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Mr Karl Byrne

Public Engagement Manager

United Kingdom

As the Public Engagement Manager at LSHTM, I help researchers engage with the public in meaningful, mutually beneficial ways by offering training, advice and support to staff around Public Engagement (PE) and Patient Public Involvement (PPI), as well as managing the Public Engagement Small Grant Scheme. I am also one of the producers and hosts of the award-winning podcast "LSHTM Viral" -exploring the science behind the COVID-19 outbreak and the global response.

I have previously worked in Science Centres, organised the Cheltenham Science Festival and was the Christmas Lectures Manager at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, where I produced Professor Saiful Islam’s 2016 televised lectures. 

Before becoming a Public Engagement professional, I studied Virology at the University of Edinburgh and spent 7 years in labs researching a range of viruses including HIV, Hepatitis C, RSV, and the MMR vaccine. 

Actively involved in science communication and public engagement since 2000, I have designed science shows, public experiments and science exhibitions, and have performed at festivals around the world. I have over a decade of experience in training on public speaking, science communication and working with the media, and have advised researchers, academics and professional science communicators in over 30 countries on five continents, as well as lecturing on Science Communication and Public Engagement at LSHTM, the University of Cambridge, The University of Derby and UCL.

Affiliations

Communications & Engagement
Professional Support Services

Teaching

Introduction to Public Engagement

Science Communication and Exhibition Design

Speaking to a Public Audience

Public Engagement and Social Media

Selected Publications

Cognitive empathy across the lifespan
Dorris, L; Young, D; Barlow, J; BYRNE, K; Hoyle, R;
2022
Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology
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