Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Stories can change the world.
That’s the message that Sara Serritella, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist turned professor who co-built the science communication program at the University of Chicago, shares in her 2024 TEDx Talk.
So, what is science communication?
“It’s the art and science of distilling complex medical and research information to resonate with a non-expert audience, so that the general public can use the information to access care and live their best, healthiest, happiest lives,” Serritella explains. “Breakthroughs cannot help people if they don’t know they exist or how to apply health discoveries to their worlds.”
A native of south-central Michigan and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, Serritella teaches classes across undergraduate, graduate and medical school programs at the University of Chicago.
She also works as director of communications at the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM), a partnership between the University of Chicago and Rush in collaboration with Advocate Aurora Health Care, Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech), Loyola University Chicago, and Endeavor Health. That role led to her work in science communication.
“Faculty, physicians, and researchers I worked with were securing big grants, connecting with the public, and having major impacts. Word of mouth spread about the science communication coaching and training I offered through the ITM,” Serritella says. “About six years ago, the university asked me to teach a pilot science communication workshop to undergraduates. It was a huge success according to attendees.”
Over time, what started as a workshop became courses with waitlists and a science communication minor degree program for undergraduates. Eventually, the dean of the university’s Pritzker School of Medicine invited Serritella to build educational programs and integrate science communications training into medical student education and graduate medical education, she says.
“Teaching at one of the world’s top universities was never in my childhood career forecast, but I’m grateful the opportunity arose,” Serritella says. “It’s so magical to help students and colleagues have lightbulb moments and apply these skills to help their personal and professional dreams become a reality.”
Her team’s work has been recognized by organizations like the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and the American Association of Medical Colleges.
A foundational aspect of Serritella’s teachings is her experience as a licensed private detective at Vantius, a “boutique private intelligence firm” founded by her husband, Sergio, about 20 years ago. In addition to investigating cases, Serritella also leads the firm’s crisis communications arm.
“Law firms look to Vantius for investigative support and intelligence advantages during criminal and civil litigation and when discretion is a priority,” she explains. “Over the decades, our client list has grown to include celebrities, family offices and professional athletes.”
The firm’s clientele ranges from corporate executives to wrongfully-convicted individuals from underserved neighborhoods. Among the myriad cases she’s worked on, the exoneration of Christopher Abernathy holds a special place in her heart, she says. Before his exoneration, Abernathy served about 30 years of a life sentence without parole for a murder he did not commit.
“Chris became family, and I’m so proud of him building a life he loves in spite of the horrible injustice he suffered for nearly 30 years,” she says.
Serritella also travels across the country as a keynote speaker, delivering custom executive coaching and educational programming and workshops for universities and businesses.
Before transitioning to academia, Serritella was part of a Detroit Free Press team that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of a mayoral scandal.
“I loved connecting with humans of all backgrounds and giving them a voice to share their stories,” she says. “Storytelling is a superpower, and I’m proud of how my stories educated people and helped them see all sides of a topic so they could make up their own minds.”
To view her TEDx video, click here.
