FameLab at King’s

Lucy Thorne, a final year PhD student in Virology at Imperial College London has won the London Heat of FameLab UK 2012, a national competition to find new voices of science communication, which took place at King’s College London this week.

Lucy had just three minutes to pitch a complex scientific idea to the panel of judges, which included: King’s Vice Principal for Research and Innovation, Chris Mottershead; Director of Public Engagement at King’s, Chris Coe; Vice Dean of Academic Psychiatry; Professor Simon Wessely, science teacher Simon Foster and writer, comedian and trainer in science communication Timandra Harkness.

A number of contestants from across London took part in the competition, but Lucy wowed the judges with her presentation on how some viruses have the nifty trick of mutating, to win a place at the UK grand final due to take place at the Royal Institution on 21 March 2012. The overall winner will receive £1,000 and up to £750 to spend on a science communication activity, such as attending a conference, further training or developing a public event.

To prepare her for the final, Lucy will join contestants from across the UK at a weekend MasterClass with Professor of Science and Society and Science communication, Kathy Sykes, and experienced trainer, specialising in media & communication skills, Malcolm Love.

Lucy Thorne said: ‘I am surprised and delighted to have won the London heats of FameLab as the competition was so high. I entered FameLab because it is so important to be able to talk to anyone about science, not just your academic colleagues, and FameLab has given me the opportunity to develop these skills. I am looking forward to the national final in March next year and winning the London heats has given me a unique insight into a very different world to that of ’science in the lab’ and it is very exciting.’

Past winners of FameLab have gone on to travel the globe, perform in festivals and feature on national TV and radio, and many combine public-facing activity with ongoing research. All finalists become part of a global network of science communicators, and the winner will go on to participate in an international final at the Cheltenham Festival next year.

Director of Public Engagement at King’s, Chris Coe, said: ‘It was a great opportunity for King’s to host the London heat for FameLab.

‘We saw an array of talent and plenty of enthusiasm from all the contestants, and it certainly makes me feel optimistic about the future of science communication.’