We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lydia Greene a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lydia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?

Write from the reader’s perspective. I first heard this phrase in a workshop I attended during the gap years between my time as an undergraduate and graduate student. I was working as a research associate in a science lab and was just beginning to try my hand at academic and scientific writing. I was inexperienced and full of self-doubt.

Write from the reader’s perspective, the workshop leader repeated. And as he explained what he meant, something clicked in my brain: When we write, the goal is for the reader to understand. This might seem obvious, but at the time, I was so focused on what I wanted to say that I didn’t consider my audience. I didn’t consider how my words would be interpreted.

After a literal decade of practice, I think I have learned to write for my audience. I use same three guiding principles to write everything from articles for the scientific community to Instagram posts for the general public. First, I figure out what I want to say, which is easier said than done! Second, I determine my intended audience. Am I writing for other specialists in my field? For a general American audience? For kids? For non-native English speakers? By knowing my audience, I can make quick decisions about jargon and complexity, structure and length. Third, I edit myself. Like, a lot. In my science writing, I will spend hours optimizing single sentences over several days. I read all my writing out loud, listening for balance, flow, and awkwardness. Most things get passed by my wife, friends, or colleagues.

I never thought I would enjoy writing as much as I do now, but thanks to the tools I’ve picked up over the years, it’s one of my favorite parts of my job.

Lydia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Dr. Lydia Greene, and I am a scientist specializing in lemur ecology. Lemurs are a diverse group of primates found naturally only on Madagascar, and I am just fascinated by how different species survive in seasonal, unusual, unpredictable, and changing habitats. Much of my work is focused on foraging behavior, nutrition, and the gut microbiome in the Coquerel’s sifaka, a species of large-bodied, leaf-eating lemur that is mesmerizing to watch in the trees. I also assist my wife, Dr. Marina Blanco, with her work focused on hibernation ecophysiology in the tiny, nocturnal, and elusive mouse and dwarf lemurs.

Today, I work for the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, North Carolina. I earned my BS in Evolutionary Anthropology and PhD in Ecology, both from Duke University, which is where I began my work on sifakas and the gut microbiome. As a teenager growing up in New York City, I had no plans to be a scientist: I trained hard to become a professional ballet dancer. How lucky for me that a career in ballet never fully materialized and I found new passions for wildlife ecology, lemurs, and Madagascar’s incredible biodiversity.

As a scientist, I feel a responsibility to share my passion for lemurs with as many people as possible through my social media presence on Instagram. I strive to provide complex, nuanced, and evidence-based information in a manner that’s understandable and digestible for a general audience. I think most people are fascinated by the science that helps us understand our world. I particularly enjoy interacting with my followers, especially the many students considering careers in wildlife science!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I think I have grown a following because my audience knows exactly what they will get. I try to stay true to my brand and I put forth a lot of effort to create quality content. My followers can expect regular photos and videos of lemurs accompanied by interesting information that’s easily understandable, updates on the day-to-day life of a scientist, notes from the field, and conversations about work-life balance, science careers outside of professorships, and diversity in science.

I have also learned how to improve reach by optimizing hashtags and the timing of posts (hello Friday morning). I am also very good at responding to questions and DMs.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love getting to interact with students considering careers in wildlife sciences through my social media presence. I never imagined that my Instagram account would become a way for me to meet new collaborators and budding scientists!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: lemurscientist

Image Credits
Photo credits of the sifakas to Lydia K. Greene. Photo credits of me to Marina B. Blanco.