Meet the winners of the 2025-26 Societal Engagement Seed Fund. We're delighted to continue to support a wide range of public engagement activities through this fund. Read on to discover more about each project.

Dive Science

Led by James Moss, National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI)

Staff and students from NHLI developed and delivered a Dive Science exhibit at the Go Diving Show 2026. It aimed to provide an opportunity for recreational, technical and commercial SCUBA divers and freedivers to develop their understanding of thermal and hyperbaric physiology, breath-holding and basic life support. The Dive Science team engaged over 300 delegates using interactive exhibits that included thermal cameras with cold water hand dips (to see how heat emission changes following immersion), discussions about potential research ideas (based on lived experience of delegates) and a pair of porcine lungs that delegates could ventilate themselves (to see how the lobes change size and shape and different stages of breathing). The team also ran experiments exploring the effect of lung function on breath holding and the effectiveness and biomechanical efficiency of basic life support. Delegates described the opportunity as uniquely insightful and a great addition to the dive show.

Celebrating the Day of Immunology - Regulatory T Cells: Guardians of Immune Balance

Led by Katia Riberio de Jesus, Rachel Coulombeau and Margarita Dominguez-Villar (Department of Infectious Disease)

On June 16th, the team marked the International Day of Immunology with an outreach event titled Regulatory T cells: Guardians of Immune Balance. The event welcomed 145 Year 12 A-level students and 18 teachers from schools of underserved communities across London.

The programme included scientific talks on regulatory T cells in immune regulation, vaccination, and allergy and autoimmunity delivered by researchers. These were followed by a roundtable discussion where students asked questions directly to senior scientists. A careers panel featuring speakers at different career stages provided insight into routes into research, academia and industry. The day concluded with two interactive activities: an inter-school “Build Your Own Virus” origami challenge and an immunology quiz.

Feedback showed that the event increased students’ understanding of immunology, made science careers feel more relatable and created an enjoyable, memorable learning experience. For the organising team, the project strengthened skills in public engagement, communication and event delivery.

Women and Waste: Charcoal Project

Led by Alison Perry, The George Institute for Global Health

The Women and Waste: Charcoal Project was a participatory photography project conducted in collaboration with Kulika Uganda to raise awareness around the unique relationship between women and climate change, namely deforestation. Over a three-part workshop with 13 women from a village in Uganda, they explored and gave voice to the experience of women around their relationship with waste and use of an alternative product to wood and charcoal for household tasks, called “charcoal briquettes”. Charcoal briquettes are an alternative resource made from common household waste such as banana peels or cassava leaves bound with molasses or clay. Through storytelling and photography, the workshop attendees gained unique insight into this innovation and produced a “pop up” gallery in a busy local market to outwardly engage with the local community and showcase the project. In addition to this, several women from the workshop group were supported to run their own home-based demonstration workshop to cultivate a small business model for training others in the briquette-making process.

The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on Climate Change and Mental Health

Led by Daniella Watson, Department of Surgery & Cancer

Nine lived experience experts from Australia, The Bahamas, Bhutan, Canada, India, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, and the UK worked with over 100 Commissioners to shape the Lancet Psychiatry Commission on Climate Change and Mental Health. The Lived Experience Advisory Board (LE AB) members met almost monthly to build capability and confidence in sharing their lived experiences of climate change and mental health. The LE AB had meetings with the Commissioners and completed documents in their own time to share their experiences.  In this process, the value of lived experiences grew, as two Commissioners granted a further £5000 towards LE AB contributions, and LE AB specific panels became a fundamental part of the paper. Funding from Wellcome has been granted to further support the LE AB to disseminate the Commission’s findings through videos and lay person summaries. Key learnings included trying out different communication methods and supporting researchers to work with LE AB.