SR’s Two-Year Anniversary Event with Paddle Boston
Science Rehashed podcast celebrates two years of promoting accessibility in science for resource-challenged countries.
(Boston, Massachusetts) In the U.S. and in wealthy western countries, scientists and students can access the latest papers with a few easy clicks. But it’s not nearly that easy for scientists in the developing world.
“It was almost impossible for me to stay up-to-date with global science when I was a university student in Iran,” says Mehdi Jorfi, an investigator in the department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and instructor at Harvard Medical School. “Researchers in poor-resourced countries simply can’t afford to spend $30 to access an article in a top journal in the West. And universities can’t afford to subscribe.”
Along with studying the human brain, Jorfi made it his mission to increase accessibility in science. In 2019, together with co-founder and co-host Shen Ning, MD/PhD researcher at Boston University School of Medicine, he launched Science Rehashed Inc. Based in Boston, one of the world’s most fertile bio-medical hubs, the three-series podcast offers a window onto paywalled life science research to anyone in the world with an internet connection.
In Rehashing Science, the podcast’s first series, the hosts interview lead authors of recent papers published in top-tier biomedical journals including Nature, Science and New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Topics range from the neuroscience of hunger to the development of the first lab-grown organs. A second series, 360 Perspectives, examines breaking science stories from multiple viewpoints. In Fireside Chats, the hosts invite listeners to enjoy conversations with trailblazers in the biomedical field.
In a short two years, Science Rehashed has cultivated a dedicated fanbase with over 10,000-episode downloads from people in 75 different countries. Science Rehashed has also won several awards including a first place in the 2020 Life Sciences & Healthcare Nonprofit Pitch Challenge. The series has received funding from the Boston University Venture Innovation Pathway and STEMpeers organization. Select episodes are sponsored by ReadCube and the Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship.
Science Rehashed is written and produced by a dedicated all-volunteer staff of scientists, many of whom moved to Boston from around the world to participate in the city’s flourishing scientific community.
“For a scientist, Boston is a dream location,” says Carla D’Avanzo, the co-director of Science Rehashed. “It’s the hub of innovation in the biotech and pharma world. Everyone I run into has an interesting story to share and amazing ideas to develop.”
This past Sunday, in celebration of their two-year anniversary, the staff of Science Rehashed hosted a kayak-based fundraiser along the Charles River, sporting their newest Science Rehashed t-shirts (photos available).
If the mission of Science Rehashed resonates with you, you can support the podcast by downloading episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. You can also donate to their PayPal, select Science Rehashed as your nonprofit on AmazonSmile, and represent them with their new merchandise on Etsy.
For more information and interview please contact: sciencerehashed@gmail.com
This fundraising event was supported by Paddle Boston: Charles River Canoe & Kayak.