Welcome to our new WIE Fellows!
We're delighted to welcome 12 new WIE Fellows from a variety of faculties and disciplines across the University!
Our Fellows are champions for all things public engagement and help us to promote and improve public engagement across University of Warwick and beyond. Find out more about them below.
Associate Professor Aysu Dincer Hadjianastasis
Faculty of Arts
My Public engagement activities have included various publications (an article 'Five things you (probably) didn't know about the crusades' for History Extra; a children's book 'A Child Through Time'), some media appearances ('Economic Lessons from Pandemics Past: the Black Death' for BBC4; 'Roses in the 16th century' for the That Shakespeare Life podcast) and more recently, exhibitions (Shakespeare's Roses: 'Sweetest Odours' in Stratford-upon-Avon, co-curated with Professor Grant (English) and with Professor Covington (Engineering); to be taken to Coughton Court in May 2026. I am very interested in facilitating cross-faculty collaboration in public engagement, and I look forward to being actively involved in the life of WIE.
Charlotte Woodhead
Faculty of Social Sciences
I've enjoyed engaging with Warwick Institute of Engagement through participation in Resonate events where I've developed interactive activities relating to the law of treasure and the protection of intangible cultural heritage. As a fellow I look forward to engaging much more with WIE and encouraging and supporting public engagement activities within the Law School and across the wider university.
Dave Musson
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine
Dave has more than 15 years' experience working in communications across Higher education, EdTech, and local government. He has been involved in a number of public engagement activities throughout his career, most recently being a guest lecturer on the Communicating Mathematics module in his home department. He's passionate about great storytelling that captures people's imagination and about helping people develop and enhance their own communications and engagement skills.
Dr Dawn Collins
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine
I am passionate about science communication and sharing my love of neuroscience through public engagement, but also fascinated by how incorporating authentic, lived experience and the voice of our local region and communities can build belonging, engagement and employability skills in our students. As a WIE fellow I hope to contribute to the Co-production and Communities and Public Community Engagement Pedagogies Learning Circles, contributing to development of guidance, good practice, building strength and understanding for staff, students and community contributors.
Dr Helen Nolan
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine
I am an Associate Professor and Director of Education Quality at Warwick Medical School. I teach across WMS education provision and undertake pedagogical research. I am particularly interested in patient involvement and community engagement in my education and research practice. This intersects directly with my interests in trauma-informed approaches. I am looking forward to developing and sharing this practice further as a WIE fellow.
Jenny Harlock
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine
I bring extensive public engagement experience through my longstanding work as an NIHR PPIE Adviser (National Institute for Health and Care Research, Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement), where I have co-created policy and training, supported researchers to embed inclusive involvement practices, collaborated with underserved communities, and led funded projects to strengthen voluntary sector engagement in health and social care research. As a WIE Fellow, I will draw on this experience and my wide networks to enhance engagement with underrepresented groups, build stronger partnerships with community organisations and local authorities, and help develop public engagement pedagogy and competencies across the University of Warwick.
Dr Kat Phillips
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine
My name is Kat, and I do maths. Specifically, I have a PhD in Statistical Applied Mathematics, but I consider myself a fluid dynamicist at heart as that is where my main research interests lie. I enjoy sharing my passion for maths with others, and encouraging people to get past the stigma that often comes with telling people you like maths. I also have a strong passion for demystifying academia, and easing access to higher education, through sharing educational content and providing information around higher education admissions. I describe myself as a wearer of many hats, as having to put a name to the numerous roles I have has become too complicated (and if Kat does maths didn't give it away, I like easy explanations). I can't wait to get more involved and contribute to the already incredible community WIE has grown.
Merline Feero
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine
Merline's previous public engagement experience has centred around preparing scientific materials for public audiences, especially in the context of disease ecology and outbreak prevention. She is excited to contribute what she's learned in this space as a fellow, while also expanding her skills to incorporate other aspects of engagement, especially hands-on and inclusive practices.
Rachel Dickinson
Faculty of Social Sciences
My public engagement practice is grounded in three decades of collaborative, arts-led work across youth arts, teacher education, and long-term school partnerships. I approach engagement as relational and co-produced, shaped by sustained collaborations that position participants as partners in inquiry and change. Recent engagement is focussed on widening participation and inclusive leadership in business education, supporting creative, participatory approaches to educational and organisational development.
Rosemary Alexander-Jones
Faculty of Social Scieces
I have been involved in several public engagement events at my previous university, the University of York, where I gave public talks and hosted panels as part of the York International Shakespeare Festival. Using my filmmaking skills I have also led public engagement events involving large-scale immersive educational films and experiences for families, about subjects like jellyfish and the solar system. Most recently I have been part of the Resonate Festival of Social Science in November 2024, leading an event about health and heritage in Leamington Spa Pump Rooms. I look forward to bringing my experience of filmmaking and enabling people to tell their own stories to WIE, and I am excited to connect with the community.
Dr Ruohan Zhang
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine
Dr Ruohan Zhang is an Assistant Professor of AI in Healthcare at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Cambridge. Her public engagement work focuses on translating research in AI, brain health, and human cognition into accessible, creative learning experiences for the wider public. Ruohan has designed and led hands-on outreach activities such as 'Eat Smart, Think Smart - Brain-Food Match', delivered in collaboration with local primary schools, WIE, and the WMG Outreach Team, including events at Keresley Grange Primary School and Live Labs at the Warwick Christmas Lectures. As a WIE Fellow, she looks forward to developing inclusive, evidence- based engagement activities that connect cutting-edge AI and health research with schools, communities and public audiences, and to strengthening links between research, education, and real-world health impact. Read more at Ruohan's webpage.
Dr Yanyan Li
Faculty of Social Sciences
Dr Yanyan Li is an early-career Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study. She has led public engagement initiatives on creative research communication, science communication, and transdisciplinary pedagogy in community spaces. Her research has been featured in Times Higher Education, AI Ethics Now Podcast, MIT Technology Review, Yahoo, and Phys.org. Through these platforms, she has actively engaged the public with her research on human-human and human-AI interaction, AI in higher education, and health.
Dr Freya Verlander
Faculty of Arts
I’m an Assistant Professor in Theatre and Performance Studies. My public engagement projects focus on the skin, our senses, and performance. They include a virtual ‘Skin “Safari”’ event (with dermatologists and a microbial artist) and a performance-as-research event: ‘Perfuming the Early Modern Stage’ at the Wanamaker Playhouse (AHRC-funded). I co-ran this event with Dr. Chloe Preedy (Exeter), and Dr. Will Tosh (Shakespeare’s Globe), as part of The Globe Theatre’s Performance-in-Action series. During my time as a WIE Fellow, I’m planning to adapt my FLIP-funded ‘Skin, Stories, and SFX’ workshop for audiences at the Resonate Festival. I’m also hoping to establish a new learning circle called ‘Health,’ in line with growing interests in the Medical Humanities. I’m looking forward to collaborating with other WIE members to identify key areas for potential PE in this field.