Katie Roberts

After my PhD in cellular biology (NF-kB in inflammation – lots of fun microscopy!) I worked in the Pharma industry as a Medical Writer and then in Biotech as a Content Manager. I joined the Kennedy Institute as a Scientific Writer in 2023 and took my current role in 2024. At the Kennedy Institute, my work falls into three areas: strategic scientific writing, communications, and event management. 

As a scientific writer, I report institute progress to our main funder and produce the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) report. I have contributed to high-level funding applications, and work to ensure that the Institute is proactively positioned for scientific collaboration, external funding and industry partnerships.

In the comms space, I have managed internal engagement projects including the effort to engage researchers in environmentally sustainably research, which led to all labs achieving a LEAF award. I work closely with the NDORMS Comms team to identify and write news articles about exciting research developments and to celebrate the success of our staff and students. I manage the Kennedy Institute social media accounts (BlueSky and LinkedIn).

I lead the Kennedy Institute’s Events Team, developing policies and processes for smooth event management and managing resourcing and budgets. I am responsible for large events like Institute Retreats and created the monthly Social Event Series which brings everyone together over fun, themed events!

You can contact me for scientific writing advice, e.g. finding the ‘story’ of your research, how to pitch your work to different audiences, how to write for the public. If you’re planning an event, I’m happy to offer tips for successful planning and marketing. You can come to me with ideas for internal comms, fun stories, ideas for environmentally sustainable research, and anything that you want to highlight on social media. I’m also always happy to chat about the enormous world of scientific writing – come say hi!