Raven is a science GOAT. Out here top 3 with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye.
You are now my favorite scientist. Well done!
Thank you for being my new Bill Nye.
THANK YOU. That was the best explanation of cancer diversity I have heard.
I love this so much!!! Netflix Amazon someone please option this as a fully syndicated SHOW!
I never really enjoyed science because it was boring. But watching a couple of your videos has made it more interesting. You definitely have a new student
I wish you were my biochemistry lecturer in university. I wouldn't have failed it the first time
This is AMAZING!!!! I teach AP Bio and I can't WAIT to share this with my students!!!!
I'm 32, at the early stages of writing my application for the NSF GRFP. You're my inspiration to reach higher and find community.
Definitely famous. I put a bio pic of you on my classroom promethean board for women's history month.
This world needs more science educators like you. I bow to you, Queen!
My little girl (3 and a half) is showing a lot of promise at STEM play at her daycare, with role models like yourself being out there I thankfully have so much to show her
Been following you at least 10 years. Bought ALL the periodic table clothes you sell. And you inspire me to show up as I do
From fighting for fair housing with the National Fair Housing Alliance to putting telescopes in kids’ hands through my nonprofit The Science Haven.
I was in contract for a home in Virginia Beach, and the seller attempted to pull out of the deal upon learning I was Black. The New York Times documented it. I turned an unfortunate situation into one that can help people across the country learn about their rights. I partner with the National Fair Housing Alliance to champion our rights.
My nonprofit, The Science Haven, gifts kids Celestron telescopes through our Stellar Dreams program. Each kid assembles their own, trains as a junior astronomer, and sees the Moon and Jupiter up close that first night. A telescope opens the doors to a lifetime of discovery and exploration.
If you’d like to partner with or sponsor The Science Haven, reach out to raven@thesciencehaven.org.
I’m a bridge builder, a culture shifter, and a force for making learning feel like it belongs to everyone, especially the communities that traditional messaging has historically left out.
Come find me. I can see the future, and you’re in it.
I look forward to working with you,
