The Team

At InterSci, we believe scientific innovation comes from interdisciplinary work and open conversations. We encourage collaboration between scientists of different disciplines, and provide a platform for scientists to share their work with the public and to learn from others.

InterSci was founded in 2017 by a group of postgraduate students at the University of Edinburgh with an interest in scientific innovation and science communication.

Current Team

NataliaPenar1 Natalia Penar – President

I’m a third year BSc Medical Sciences student. Open-mindedness can be a scientist’s great attribute, hence I want to make sure our events fuel the interdisciplinary conversations, while remaining engaging to researchers as well as non-professionals. And since best innovations emerge from cooperation, I’m taking care that our events are welcoming to everyone.

Abinaya Rajendran – Vice President

I’m a second year biological sciences student who believes that science communication is as important as the science itself ! I’m interested particularly in collaboration of multimedia and science- for now I like to make posters and videos for marketing InterSci. Additionally I help run our social media, and hope to continue helping InterSci put on unique interdisciplinary events.

Fiz Winters – Secretary

I’m a second year Medical Sciences Undergraduate. My favourite thing about InterSci is the gap it bridges between undergrads and postgrads. I hope to make events that spotlight research that can inspire students such as myself to explore their passions further.

Angela Sun – Treasurer

I’m a second year Biological Sciences undergrad, hoping to study Evolutionary Biology. I’m in charge of the financials and I also help out with the website. InterSci is a great way for science to be presented in fun and interactive ways, and I hope that this could be a platform for scientists to gush about their passions and inspire us all.

Farrie Nzvere – ChatSci Manager

I am a qualified physician and current online Master of Public Health student. As a science buff, I not only relish getting lost in the latest scientific discoveries but thoroughly enjoy discussing it too. Unfortunately, I also sometimes suffer from occasional jargon overload. This is where InterSci comes in. By improving my science communication skills, I hope to assist other science enthusiasts like myself to maximise their research potential through improved science communication. In so doing, we can engage the lay public in the wonders of science.

Copy of Screenshot_20190925-2152322.png Jack O’Shea
I’m a PhD student studying at the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences. As part of InterSci, I want to help expand the brilliant science conversations our society is known for to new audiences by producing a greater variety of events.

IMG-20200213-WA0009 Guia Cerretelli

I am a PhD student at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine (University of Edinburgh). As InterSci Secretary and as a scientist, I aim to make science and science research more accessible to the general public and in this way encourage people to think actively about sciece and its relevance.

Telma Ventura

As a PhD student in Medical Sciences, I see daily, that most of the people working in Science know how to explain and communicate their own work to the scientific community, with their fancy words and concepts. However, to reach out to non-scientific audience in a simple and understandable way, is still a struggle and a challenge to the majority of scientists.
I joined InterSci to explore a way to close the gap between the two communities, with original and fun events. In addition, I have had the opportunity to improve my own skills in a different context, not only as InterSci’s treasurer, but also in communicating science to the public, organising events and exploring different areas of the field that are completely new and unknown to me as well.

Nefeli Dellepiane

I am a PhD student in the University of Edinburgh studying the function of genomic switches- called enhancers. My focus is enhancers affecting genetically heritable parameters of the human cornea structure. I am the manager for ChatSci, encouraging Edinburgh early stage researchers to share their amazing science stories and network with other researchers and the general public.

Carol Chermaz,

I am a computer scientist specialised in signal processing; my research is focused on improving the intelligibility of speech for users of hearing prosthetics. I am part of a research network that brings together scientists from different fields: this amazing experience is teaching me how we stand a better chance of answering difficult questions when individuals with varied expertise join efforts. This is why I am very keen on building bridges between different fields of knowledge, and I think the InterSci events are a wonderful chance to do that. Besides that, I think it is essential for the general public to be aware of what’s going on in academic research: with InterSci anyone can learn about hot topics directly from the experts, in a simple and friendly way.

Agniete Kampaite

I’m a research assistant at the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences working on the FutureMS project. I’m involved in organising public events and reaching out to expert speakers, as well as organising science communication workshops.

EvelinaVenckute2 Evelina Venckute

I’m a Master’s student in Medicinal and Biological Chemistry. I’m responsible for organising our public events which provide a great communication platform for all science enthusiasts.

Science Chats @Grassmarket team: Amelia Hallas-Potts, Sophie Quick, Jess Taylor, Kiani Jeacock & Marina Ruiz. Find out more here.