The value of public engagement: a researcher’s perspective

Dr Ioanna Katzourou, a Postdoctoral Research working on the Lifespan Multimorbidity Research Collaborative (LINC), shares her experiences of public and public engagement.

There has been a long-held view that scientists are locked away in their ivory towers without a grasp of real-world problems. While this is very much a thing of the past, even today’s scientific research can continue to feel detached from the communities that we hope will benefit.

As a quantitative researcher, I work with data and numbers, which is often isolating and quite dry. My work is measured in the number of publications I produce, and metrics which do not always reflect true impact of this research. While the aim this, for me, is to improve people’s lives, most of the time these people feel like more of a distant dream.

Within the two years I have been working on the LINC project I have been fortunate enough to have many opportunities to engage with the public about my work, from playing science games with children at a festiva and talking to people with lived experience about our latest research, to directly seeking future directions for my work from the LINC Patient and Public Involvement group.

Every time I work with the public, I have found it to be a humbling and at the same time extremely inspiring experience.

Being able to talk to the people that I hope will benefit from the results of my work, to learn about their lives and to hear about their hopes for the future, helps me remember what the focus of my research really is.

Seeing kids fascinated by the concept of the DNA double helix reminds me of my own youthful enthusiasm for science that is often buried in the pressures of everyday work. Whilst I very much enjoy my data-driven work, I greatly appreciate these reminders and these opportunities to talk about research with people that care and are directly impacted by it.

Read more about LINC'S patient and public engagement group.