A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words (About Science)

Kaan Mika, Ph.D. is a computational biologist who takes vivid, creative, and fascinating pictures of the natural world on his Instagram, slice_of_science, while also highlighting the inspiring work of other scientists.

This week’s episode focuses on Kaan’s photography, research, and approach, including:

How Kaan’s Instagram account reflects his goal to “show that scientists are people like any other, accessible.”

What attracted Kaan to his field of research

Whether he originally was a scientist first and then a photographer, or a photographer who then developed a passion for science

What makes a fascinating photo he wants to post on @slice_of_science

Why Kaan decided to get onto Instagram and whether Kaan thinks Instagram activity among scientists will eventually catch up to scientists’ activity on Twitter

How science influences his photography, and whether Kaan’s perspective as a photographer influences his scientific work

The backstory of one of Kaan’s favorite photos – how he was able to capture it and what surprised him