In this lecture, I will share my journey in translating complex microbiome research into engaging, accessible formats that inspire curiosity and understanding in diverse audiences. Through a range of public engagement projects - including interactive exhibits, media appearances, educational resources, and collaborations with artists - myself, along with many amazing team members and collaborators, have sought to make the invisible world of microbes visible and relatable. I’ll highlight one of our key public engagement projects, Guardians of the Gut, an immersive exhibit that has reached thousands of people at major science festivals and schools, as well as the development of online educational resources. I’ll also explore how these initiatives have fostered a deeper understanding of the microbiome's critical role in health, how art and science collaborations have sparked innovative ways of engaging the public, and how these experiences have influenced the science we do as a team. Finally, I will also discuss the challenges and opportunities of working at the intersection of science communication and education, and why, despite being hard work, it is also incredibly fun and rewarding.

Professor Lindsay Hall is the Chair of Microbiome Research at the University of Birmingham, UK, and she is also a Wellcome Investigator. Her lab’s research focus involves defining microbe/microbiota interactions during the early life developmental window. 

Professor Hall also has a keen interest in bringing the magical world of the microbiome to life for public audiences and school children. 

She obtained a BSc in Microbiology from the University of Glasgow, UK, a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Cambridge, UK, and was a postdoctoral fellow at University College Cork, Ireland (APC Microbiome Institute). She returned to the UK to take up a Senior Lectureship at the University of East Anglia before moving to the Quadram Institute (both in Norwich, UK). Before Professor Hall joined the University of Birmingham, she was Chair of Intestinal Microbiome at the Technical University of Munich in Germany.