How can we trust research?

Scientific research—just the phrase conjures images of test tubes, sterile labs, and professors in tweed with elbow patches. It suggests detachment, objectivity, and the studied avoidance of bias. But what if research could also be about love? About community? About cultivating deep, reciprocal relationships?

Better yet—what if the person teaching you this was a Cuban-identifying, breakdancing dean?

Today, Dr. Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda upends conventional notions of what it means to be a researcher. With warmth, brilliance, and bold authenticity, she shows us how trust is built in the research process, what we truly owe to our participants, and how researchers—if we’re doing it right—earn our pay.