Director: Mary Bownes

Mary Bownes is a Professor of Developmental Biology and a Vice Principal at the University of Edinburgh. She has research training, widening participation and community relations within her remit. 
 

Deputy Director: Janet Paterson

Janet has a PhD in plant biology from the University of St Andrews and spent five years as a research scientist at the University of Edinburgh. Throughout this time, she was involved in many voluntary science communication activities. She joined SIBE in 2007 as Development Officer, becoming Deputy Director in January 2009. Janet is involved in activities such as resource development, training researchers in public engagement, and running biotechnology workshops in schools. On behalf of the University, she also organises the University’s family programme at the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

RCiA Project Co-ordinator: Linda Hadfield

Linda is responsible for the course Research Communication in Action, which trains postgraduate students and new researchers in subject/research communication. Before moving to Scotland, Linda developed an outreach program for JILA, a physics research institute located in Colorado, USA. She also investigated how undergraduates learn thermodynamics as part of Carl Wieman's science education research group. Linda earned her PhD at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and her MS from the University of California at Berkeley. Both degrees are in physical atmospheric chemistry. Before graduate school, Linda taught science to secondary school students in Malawi, Central Africa, as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Technical Officer: Kathleen Pullen

Kathleen works part-time for SIBE, assisting in the organisation and delivery of workshops and events.
 

SIBE Associate: Jan Barfoot

Following a PhD in cancer genetics at the University of Edinburgh, Jan started working with SIBE in 2002. There she worked as a science communicator developing and delivering hands-on biotechnology and bioethical workshops, events and talks to a diverse range of audiences. She has facilitated several collaborative public engagement projects including a large interdisciplinary event at the Edinburgh International Science Festival, Signing Biotechnology, Making Tremors and the booklet Stem Cells: Science and Ethics. She now co-ordinates public engagement projects for the University of Edinburgh and is a lecturer in Science Communication.

SIBE Associate: Heather McQueen

Heather is a lecturer in molecular genetics at the University of Edinburgh and runs the e-learning project Gene Jury, which engages primary and secondary school children with bioscience.

SIBE Associate: Cathy Southworth
 

Cathy is a past SIBE member and is now currently Public Engagement, Outreach and Communications Manager for EuroSyStem and OptiStem, based at University of Edinburgh.
 

SIBE Associate: Briony Curtis

Briony followed her PhD with work as a professional science communicator including
research in children's science television and running a science communication company.
She has been involved with SIBE for several years working on projects including Research
Communication in Action and Biomedical Horizons. Currently she is on a career break, but continues to be deeply interested in public engagement and skills training and remains a SIBE Associate.
 

SIBE Associate: Elizabeth Stevenson

Elizabeth returned to Higher education as a mature student in 1992 and studied part-time to obtain an Honours degree in chemistry from the Royal Society of Chemistry and then a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 1998. Her interest in chemistry began at school when she found out that an element like carbon could exist in such diverse forms as soot, graphite and most importantly, diamond! Public Engagement with Science and Schools’ Outreach is now officially part of her remit for the School of Chemistry.