Reyhaneh (Rey) Maktoufi

Reyhaneh (Rey) Maktoufi is housed at NOVA as the WGBH Civic Science Fellow in Science Misinformation. Rey is a science communication researcher, practitioner, and trainer with an emphasis on public engagement with science, curiosity, and empathy. She engaged in research through her Master’s degree in health psychology and Ph.D. dissertation work in addition to her collaboration with Iran’s Cancer Network and The Adler Planetarium. She holds a Ph.D. in Media, Technology, and Society from Northwestern University. 

As a producer for the StoryCollider podcast and a freelance science artist, writer, and video producer, Rey communicates the science of science communication and attempts to show science in the context of everyday life. Rey has also worked as a health communication facilitator and cancer preventive/palliative care campaign manager in Tehran, Iran. She trains scientists and science communicators in collaboration with organizations such as ComSciCon. Her training focuses on principles such as empathy and engagement, and she designs the workshops to reflect such values and strategies. Her work is informed by evidence-based research, and she is an avid advocate for the production of science media with attention to the latest research, and with consideration for inclusion of different voices.