Using Social Media for Academic Promotion

Filmed at the 2019 STS Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, Mara Antonoff of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, USA, moderates a discussion on the use of social media for academic promotion. Dr Antonoff is joined by David Cooke of the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, USA, Shanda Blackmon of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA, and Jessica Luc of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. The panel discusses the types of online activities that merit academic promotion and approaches for using online platforms to advance one’s career goals, an example being gaining international recognition. They note the accessibility of social media platforms, highlighting the usefulness of online connectivity for networking, mentorship, and connecting with and learning from patients. Finally, they share their tips for including online activity and social media presence on one’s CV and for promoting more traditional academic activity through social media.