Molly Edwards, PhD

@science-irl

▶️ #scicomm as Science IRL 🎥 video producer 🌸 PhD in flowers linktr.ee/science_irl

721 Siguiendo1538 Seguidores183 Publicaciones

¿Es tu perfil?Reclámalo y science-irl.dirty.social es tuyo.Reclamar perfil

Hey #Botany2026! I'll be presenting a new video series in the Education & Outreach session that might be of interest to the herbarium crowd 👀🌿 Come by San Luis 2 at 11:45!

The title slide of Molly's Botany 2026 presentation. It is black with white text. The title at the top says "Hello from the Herbarium: a new social media series from Science IRL." Below that are 4 screenshots from the series featuring Molly with guest botanists in different herbaria. Below that, the text says "Molly B. Edwards, @science_irl"

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· 14d

Especially rude for this to happen during #Botany2026

A screen shot of Molly's spelling bee game showing the word "bract" getting rejected

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Jul 10

3 days left to save science from fascist takeover! Public comments are how we fight back, submit yours here: www.federalregister.gov/documents/20... @standupforscience.net has an awesome guide to help you write one: www.standupforscience.foundation/policy-and-a... #science #savescience 🧪

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Apr 30

One last weevil collage post for #InverteFest

A Eupholus magnificus weevil collage made of flowers cut out of seed catalogs.

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Apr 29

How #blessed are we that it is both #WeevilWednesday and #InverteFest

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Apr 28

Last year's MOTHErs Day card...what moths should I do this year??#InverteFest

Drawings of a Luna moth, a crimson speckled moth, and a pink-striped oakworm moth done in pen and alcohol marker. Above them is written "Happy Mother's Day" with the "moth" in "mother's" colored in differently from all the other letters

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Apr 27

Fear no weevil #Invertefest

A sketch of an acorn weevil in black pen on white paper. The weevil and its incredible, super long snoot (rostrum) are facing you

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Apr 26

A little Pseudogaurotina excellens sketch #Invertefest

A sketch of Pseudogaurotina excellens, a long-horned beetle, done in watercolor and black pen. Its head, thorax, and legs are black, and its elytra are iridescent blue & purple.

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Apr 26

Sketch-a-snail #Invertefest

Sketches of three snails at various angles in black pen on white paper

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Dec 30

My columbine flower photos were published in @emergencemagazine.bsky.social to accompany a truly wonderful wildflower essay by @dghaskell.bsky.social 🌸 His writing on columbines made me misty-eyed at my PhD plants all over again 🥹 soso honored to be included! #scicomm #sciart

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Nov 26

Is everyone ready for #Plantsgiving?!?! Thank you @martinebotany.bsky.social for my favorite botanical tradition 🥹🌱

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Nov 12

Boston's #aurora. I can't believe our sky just does this sometimes 🥹

A smear of green underneath a light curtain of red northern lights in the sky

A deep pink glow in the night sky above dark bare trees. Some green shines through the lower branches

More trees at night with the Aurora behind them

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Oct 31

Happy Halloween please enjoy this rollercoaster of a story about my fave skeleton at the @harvardmuseums.bsky.social #scicomm 🧪

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Sep 6

Boosted! Thank you @massgovernor.bsky.social for kicking ass & making COVID boosters available asap!

Molly inside of a CVS wearing a black respirator. She is smiling under her mask because she just got a Covid booster! Her sleeve is rolled up to show the bandaid on her arm

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Aug 25

Just a perfect chonky Azalea sphinx moth for #InverteFest

The back of an azalea sphinx moth. It has a chonky body and notched wings that are pinkish brownish. It is perched in a brick and blends in perfectly.

An azalea sphinx moth perched on a white sheet illuminated by a black light. It has a chonky body and notched wings

A side view of an azalea sphinx moth. The photo quality is terrible but this angle highlights just how much of a chonk this month is.

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Aug 5

Sunflowers are full of secrets 🕵️‍♀️🌻 I had a blast making this for @nybg.bsky.social 's Van Gogh's Flowers exhibit, where you can see all the 🌻🌻🌻 shine through Oct. 26th! #scicomm 🧪 #nationalsunflowerday #botany

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Jul 23

I went to my first ever MOTHING PARTY last night and I am still smiling. Happy #NationalMothWeek!!!

Molly BEAMING at seeing a hydrangea sphinx moth. Her face is close to the moth, which is as big as her nose and mottled green and grey and brown. The moth is perched on a white sheet that is being illuminated by a blacklight.

An azalea sphinx moth perched on a brick. The moth has a super chonky body and unusually angular wings with notches in them. Its wings and body have a subtle but stunning pattern of browns and peaches and mauves.

A closeup of the head of a little tiny white moth. Its eyes are huge and black and its antennae are SO cute and comb-like

A closeup of the back of a hydrangea sphinx moth. Its scales, which resemble fuzzy hair, are in a beautiful pattern of greens and deep yellows and tans.

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Jun 19

My #McClintockLetter was published in the Putnam County Courier! It's deeply meaningful to be part of this national movement of scientists writing to their hometown papers in defense of federal research funding. So many flowers to @cornellasap.bsky.social for their incredible organizing work!

Molly holding up a copy of the Putnam County Courier with her article on it. Article text reads (contd on next image):

Science Funding Cuts Will Hurt Putnam County

To the Editor:

I’m a scientist who grew up in Putnam County, and I’m writing to urge my hometown community to stand up against the devastating funding cuts to science research that are proposed in the federal budget currently being discussed in Congress.

I’m a proud product of the Putnam County 4-H youth program, which launched me on a path to pursing plant biology research all the way through a Ph.D. from Harvard University, and ultimately a career as a science communicator making films about scientists and their work.

Every step of my journey has been supported by federal funding. 4-H is funded by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), empowering 6 million youth nationwide with leadership and citizenship skills. Every research project in my 15-year science career was backed by National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, resulting in discoveries about plant stem cells, orchid conservation, how plants use nitrogen, and flower genetics. Today, scientists include me in their own NSF grants to produce films that bring their research to life, so that you can see how your tax dollars contribute to cutting-edge science.

And I’m just one person. Federal science funding benefits everyone in Putnam County: if you’ve taken any medicines that were approved by the FDA in the last decade, funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) contributed to their development. Did you use the internet today? You can thank the NSF for that. And if you (like me) are a 90s kid, you grew up learning about science from NSF-funded shows like Bill Nye and The Magic School Bus.

Federal funding is great for the economy — the NSF and NIH combined brought in over $4 billion and 30,000 jobs to New York State last year, and science funding generates $2.56 in economic activity for every $1 spent. That’s a fantastic return!

A closeup photo of the article. Article text continued:

However, the Trump Administration’s proposed budget will slash NSF funding by 60%, NIH funding by 40%, and USDA funding by 30%. This will destroy American science and innovation. My scientist friends are scrambling to figure out how to keep their laboratories and students afloat in the face of these cuts. I am scrambling to pivot careers as I will no longer be able to make educational films with NSF funding.

The cuts will have unthinkable consequences for our daily lives. Cancer research will stagnate and the discovery science that fuels our biotech industry will slow. Your children will no longer have access to prestigious federal undergraduate science internships and graduate research fellowships, and scientific job opportunities will disappear.

How can you help? Call your Members of Congress and urge them to do everything in their power to oppose this budget until science funding is restored. 5Calls has a fantastic script and easy phone number lookup for your district: https://5calls.org/issue/national-institutes-of-health-nih-research-cuts/. This letter is part of a national movement of scientists writing to their hometowns to raise the alarm. Take our Citizens for Science Pledge here: tiny.cc/sciencepledge

Sincerely,

Molly Edwards, Ph.D.
Boston, MA

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Jun 1

A very belated MOTHers Day card (also doubling as my down-to-the-wire #MothMay contribution 😅)

A square Mothers Day card. Across the top it says "Happy Mothers Day" with 'Moth' in a different color than the other letters. Below the text are three moths drawn in pen and alcohol markers. The topmost is a luna moth with its large wing tails and wing spots. To the left of its wing tails is a crimson speckled moth (small with red, white, and black splotches all over it), and to the right of the luna moth's wing tails is a pink striped oakworm moth (it has a super fuzzy orange body and its wings are big stripes of muted purple and orange with pronounced veins)

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· May 28

Must have lamp. MUST HAVE LAAAMP #MothMay

A white fuzzy moth pressed up against a window, with the reflection of a lamp that is so close but yet so far

A closeup of a white fuzzy moth pressed up against a window. Its top set of legs are almost vertical so it looks like a little kid peering into a candy shop

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· May 23

Host a teach-in, open lab, or community tabling event with @standupforscience.bsky.social ! Sign up here: actionnetwork.org/event_campai... You can also distribute these flyers around your lab buildings to recruit volunteers from your scientific communities (thank you @cdelawalla.bsky.social !)

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· May 23

Write a McClintock Letter w @cornellasap.bsky.social - an op-ed in your hometown newspaper that tells your science story & advocates for federal research funding. The goal is to publish ~6/16 (McClintock’s bday). I’m writing one, I'm super pumped! Sign up here: blogs.cornell.edu/asap/events-...

A PR graphic for The McClintock Letters. There is a drawing of Barbara McClintock next to an ear of corn and a DNA double helix. The text reads "The McClintock Letters. Improving communication between scientists and the public is crucial for rebuilding trust and addressing misinformation. Share your science story. Who: You! and other graduate, post-doctoral, and faculty-level researchers. When: Submit to local papers early June to publish on ~June 16th, Nobel Prize-awarded geneticist Barbara McClintock's birthday. What: Collectively publish over 1,000 letters to the editor in local hometown newspapers across the U.S.

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· May 23

Hi! Do you want to rip your face off over the constant attacks on science in the US? Here are some actions you can take! They require varying amounts of time, repetitiveness, and sticking your neck out, so hopefully you can find something in here that’s right for you: 🧪 #scicomm

"How to take action for science" written in a retro bubbly font above a bunch of canva clipart test tubes and beakers filled with colorful bubbling liquids

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· May 15

Trump came for the botanists this week 😭🤬🌱 If you want to help the @botsocamerica.bsky.social keep their PLANTS undergraduate mentorship program going, donate here: crm.botany.org/makeadonation #savetheNSF #withoutNSF 🧪

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· May 6

Here's my federal funding story #WithoutNSF #SaveNSF #SupportNSF #scicomm 🧪

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· May 2

Yesterday Tr*mp froze all NSF funds, today he announced a 56% budget cut. This is going to devastate science in the US. I've spent the morning calling my reps to raise hell and applying for jobs as it's clear I can't sustain my freelance scicomm business on NSF funding anymore (1/n) #scicomm #nsf 🧪

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Apr 30

Happy last day of #InverteFest, here is a lobster! I shared this for an IF a couple years ago but that was over on The Bad Place, I think it'll be much happier living here 🦞

A drawing of a lobster done in alcohol marker on watercolor paper.

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Apr 29

A little snail friend for #InverteFest

A little watercolor sideview of a snail. The snail is heading towards the right edge of the frame and its head is turned to face you

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Apr 28

Should we make Hello From The Herbarium a thing?? Thank you @nybg.bsky.social for letting me play in the orchid collections! (I think this also counts as an #invertefest post thanks to Xanthopan morganii praedicta's co-starring role)

Molly Edwards, PhD@science-irl· Apr 26

I am ashamed to admit I've only knitted one invertebrate in my life, must do more 🐙 #invertefest