Kirsten Sanford, Ph.D.
“Where scientific rigor meets the infrastructure of public trust.”
— Kirsten Sanford, Ph.D.A rare combination of science, media, and institutional leadership
Doctoral Fluency
A Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology means she speaks the language of the researchers she trains. Her doctoral work in learning and memory at UC Davis gives her fluency across scientific disciplines that grounds every engagement in real scientific practice.
Media Authority
This Week in Science has been in continuous production since 1999, predating the invention of podcasting. Twenty-six years of sustained science media operation — not a credential, but a body of work that demonstrates what effective science communication looks like over time.
Institutional Acumen
She designed and built the ASC Science Talk conference infrastructure from scratch — architecture, platform, live production, volunteer training, speaker programming, post-event metrics. She builds programs that institutions can sustain independently.
“New media is going to be a very valuable tool for all sorts of communication purposes — whether for communicating a scientific finding to the public, supplementing classroom teaching, or even between scientists.”
— Kirsten Sanford, Ph.D., BWFKirsten Sanford, Ph.D.
Kirsten Sanford is a neurophysiologist, science media entrepreneur, and institutional program architect. She holds a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology from UC Davis, specializing in learning and memory, and serves as Co-Founder and EVP of the Association of Science Communicators.
In 2026, she was appointed to the Media/Communications seat on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Government-University-Industry-Philanthropy Research Roundtable (GUIPRR), where she sits alongside university presidents, federal agency heads, and philanthropic CEOs working to strengthen the U.S. research enterprise.
Sanford founded This Week in Science in 1999 — predating the invention of podcasting — and has produced it continuously for over 26 years. As an AAAS Mass Media Fellow, she produced science and medical news at WNBC New York alongside Dr. Max Gomez, one of the most decorated science journalists in American broadcast history.
She has been commissioned by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund for video production, conference programming, and expert contributions to their career development publications, and has produced science communication media for the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure, and PeerJ.
Through Broader Impacts Productions, LLC, she partners with R1 universities, research institutions, science foundations, and government agencies to design science communication programs, build conference infrastructure, and train researchers to communicate with precision and public impact.
Credentials
Four ways to work together
Each engagement is scoped individually. All inquiries begin with a consultation.
Program Design & Development
Sustained science communication programs for R1 universities and science foundations — curriculum architecture, cohort models, assessment frameworks, faculty integration, funding strategy, and philanthropic partnership development.
Conference Strategy & Production
Virtual and hybrid conference design and execution — platform architecture, live production, speaker programming, and post-event analytics.
Keynote Speaking
Evidence-grounded keynotes on responsible science communication, public trust, civic science, and the science-society interface.
Consulting & Training
Strategic communications guidance and hands-on media training for researchers, faculty, and R&D teams.
Building programs that become permanent institutional assets
Programs that advance the institutional mission
Kirsten designs programs built for institutional permanence — curriculum architecture, cohort models, assessment frameworks, and faculty integration — connected to the funding mechanisms that sustain them, including USDA REEU, NSF broader impacts, NIH Broadening Participation, and private foundation grants.
Advancing civic science through field-building
Her work sits at the science-society interface that foundations like Rita Allen, Kavli, Burroughs Wellcome, and Doris Duke invest in: civic science, inclusive engagement, evidence-based practice, field capacity, and impact measurement.
Topics & engagements
Each keynote is developed in collaboration with the host organization.
Science communication is a systems problem, not a skills problem
The gap between what science knows and what the public understands is infrastructural — in the programs that train scientists to communicate, the institutions that reward it, and the media ecosystems that carry the message. Kirsten designs and builds the infrastructure that closes the gap.
“It is our responsibility as science communicators to work with scientific partners to make sure that ethical, responsible communication becomes a cornerstone of science.”
— Kirsten Sanford, Ph.D., ASC
Sloan Foundation Film Summit
Panel · Academy MuseumASTC Annual Conference
PresentationUPenn Perelman Medicine
PanelASTC Plenary
Plenary SpeakerASTC Friedman · Kavli
Featured ParticipantCU Boulder COLTT
KeynoteOklahoma State
Featured SpeakerAPS Experimental Biology
SymposiumHundreds of interviews with leading scientists and science communicators
Over 26 years and 1,051+ episodes, Kirsten has interviewed hundreds of leading scientists and science communicators — from Nobel laureates to NASA mission leads, from bestselling science authors to the researchers behind breakthrough discoveries.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Astrophysicist · Director, Hayden Planetarium
Peter Doherty
Nobel Laureate · Physiology/Medicine
Lisa Randall
Theoretical Physicist · Harvard University
Leonard Susskind
Theoretical Physicist · Stanford University
Michael E. Mann
Climate Scientist · University of Pennsylvania
Peter Hotez
Vaccine Scientist · Baylor College of Medicine
Sean Carroll
Theoretical Physicist · Johns Hopkins
Carl Zimmer
Science Columnist · The New York Times
Sarah Parcak
Space Archaeologist · TED Prize Laureate
Ayanna Howard
Roboticist · Dean of Engineering, Ohio State
David Quammen
Science Author · National Geographic
Eugenie Scott
Founding Director · Nat’l Center for Science Education
William Gibson
Author · Neuromancer
Michio Kaku
Theoretical Physicist · Author
Moriba Jah
Astrodynamicist · UT Austin
Elisabeth Bik
Microbiologist · Scientific Integrity Advocate
Selected engagements
Strategy, production, and training delivered through Broader Impacts Productions, LLC.
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Ongoing institutional relationship — content strategy, conference programming, and expert contributions to BWF’s career development series.
Sigma Xi
Science communication training for researchers and expert interview programming.
NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
Public engagement and recruitment strategy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
PeerJ
Multi-year research communication partnership spanning marine biology, paleontology, cancer research, ecology, and environmental science.
NNCI
Institutional communication strategy for this national network of university nanotechnology facilities.
Oregon DEQ
Science communication training for government scientists and technical professionals.
Published across disciplines and platforms
26 years of sustained science media practice — broadcast, print, podcast, and digital.
Segment Host
Recurring contributor. DOI-cited book review in Science.
Contributing Author
Long-form science writing in the Pulitzer-recognized magazine.
Contributing Author
Literature review. Published by Sigma Xi.
Contributing Author
Science media and open-access publishing.
This Week in Science
1,051+ episodes. Weekly. Live-streamed globally.
On-Camera Talent
Brink television series. 2008–2010.
“Responsible Science Communication”
Ethics in professional science communication.
Trusted across sectors. Sought by name.
The following are representative. Sourced testimonials available upon request.
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* Placeholder testimonials. Real testimonials will replace these upon collection.
Let’s build something that matters.
All engagements begin with a consultation. Whether you are developing a program, planning an event, seeking a keynote speaker, or exploring a partnership.
Schedule a Consultation