109: Kilan Ashad-Bishop (Biomedical Scientist & Advocate)

Kilan Ashad-Bishop on Innovation City

“When we talk about STEM, my endpoint is always innovation … it goes beyond just what we think is cool, it’s about how we leverage that science and change systems so that science can change society.” — Kilan Ashad-Bishop

Welcome to Innovation City—powered by Venture Cafe—where Tyler Kelley and Michael Johnson, Co-Founders of SLAM! Agency, interview innovators, creators, and disruptors to discover how business is changing in the modern world.

Created and produced by SLAM! Agency in cooperation with Venture Cafe St. Louis and Venture Cafe Miami, Innovation City gives you an inside look at how rapidly business and culture are changing thanks to increasing diversity and inclusion, heightened creativity, and a stronger and better-connected business community. Venture Cafe is the largest combined gathering of entrepreneurs and innovators anywhere in the world. Events are held every Thursday in St. Louis, Miami, and other leading innovation cities around the globe.

Today’s guest is Kilan Ashad-Bishop, Biomedical Scientist & Advocate. Dr. Ashad-Bishop is a molecular biologist and environmental justice advocate based in Miami, FL. Kilan joins the team to discuss her dual life as a scientist and public advocate, how environmental influences affect our health, the importance of communication in science, today’s complicated health and science systems, the threats of rising sea level in Miami and its effects, and much more!

They discuss:

• Her dual life as a scientist and public advocate
• Your environment has a direct affect on your personal health
• Research says the zip code of where you grew up is a better predictor of your health than any health decision you make during your lifetime
• Environmental influences on health:
  • Food
  • Education
  • Employment
• Different factors and elements of your daily life come together to influence how you exist in the world
• Her mother is an educator, who focuses on increasing the chances of educational success for all children
• Education has a direct effect on your health, how you exist, and your future
• Kilan has always been interested in more than science
• Many minorities in the science field have to segment themselves to be accepted or struggle with self worth of receiving scholarships or partnerships
• The power of having a strong support system behind you when going after your dreams
• Science communication is the most important part of being a scientist
• Often times, scientific work goes unnoticed because it’s not understood or talked about
• Communication is not valued in the science field
• Society does not understand science (generally) and therefore does not support scientific initiatives as much as something trendier or easier to understand
• Science is an important part of innovation
• The complicated health and science systems that are in place in today’s world
  • Today’s systems take many years and millions of dollars to get something to the public
• It takes resilience to be in the fields of science and advocacy
• The threats of rising sea level in Miami and its effects on neighborhoods whose residents rely on walking, biking, or public transportation
• The more people are talking about the issues of sea level rise and climate change, the better for making a change
• Everyone’s perspective is valuable
• Sea rise threatens Miami’s diversity
• Society has an opportunity to reshape the world, but will we?
• Connect with Kilan on her website and on social media @kilanbishop