About Jen
Jennifer Ma completed her PhD in Dr. Peter Zandstra’s Stem Cell Bioengineering Lab at the University of Toronto. Her doctoral research focused on developing a novel platform for rapid enumeration of rare blood stem cells based on their unique genetic markers.
While immersed in the fascinating world of cutting-edge science, Jen rediscovered her love for graphic design and visual arts. Working at the interface of art and science, she is especially interested in combining these two passions for education, communication, and outreach. Having experienced firsthand how science can inspire, inform, and challenge all aspects of life, she thrives to share the beauty of science with others through thought-provoking art and captivating stories.
Jen's work has been featured on covers and in peer-reviewed articles of prestigious journals including Science, Nature Methods, and Development. She is also an avid science communicator on social media. More recently, she founded Gentle Facts with the goal to create social change through Compassionate Science Communication. Working with collaborators such as Cochrane, Gentle Facts publishes concise, evidence-based, and actionable information to validate the audience's emotions, address their concerns, and empowers them to create change together as a community.
Collaborations
Jen is always looking for opportunities to work with other science communicators, artists, and scientists. She has collaborated with researchers from a wide range of disciplines—biomedical engineering, neuroscience, physics, agriculture, and architecture to name a few—and is eager to explore more areas of research.
Feel free to reach out if you have a project in mind or would like to explore ideas together via a chat!
Expertise
As a Science Communicator, Jen is an advocate for Compassionate Science Communication, which emphasizes the understanding of her audience and providing value to them in the form of relevant, evidence-based information.
As a scientist, Jen has a diverse background in science and engineering and extensive experience in biomedical research.
As an illustrator, Jen has worked with a variety of media and styles, both digital and analog, and can tailor her artwork to best resonate with her audience. Checkout her portfolio for examples of her previous work.
Location
Jen is currently based in Hong Kong and California, US, depending on the time of year, but she has collaborated with scientists and artists all over the world. Whether over coffee or zoom, she is excited to chat about your latest scicomm projects!