Karen Heathcote

I am responsible for developing and maintaining all communication channels for the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine. I manage external and internal communications for the Institute, including website maintenance, content creation, and social media strategy. I also support researchers to share their scientific work with a broad audience and organise a calendar of public engagement events

Before starting this role, I completed a PhD in Chemical Biology at the University of Oxford, supervised by Emily Flashman and Peter Ratcliffe. During my PhD, I investigated the oxygen-sensing role of an iron-dependent enzyme called cysteamine dioxygenase (or ADO). 

Alongside my studies, I worked with the Department of Chemistry's communications and outreach teams. As an Outreach Ambassador, I managed the Chemistry Outreach social media and helped to run outreach workshops for school children from Early Years to KS5. I also worked as a science writer for the department magazine, the Periodic.