Alumni Profiles Series: Zakiya Whatley

Zakiya Whatley, Ph.D. is a science communicator. She received her B.S. in cellular & molecular biology from Hampton University and her Ph.D. in genetics and genomics from Duke University, where she was recognized with the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Between 2014 and 2018 she taught biology at Gettysburg College, including two years as an assistant professor, and from 2018 through 2021 she served as assistant director of the biological sciences graduate program at the University of Maryland. She and her best friend and fellow Duke Ph.D. alumna Titi Shodiya are the co-hosts and executive producers of Dope Labs podcast, which launched in 2018. Zakiya is the host of Breakthrough, a podcast by Boston Children’s Hospital. She also has made multiple appearances on Science Magazine’s podcast. Beyond the mic, Zakiya gives talks and organizes science communication workshops, inspiring young scientists and creators. Currently, she is producing a full-dome planetarium film with the Museum of Science, Boston, premiering November 6, 2025.

Tell us about yourself.

I am a science communicator. I graduated ten years ago from UPGG (University Program in Genetics and Genomics). Since then, I have been a postdoc, a biology professor, and a science administrator, during which time I started working with Titi Shodiya, who is also a Duke alum, on the Dope Labs podcast. Since then, I’ve hosted Breakthrough and have been doing various forms of science communication; I was writing and am now making a film. 

I would say that I carved my way in, but I also received a lot of good advice from people in the science communication field. Wherever I could, I would teach myself how to do all these new skills, usually by shadowing people who were already good at them. I think it is just like when you learn new skills in the lab. Although I am no longer a graduate student in biology or in genetics, I feel like I am still a graduate student in science communication. I always try to learn more. 

How did your friendship contribute to where you are right now?

I mentioned Titi who, at the time I was in UPGG, was an engineering student. If I thought only to stick around with people who were doing the same thing as me, we would not have been friends. And our friendship really carried us through our Ph.D.s, and even after graduation, we continue to be friends into our postdocs. 

I was learning about her work, and she mine. We brought that into Dope Labs. I wanted to capture the essence of our friendship—how good it felt when we were learning things together. Yes, Dope Labs is where science meets pop culture, but it is also a heavy dose of friendship. A lot of its success is attributed to our dynamic, how we interact with each other. We want our listeners to feel like they are our friends, too. We want them to feel like we are all hugging while we listen in our headphones. 

My friendship with Titi is just one example of friendships that have blossomed into business partnerships that allowed me to continue doing science communication. I make a lot of friends at different conferences. Friends I met at the Jackson Wild film festival presented me with another opportunity for friendship to blossom into learning opportunities. I was talking to Tapí Story and was like, “Hey, you and your wife are doing a really cool work! Can I come to Austin? I can learn from you.” We developed a great partnership, and now we are making wonderful wildlife documentaries together. 

How did your mindset of “not asking for permission” develop? 

I started developing this mindset in my undergraduate study. At first, it started out as asking for things I would have presumed the answer to be no. I lived on the first floor of my dorm at Hampton University in Whitehall, and there would be a Coca Cola delivery man who came to restock the vending machine. Every now and then, I would ask them, “Can I have a Coke?” I thought that answer for sure was going to be “No,” but most of the times, it was “Yes!” That was when I realized that I should be asking for way more things! So, I started asking. 

Another example was when I saw an announcement in the Biology Department looking for students interested in learning more about research at Brown University. However, it was only for seniors. I was not a senior at the time, but I looked up who was sponsoring the trip. I went to that professor’s office and asked if I could attend despite not being a senior. Once again, they said yes! That was how I got my first research experience with Dr. Andrew Campbell at Brown University. I will never forget it. It set my trajectory into science, particularly in the cell and molecular biology.  But that was still within the culture of asking for permission, right? 

In graduate school, I realized that we had all these things that were baked into the process where somebody tells you okay, then you are ready to go. “You’re ready to defend,” “You’re ready to be a postdoc,” etc. So much of it is asking your advisor, asking your committee. Other people have to tell you when you are ready for the next step. That does not exist in other places, so once you become accustomed to that, it becomes really hard to break that mindset. When people asked me how I knew I could do science communication, the answer is, I tried doing it. I didn’t wait to ask anybody. 

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And how did you find the courage to take those leaps?

If you are a graduate student, you are basically running a startup, if you really think about it. Some of you are managing budget—the certain amount of money assigned to your project. You might have to order shipments. You have to write grants. You are doing all of these things. So, Titi and I picked up on these skills and applied them to start our own company. And I did it again on my own as well. I had to shake away from asking other people if I could do something. Instead of asking, “Is this a thing I can do?”  I am just going to try to do it. Once you start seeing that it works—when you get a taste of that—it is thrilling. 

Is there a decision you made in grad school that still impacts your life today? 

I can think of two specific decisions: joining the lab that I joined and picking my committee. I joined Dr. Kenneth Kreuzer’s lab in biochemistry. (He is retired now.) He had a very different mentoring style compared to what other faculty were like then. He let me explore different things. There was freedom. It really built my muscle for not seeking permission and for pushing myself. There were no postdocs, so I had to figure things out myself. Both my pride and ego said, “Figure it out.” 

Ken was open to me taking the Fundamentals of College Teaching course, which prepared me to be a college professor. I also joined many outreach programs, which also built my science communication muscles. 

Another part was picking my committee. They were the ones who would say “Show us,” in answer to me saying “I’m ready.” I was treated like they were my investors. They were investing in my “success.” Their way of asking me questions and challenging me allowed me to divorce myself from emotion, which in turn let me deliver the best product possible. Even today, I am still working in that mindset. 

How have you evolved as a science communicator?

I evolve with my audience. I think about what type of scientific stories I want to tell for the audience I hope to serve. Who is my audience? Where is the gap? When I think about Dope Labs, I think of the intersection between science and pop culture. But when I work on Breakthrough, I think about how pediatrics is not just about giving care, but there is so much research and innovation behind it. When I got into filmmaking, I then was with the wildlife in nature. In this big blue planet, how have humans interacted with animals and environment? Not in a clash, but how we animals are indicators of what we’re doing to the space around us.

Sometimes, I feel like I am doing more of the same thing, but just in different formats. From the outside looking in, it might look like I am jumping around, but it is a continuum. They all still feel like interesting stories that are related to everyday human life. 

Are there topics you find are better captured in film than podcast?

Yeah, an example would be A Trapper's Turn, which is about a trapper in Wyoming who works with the Wetland Society to rehome beavers who are causing property damage. People typically think of trappers as people who are killing animals for fur. But he is working with the Wetland Society to help the environment by moving the beavers further upstream to help with the water and the drought. Although it follows a trapper, the piece highlights conservation re-release efforts. All these things are really cool, but I don’t think a beaver would come through great on a podcast. Seeing how destructive they are but also how cuddly and cute, that is a story that is ripe for film to me. I do not know how to do that with podcasting, but maybe there is a way.  

Do you miss doing research?

I get asked that a lot, and I think the answer is yes. There are very specific parts of research that I miss. I miss doing tasks in bulk: setting my experiments up all at once and everything being so precisely timed. As soon as this is done, I am ready for the next step. I miss opening microcentrifuge tubes and pipetting a used tip into my little space. I am still using some parts of my research brain for other things, so I still get to use some of those muscles. I would not mind going back to a lab for a specific project. I have a friend in chemistry, and I told her I could help her out over the winter break if she needed some help. So, I miss it enough to offer my service.

What is your favorite part of creating a podcast episode?

This aligns with what I miss about research: cramming for an episode. My favorite part is the revision—when you have a rough cut, when you get to hear everything from every clip, and you know what you need to do next. You get into this really sweet flow of getting the right thing in the right place at the right time. 

What advice do you have for young science communicators?

Start. Now. There are tons of resources available. Reach out to the Office of Communications and Marketing.  Look for opportunities to build your portfolio. In graduate school, I asked Dean Melissa Bostrom if I could write a blog post, and I did. Look for people who are already doing this type of work in different capacities as well as physical resources: cameras, lights, a studio room with good sound. They will probably cost you zero dollars while you are a student. And practice as much as you can.

Lastly, what are you working on, and where can people find you?

Dope Labs is back with weekly episodes! I am also currently doing a lot of science communications support for different companies. For that, you can find me at Upstream Solutions, my website, and on Instagram: @zsaidso. 

In addition to communications support, Titi and I are working on a Dope Labs project—a NASA-funded planetarium film with the Museum of Science, Boston. I am also working on building a science communication community. I want a place for students who are interested in science communication to come and say “Hey, I’m working on this. Can someone help and take a look?” I hope to launch that soon, so keep an eye out on my website. 

AUTHOR

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Ratchanon "RP" Pornmongkolsuk

Ph.D. candidate, Genetics and Genomics

RP Pornmongkolsuk is a Ph.D. candidate in the Ochoa lab within the University Program in Genetics and Genomics. He earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Brown University. His research explores human evolutionary history using ancient DNA. Beyond the lab, he is passionate about making science fun and accessible through multi-media platforms. When he’s not working, you will often find him doodling on pages, getting lost in movies, and enjoying board games with friends.