Author: cnalley

A Message from our Chair: 2025-2026 Year in Review with LSC

As the academic year has come to an end, I am thrilled to share some of the many accomplishments of our students, faculty, and friends during the 2025-2026 school year. I invite you to click through the links below to see what we’ve been up to this year. You can also stay connected with us …

UW–Madison NAMA Team Earns First Place in National Agri-Marketing Association Student Marketing Competition

UW–Madison’s National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) team recently won top prize in the National Agri-Marketing Association Student Marketing Competition. The championship-winning project centered on a soybean variety that produces a natural red dye based on a beet gene. This red dye, called EssentialRED, can replace the FDA-banned red dye 3 and other synthetic dyes. Team members …

LSC Scholarship and Donor Recognition Reception Celebrates Student Ambition, Opportunity and Community

From studying public health in Denmark to conducting research in the Pan-Amazon region, students in the Department of Life Sciences Communication (LSC) are using scholarship support to expand what’s possible in their academic and professional careers. The department celebrated 25 student scholars and the donors who support them at the 2026 LSC Scholarship & Donor …

“Know Your Ice, Know Your Odds”: New Research Highlights Ice Safety Risks for Great Lakes Anglers

As temperatures rise in the Madison area, concerns about this year’s ice cover are growing—and for ice anglers, the risks are becoming more serious. A recent study by LSC researchers highlights just how unpredictable ice conditions can be, reinforcing the need for clearer, more effective safety communication. Data from the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research …

First a Student, Now a Teacher: LSC Welcomes Back Program Alum, Kelly Mella

The Department of Life Sciences Communication (LSC) is happy to announce that Kelly Mella is joining us as a new Teaching Faculty. A longtime Badger and alumna, Mella earned her bachelor’s degree (’94) and master’s degree (’97) in the department before completing a PhD in Mass Communication at UW–Madison. Mella brings expert professional experience with her to LSC, previously having worked in communications for natural resources, health and agricultural organizations.   Expanding on her …

Explore LSC’s 2026 Online Summer Courses 

The end of the semester is rapidly approaching, which means now is a great time to start thinking about summer classes! Summer classes provide a wonderful opportunity to ease your fall or spring semester course load, help you graduate early, and fulfill any missing course requirements.  The Department of Life Sciences Communication (LSC) offers a variety of classes, ranging from identifying …

LSC Researchers Study User Experience and Public Perceptions of AI in Recent Publications

From evaluating public trust in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to highlighting its potential equity implications, researchers in the Department of Life Sciences Communication (LSC) are paving the way for research at the intersection of AI and science communication. By examining how people interact with AI and the effects the technology has at the individual and societal …

Refusal as silence: Gendered disparities in Vision-Language Model responses

Luo, S., Kim, S., Chen, K. (2026) New Media & Society. doi:10.1177/14614448261441886

The relationship between brand awareness and action for two national aquatic invasive species prevention brands

Newman T., Campbell T., Shaw B., Beppler T., and Duda M.D. (2026). Management of Biological Invasions. 17. 185-200. doi: 10.3391/mbi.2026.17.1.11.

Q&A with LSC PhD Candidate Isabel Villanueva

Isabel Villanueva, a PhD candidate in the Department of Life Sciences Communication and Research Assistant with the Morgridge Institute’s Sci Lab, shared insights during her final semester on what it’s like to study and conduct research in LSC. Advised by Professor Dietram Scheufele and with dissertation funding from the John Templeton Foundation, Isabel’s research covers the communication of emerging and controversial …