Louise Whiteley

Louise Whiteley is an Associate Professor in Medical Science Communication at Medical Museion and CBMR (Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research), both part of the Department of Public Health within the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. Her position uniquely integrates research, teaching, and museum work, creating dialogue between these three domains to advance science communication and public engagement with medical science.

Dr. Whiteley holds a PhD in Theoretical & Cognitive Neuroscience from University College London (2008), an MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College London (2009), and a BA in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Oxford (2003).

Her research focuses on how biomedical research that implicates the mind affects people's self-understanding through popular culture, and how museum exhibitions, artworks, and performance can illuminate the relationship between science and subjective experience. She emphasizes communication across different knowledge practices, with particular interest in images, metaphors, and the generative possibilities in translation failures. Her work bridges science communication, critical medical humanities, and museology.

Whiteley's recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on the intersection of microbiome research, mental health, and cultural representation, with particular attention to how scientific concepts translate into public understanding and personal experience. Her work increasingly incorporates arts-based approaches to science communication and public engagement.

• UMAC Award 2019 for the exhibition "Mind the Gut"
• Bikuben Vision Prize 2015 for "Mind the Gut"

Dr. Whiteley supervises PhD students including Annika Klæmintsdóttir Olsen, who is researching practices to improve scientific research culture. She has secured significant funding including a Velux Foundation grant for the "Microbes on the Mind" project (2019-2023). Her current projects include developing the "Sensing Holobiont" performance installation, studying research culture improvement, and collaborating with reNEW research center on patient perspectives regarding stem cell treatments.

Whiteley is actively involved with Medical Museion, where she contributes to exhibition development and public programming, and with CBMR, where she connects metabolic science with cultural studies. Her collaborative approach brings together artists, scientists, and humanities scholars to create innovative science communication projects that operate at the intersection of research, education, and public engagement.