“I Like to Dream Big”

Google Jaye Gardiner ’11 and you’ll quickly discover that she’s a comic book-worthy superwoman of sorts: a postdoctoral research trainee in Philadelphia’s Fox Chase Cancer Center. A recent winner of the American Cancer Society’s Pennsylvania/New Jersey Pay-If Research Council Grant to improve treatment options for patients with pancreatic cancer.

A founder and creator of JKX Comics and #UniqueScientists trading cards, which promote science diversity, access, and literacy. A leader of the annual Communicating Science Conference (ComSciCon). A Mac biology major with minors in linguistics and chemistry. Owner of the lively @jayeperview Twitter account.

A champion of fostering inclusive spaces in STEM: “Everyone’s perspective is unique and based on their lived experience, and they will tackle problems, find solutions, and solve problems in a different way than someone else will,” she says. “Having all of these diverse minds in the same room will help propel science farther, faster.” Gardiner told us about her research and a few things Google missed—“I like to dream big,” she says—and she illustrated the conversation, JKX-style.

By Julie Hessler ’85 / Illustrations by Jaye Gardiner ’11