Alumni

The Beauty of the Science Olympiads for Michelle Wong

Michelle Wong is an alum of the 2004 ASO Chemistry Summer School, who has gone on to shine in the science world – and we are not just referring to her glowing skin! After studying advanced science and earning a PhD from the University of Sydney, Michelle is now a science communicator, educator and content creator.

Through her platform Lab Muffin Beauty Science, Michelle shares expert advice on skincare, hair and makeup, via popular channels on Instagram, YouTube and Tik Tok. She is also the published author of ‘The Science of Beauty‘.

How did Michelle go from the lab to luminous skin and lessons in chemistry? Let’s find out!

How did you first learn about ASI programs, and what inspired you to participate?

School – I went to James Ruse, Elizabeth New was offering free lunchtime classes and my friend wanted to go, so I tagged along.

How have ASI programs influenced your professional growth?

I was more interested in humanities when I was in high school, but going through the chemistry Olympiad experience made me much more interested and confident in science, which led to me doing a chemistry PhD and marrying the two sides of my interests in my current role as a science communicator and content creator.

What did you study at University?

I started with a combined science/law degree, but dropped law after completing my honours year to do a PhD. I ended up with a Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours with university medal) from USyd, and a PhD in chemistry from USyd.

What do you enjoy about your current field?

I’m a science communicator and content creator, breaking down the science behind beauty products for a non-technical audience and dispelling misinformation. I started my blog during my PhD, because I was frustrated at the lack of easy-to-understand scientific explanations of how products that the vast majority of women are interested in worked.

I could see that a lot of the information that was available had huge overlaps with health misinformation and chemophobia (there was a lot of concern around parents refusing MMR vaccinations at the time due to Andrew Wakefield’s very effective misinformation campaign). There were a lot of science communicators directly addressing antivax misinformation, but I could see a huge information void earlier in the pipeline.

This has since expanded into social media posts and videos. I really enjoy being able to learn about lots of different areas of science, and working out what’s going on in areas where the science is relatively unsettled. I also enjoy being able to interact with people and introduce them to science through a topic they’re already interested in, and change their minds, especially when pseudoscience is having such a massive impact on our world. I also love the creative side of making content, turning complicated science into compelling stories.

How do you see your profession changing in the next 3 or 5 years?

Every content creator, science communicator and misinformation researcher is worried about generative AI – it’s getting much easier to pump out convincing misinformation, and people aren’t equipped with the critical thinking skills to handle this new contribution to the ‘infodemic’ (misinformation was already identified as one of the biggest threats to public health and democracy before generative AI was a thing!) It’s difficult to say what direction we’re heading in, but hopefully the US’s War on Science will highlight the importance of science communication, and expert outreach to the public.

What is a professional highlight of your career?

I delivered a plenary talk on the impacts of social media misinformation at an international skin cancer conference last year.

What advice do you have for Science Olympiad students hoping to achieve success professionally and personally?

Pay attention to what you enjoy doing – the reality of a job is often very different from what you’d expect.

Do you still keep in touch with anyone from your ASO Summer School cohort?

I still keep in touch with Ying Xiao who I met at summer school… whenever he remembers to check his phone!