Dr Heather Doran

Heather Doran is the Public Engagement Manager at the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science (LRCFS), University of Dundee, where she leads the Centre's public engagement strategy. Under her leadership, LRCFS's approach to public engagement was recognised with a Gold Watermark Award from the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement in 2019.

Heather works with researchers, communities and stakeholders to embed public engagement throughout the research process, from shaping research questions to sharing findings. She develops creative and innovative engagement activities using virtual games, social media, citizen science, award-winning podcasts, comics and live events. She has more than a decade of experience designing and delivering public engagement programmes and leading strategic initiatives.
Heather is a member of the UK Young Academy.

Internationally, Heather serves on the Scientific Committee of the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) Network and chaired the Programme Committee for PCST 2025 in Aberdeen. She is also a member of the Public Engagement Advisory Board for CÚRAM, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Medical Devices.

Heather has previously acted as a jury member for the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communication, presented by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in partnership with Schmidt Futures, and a judge for the Biochemical Society's Science Communication Competition.

She was Science Editor of The Biochemist (2020–2023), Secretary of the PCST Network (2021–2023), and Co-Chair of the PCST 2020+1 virtual conference. In 2015–16, she was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travel Fellowship to explore how leading research institutions in the USA, Japan and China use social media to foster public engagement with science. She began her career in public engagement during her PhD in Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Aberdeen, where she co-founded and edited AU Science Magazine.