With funding from Research England and support from the Departmental Research Committee, we have established a series of talks to inspire and enhance awareness of routes that researchers can take to ensure effective public engagement of their research.

Each talk focuses on a different aspect of public engagement and aims to showcase examples of best practice both within and outside of the department.

Contact us

If you would like to discuss enhancing the research culture in the Department of Biology, please contact the Department Research Champion via the Biology Research Office at

biol-research-office@york.ac.uk

Upcoming events

The (Good) Life of a Scientific Editor

  • Thursday 25 April, 11am to1.30pm
  • Location: in-person and online
  • Admission: free

Speaker

Alejandro Montenegro-Montero will discuss the life of an editor and ways in which interested people can join this career path. He is also interested in meeting people to find out about their research, talk about peer review/publishing, or discuss ways in which we can help at CSHL Press/bioRxiv or CSH Protocols, which is the journal he leads.

Previous events

Wednesday 20 March, 12 noon to 2.30pm

A lab handbook is a flexible document created by all members of a lab that outlines the ethos of a research group. It can summarise the different roles within the lab, give an overview of the culture the lab would like to create, describe how the lab supports development of its members and is therefore a potentially powerful tool to create team equity. This workshop will be a starting point to create and share good practice across York.

Speakers:

  • Professor Stuart Murray (School of English, University of Leeds) - leading the Wellcome funded Medical Humanities Project LivingBodiesObjects
  • Faye Robinson (Head of Research Development, University of Leeds) - leading the Wellcome funded Medical Humanities Project LivingBodiesObjects.
  • Dr Stuart Higgins (School of PET, York)
  • Dr Chris McDonald (Biology, York)
  • Professor David Kent (Biology, York)

Location: in-person and online

Admission: free

Tuesday 14 November 11am to 1.30pm

This session will discuss why we need Open Science and how publishers, funders, institutions and researchers can contribute.

Speaker(s): 

Andrew Dunn (Senior Publishing Editor, Royal Society Open Science)

Thom Blake (Open Research Manager, University of York)

Dr Andrew Mason (Lecturer, Jack Birch Unit of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Department of Biology, University of York)

Location: In-person and online

Admission: Free

Thursday 19 October 11am to 1.30pm

This session will cover intellectual property and commercialisation. The speakers will give examples from different stages of the commercialising pathway and provide information about funding and support mechanisms that can help researchers who are considering commercialisation options. The Q&A session will be an opportunity to ask them questions about what can be protected, when, why and whether this should happen, the difference between spinning-out and licensing, and what support is available at the University.

Speaker(s): 

Dr Paul Ko Kerrigno (CEO and Founder, Eclateral) 

Dr Dana Koludrovic (Technology Transfer Manager, Cancer Research UK)

Dr Natalia Stawniak (Commercialisation Manager, University of York)

Dr Rasha Rezk (PDRA, Centre for Blood Research, University of York)

Dr Ban Balansethupathy (PDRA, CNAP, University of York)

Dr Dan Leadbeater (PDRA, CNAP, University of York)

Location: In-person and online

Admission: Free

Monday 18 September 11am to 1.30pm 

This session focused on those involved in biomedical and aligned research looking to learn more about patient participation in their studies, and the opportunity to deliver patient focused outcomes. There were talks from staff who shared their experiences of patient advocacy.

Confirmed speakers: 

  • Professor Paul Kaye (HYMS, University of York)
  • Professor Debra Howell (Department of Health Sciences, University of York)
  • Dr Jenny Baker (Department of Biology and York Tissue Bank, University of York) 
  • Professor Rowena Jacobs (Deputy Director for the Centre for Health Economics and Academic Lead for Involvement@York, University of York)

Tuesday 4 July, 11am to 1.30pm 

This session focused on how to have effective two-way conversations with different public groups; looking at how we can make connections with groups, how we can set up and structure groups and how we can empower the public to engage with us. The session included talks from an external speaker and internal members of staff who shared their experiences of effectively conversing with the public. 

Confirmed speakers:

Friday 16 June, 11am to 1.30pm 

This session focused on working with the public - methods we can use to quantify and analyse engagement, and subsequent modifications to improve engagement outcomes. The session included talks from an external speaker and internal members of staff who can share their experiences of evaluating public engagement.

Confirmed speakers:

Held on 12 May 2023, this session heard from academics with experience in establishing and sustaining links with industry. A Q&A panel followed with the academic speakers joined by Dr Fiona Frame, Research and Innovation Development Manager from the University of York.

Speakers were:

  • Professor James Chong (Biology)
  • Professor Katherine Denby (Biology)
  • Dr Peter O’Toole (Biology)
  • Professor Gideon Grogan (Chemistry)

Held on 25 July 2022, this session focused on the shaping and influencing of scientific policy and included talks from external and internal speakers with experience in this area to develop outreach and external engagement outputs.

Speakers were:

  • Dr Jamie Gallagher - "Policy engagement for researchers"
  • Professor Jane Hill (Biology) - "Influencing policy for biodiversity: Protected Areas and sustainable palm oil"
  • Dr Bryce Stewart (Environment and Geography) -"Brexit, scallops and discos: Translating research into policy"
  • Professor Ally Lewis (Chemistry) - "Influencing air pollution policy"

Held on 15 July 2022, this session focused on the interface between the arts and science and included talks from external and internal speakers with experience in collaborating with others in this area to develop outreach and external engagement outputs.

Speakers were:

  • Sally Gilford - Collaborated with researchers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Matrix Research at The University of Manchester
  • Dr Rivka Isaacson - (King's College London, Associate Dean for Doctoral Studies and Reader in Chemical Biology in the Faculty of Natural and Mathematical Sciences)
  • Ciara Loughrey - (Hull York Medical School PhD student) - was part of a team funded by the Wellcome Trust at the University of Glasgow which developed a street theatre performance in collaboration with a local street theatre company aiming to educate the general public about parasite research
  • Dr Amy Cutler - (Artist in Residence, Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity) - 'Lively cinema and the life sciences: engaging alternative film audiences'

Held on 17 June 2022, this session heard from academics with experience in external engagement (school outreach and public engagement) as a tool for engaging students and the general public in scientific research and encouraging them to think about the study and career possibilities open to them.

Speakers were:

  • Professor Andreas Prokop (University of Manchester): Re-animating school biology lessons through teaching with living flies; a REF impact case
  • Dr Simon Baker (Biology) - York Against Cancer Enthuse Partnership with the University of York's National STEM Learning Centre
  • Dr Rob McElroy (Chemistry) - "Green Kid" - development of a comic about green research for York school children
  • Dr Pen Holland (Biology) - Catastrophic: the card game - co-creation of a teaching tool and outreach resource

Contact us

If you would like to discuss enhancing the research culture in the Department of Biology, please contact the Department Research Champion via the Biology Research Office at

biol-research-office@york.ac.uk