Ayesha Goyal is a science communicator and content creator making science fascinating and accessible to everyday audiences. A finance graduate and former EY consultant with no formal background in science, she has built a community of 330K Instagram followers in just six months by explaining the science behind everyday life, covering topics ranging from health and food to relationships and sports.
She spends 10–12 hours researching each script, refers to reputed scientific journals such as The Lancet and JAMA, and cites her sources to ensure accuracy. Her work has also caught the attention of researchers, leading to a collaboration with a Stanford cancer researcher and a conversation with renowned diabetologist Dr V. Mohan.
One of the most interesting examples of the impact of Ayesha’s work involves Dilara Anbarci, a researcher in the US who rediscovered the rete ovarii, a structure in the ovary that had been overlooked by science for more than a century. Despite the significance of the discovery for women’s health, it had received little attention in India. Ayesha decided to make a reel about it, prompting several followers to explore Dilara’s research and follow her work. The response even reached the researcher herself. Dilara personally messaged Ayesha to thank her and her audience, and also stayed active in the comments section of the reel, interacting with viewers.
Ayesha’s work has also attracted attention from the scientific community at leading institutions. A cancer researcher at Stanford University came across her reels and reached out for a conversation. The two are now working together to take the research to a wider audience. For Ayesha, such experiences reinforce the importance of connecting scientific discoveries with people who might otherwise never encounter them.
Ayesha believes that not having a formal education in science has made exploring the subject even more exciting. “I never studied science, and I think that’s exactly why it’s fun. Nobody assigned me these papers. I read them out of choice, mostly on weekends, and when you do something out of choice you’re not doing it for an outcome. You’re doing it because you love the subject. That’s where the passion comes from,” she says.
Her professional experience has also played an important role in shaping her approach to scientific research. Having spent three years as a strategy consultant in London with one of the leading consulting firms, Ayesha developed a habit of questioning information, examining evidence and evaluating credibility. “Where my background helps me immensely is numbers and critical thinking. The questions you ask when you walk into a company are the exact questions I now ask a research paper. Is this journal peer reviewed? Has it been replicated? Who paid for it? Is there a conflict of interest? Is the methodology tight? I was doing that for companies. Now I do it for papers. Same muscle,” she explains.
Ayesha’s interest in research also has a personal story behind it. It began when her father and grandmother were unwell, and short medical appointments often left little time to ask questions or understand everything. That experience encouraged her to read more and develop a deeper understanding of scientific literature.
When it comes to ensuring accuracy, Ayesha believes transparency is essential. Every source is shared in the caption, allowing audiences to examine the original research rather than simply accepting the information presented. She also makes it a point to acknowledge when a finding is based on a single study that has not yet been replicated. “That’s the line between simple and oversimplified. Simple words help you grasp concepts. Pretending to be more sure than the science is, that’s the mistake, and I don’t do it,” she adds.
For Ayesha, science communication is about making complex research relatable without compromising its accuracy. She discovered the term during a conversation with a scientist from Stanford, who pointed out that what she was doing was known as science communication. Drawing comparisons with creators such as Cleo Abram and Hank Green, Ayesha describes science communicators as a bridge between researchers and the general public.
“The research being done right now is so useful for normal people. The reason they can’t access it is that it’s too jargony. So someone like me brings it to them in simple terms,” she says. Explaining a scientific concept through an everyday experience, Ayesha believes, makes it easier for people to connect with and remember the information. Giving an example, she explains, “I could say ‘your ovarian reserve forms when you’re a fetus.’ Or I could say ‘your mom, your nani and you once existed in the same body.’ The moment I say the second one, you’ve related it to your own life, and when I explain the science after that, you never forget it.”
The key, according to Ayesha, is to constantly ask how a particular finding applies to an ordinary person. Topics such as hunger, relationships, introversion and love already resonate with audiences, and scientific research can offer fascinating insights into these everyday experiences. “Simple doesn’t mean dumb. Every word I use has to read at an eighth grade level, and every claim still has to trace back to the paper,” she emphasises.
Evaluating conflicting scientific findings is another important part of Ayesha’s work, particularly in areas such as health, nutrition and relationships, where research is frequently misinterpreted online. She believes that conflicting findings are not necessarily a weakness of science but an essential part of how scientific understanding evolves. A study that was considered groundbreaking a decade ago may eventually be challenged or disproved by newer research.
“The very nature of science is that it builds on the science before it, and by that nature, it’s supposed to have conflicting findings,” she explains. Ayesha is equally comfortable acknowledging the limitations of a study, whether it involves a limited population or findings that have not been independently replicated. “Science isn’t here to hand you a black and white answer. It hands you clues, and you build your understanding from the clues. That’s the part I want people to fall in love with,” she adds.
Her work has also opened doors to conversations and collaborations with researchers from leading institutions. A reel about Dr V. Mohan, one of India’s most respected diabetologists and a Padma Shri recipient, eventually led to a podcast with him. Another reel on metabolism reached the Oxford researchers behind the study, while her content on the rete ovarii reached Dilara Anbarci, leading to their interaction and collaboration.
These experiences have reinforced Ayesha’s belief in the importance of making scientific discoveries accessible to wider audiences. “That gap, between the lab and the person scrolling at 11pm, is where I’ve decided to spend my life,” she says.
Interacting with researchers has also changed how Ayesha views scientific papers. What once appeared to be simply a collection of findings now represents years of dedication and work by individuals who are deeply invested in their research. “Scientists are the most careful people in the room. They’ll tell you what they don’t know before they tell you what they do, and some of that has rubbed off on me,” she reflects.
Despite the pressure social media often creates to deliver quick conclusions and definitive opinions, Ayesha prefers to let audiences understand both established findings and unanswered questions. She believes that uncertainty itself can be engaging, particularly when it challenges assumptions people have held for years. “The research gap is content. The definitive stuff is content. Both are interesting. I’ve never needed to sell people something that isn’t there,” she says.