Public Engagement
I am a STEM ambassador strongly committed to outreach and science communication. I have been leading the organisation and delivery of an exhibit called NanoMate Science at major UK festivals. NanoMate Science is a group of researchers from the University of Glasgow and Strathclyde aiming to investigate how nanoparticles can be used to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
We participated in several large public engagement events in the UK and Europe (Explorathon 2016 and 2017, Glasgow Science Festival 2016, Midlothian Science Festival 2016, Panto Science 2016, Cheltenham Science Festival 2017, Green Man Festival 2017, British Science Festival 2017, University of Glasgow visits IKEA 2018, Futuro Remoto 2019, 2020, 2021), in addition to visiting schools interacting face to face with more than 30,000 people. NanoMate Science received the University College of MVLS Engagement Award in 2017.
I have achieved global outreach as Editor in Chief of the Human Health Section of Frontiers for Young Minds (FYM). FYM is an open-access scientific journal written by scientists and reviewed by a board of kids and teens. FYM began its activity in 2014 and is now the leading global scientific journal of public engagement for children between 8-15 years.
From 2015 to 2022 FYM saw an increase in the number of articles published from 50 to 1050 and access to the website from 1,400 to over 20 million. We have been able to involve 5,250 children/teens in the review process, from different countries or sectors of the community that do not always have access to scientific dissemination. In 2020, accesses to the FYM website were for the first time recorded from all nations of the world, except for the Republic of Chad and North Korea. This represents a global societal impact, contributing to increasing awareness and understanding of science for young kids; and most importantly, increased awareness of the peer review process that is the basis of trust in research and its role in political decision-making.
In 2021, we launched a special Nobel Collection. In this first-of-its-kind collection, Nobel Prize winners explain to young minds their amazing discoveries and describe how they accomplished them.