Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To tie in with June’s event which looks at how scientists reach out of the ivory tower, communicating science to the public, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on the nature.com blogs. We will hear from a range of contributors: scientists, writers, enthusiasts, communicators, events organizers, policy makers and teachers, each sharing details about how they engage and reach out to the public.

Mark Henderson is the author of The Geek Manifesto: Why Science Matters, published by Bantam Press, which explores the relationship between science and politics. He is also Head of Communications at the Wellcome Trust. He joined the Trust in January 2011 after 15 years at The Times, where he was Science Editor.

At The Times, Mark was instrumental in founding Eureka, the newspaper’s monthly science magazine, and developed a reputation as one of the UK’s leading science journalists. He won several awards for his journalism: three prizes from the Medical Journalists’ Association, the Royal Statistical Society’s prize for statistical excellence in journalism, and the European Best Cancer Reporter prize from the European School of Oncology.

His first book, 50 Genetics Ideas You Really Need to Know, was published in 2009. Continue reading →