Public Engagement

Professor MacLean is a pioneer and long term champion of public engagement who has been central to several long-standing series of public events including Café Scientifique and Café with Heart. 

In the MVLS Engagement Awards she was an Individual Winner for Contributions to Public Engagement 2017 which celebrated the exceptional enthusiasm and commitment of staff. 

I was inspired by attending a Café Scientifique in Edinburgh in 2004. When I realised that Glasgow did not have a Café Scientifique I offered to set one up (at that time these were supported by The Wellcome Trust) and the rest, as they say, is history!

Café Scientifique have been running in Glasgow since March 2004 and always been hugely popular and interesting.

The feedback from the public is always inspiring. This in itself has been rewarding and encouraged me to keep going with them.

I am very very proud of Café Scientifique in Glasgow as it has now been running since 2004 and goes from strength to strength. 

I am also proud of ICAMS science café ‘Café with Heart’ that highlights research carried out in the Institute to local folks living in the West End of Glasgow; this is breaking down town/gown barriers.  I have also worked closely with BHF Scotland to develop their ‘Social Science’ agenda and this has been very rewarding as it has given me the opportunity to highlight MVLS research to politicians both at Holyrood and Westminster.

Keep it simple, keep it away from University lecture theatres and avoid public lectures. Engage the public in free relaxed discussion.

It’s important that researchers do public engagement activities because they want to and are motivated to do so by their own enthusiasm.

Professor Margaret (Mandy) R MacLean MBE

Professor of Pulmonary Pharmacology in the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences and Associate School of Life Sciences