Posts | Jyot Antani, PhD

ASM Hill Day - Science Advocacy on Capitol Hill

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In the room where it happens!

I joined fellow members of the on Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress and their staff. We emphasized the critical need for consistent, robust federal funding for science and public health, and urged the withdrawal of the OMB proposed rule on federal financial assistance. Our collective voice is vital for advancing scientific progress and public well-being!

Learn more about ASM’s advocacy efforts: .

Communicating Science to the Layperson

Fri, 23 May 2025 13:55:56 +0000

I serve as an Executive Editor at the , a postdoc-led community initiative. Through our JoLS-Pub program, we invite scientists to write summary articles that explain their recently published technical research in language accessible to a high-school–educated audience.

I recently contributed an article to this initiative myself—it was a fun and rewarding experience.

I highly encourage other scientists to participate and help bring publicly funded research back to the public in a way that’s engaging and understandable.

Tiny World for Little Humans

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 22:58:33 +0000

Taught (cost-effective paper microscopes) to middle school children at Fair Haven School, New Haven, CT. They were excited to learn and took their own microscopes home.

For the quantitative part of the microscopy, the students were introduced to calibration slides for calculating the actual sizes of samples.

This project was funded by the - Marine Biological Laboratory Regional Outreach and Communication in STEM.

LabLeaks

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 21:23:47 +0000

LabLeaks was a biweekly mailing list that talked about the latest science.

It was an effort by a few scientists who were passionate about open science communication, and who thought that they were (are) hilarious.

I became one of those scientists, for a while.

Eventually, the voluntary activity became too much of a commitment for early-career scientists who are already paid meager wages. We had to commit our time and money into other things and our site was shut down.

Research Presentation to Middle School Students

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 21:08:53 +0000

I often volunteer with and for outreach to the local community in New Haven.

For example, I recently presented my postdoctoral work as part of .

In 2022, I presented my journey in science and my research to middle school kids. If you (and/or your kid) are interested in learning how bacteria move and sense their surroundings, .

PhD Application Guide

Sun, 25 Jul 2021 18:52:34 +0000

In the summer of 2016, the time after the end of my BTech and before the start of my PhD, I was hanging out at home. I figured writing down what I learned about PhD applications might be useful for the upcoming batches of applicants. So I wrote up this document.

The specific target audience for this document are students from the same bachelor’s background as me (Chemical Engineers, international students), but I have been told that the guide has come in handy to others too. If you are considering applying for a PhD, give it a try.

Here is the link:

Caution: The contents of this guide are not up-to-date. It is highly recommended to get in touch with folks who applied for a PhD position recently.

If you need guidance about a postdoc application, feel free to reach out. I enjoyed this process even more than a PhD application!