Leigh Wilson stands smiling in a neuroscience lab, wearing a white lab coat. Behind her are DNA students who are observing a neuroscience experiment in action.

Meet the Team

We are a team made up of Dev Neuro Academy alumni, undergraduate interns, neuroscience researchers, and public engagement staff across King’s College London.  

Our work is supported by the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology and the MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders within the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN).

  • Image of Leigh Wilson, a woman with curly blonde hair wearing a colourful, pattterned shirt.

    Dr Leigh Wilson

    (she/her)

    Public Engagement Manager | King’s College London

    DNA CREATE Programme Director

    “The intersection of neuroscience and creative practices offers a compelling opportunity for transdisciplinary exploration, in which students and researchers reframe their approaches to scientific inquiry.”

  • Image of Afra Aabdien, a woman wearing a pink headscarf and a white blouse.

    Dr Afra Aabdien

    (she/her)

    Postdoctoral Researcher | King’s College London

    DNA CREATE Team Member

    “I believe combining creative practices into scientific work makes us better scientists, and DNA CREATE is a fantastic way to explore and develop that connection.”

  • Image of Asma Bashir, a woman wearing a black headscarf and plaid shirt.

    Dr Asma Bashir

    (she/her)

    Public Engagement Manager | King’s College London

    DNA CREATE Team Member

    “I love exploring the interplay of science and art, and I think it will be very special for 16- and 17-year-old students to begin exploring that interplay so early on in their journeys.”

  • Image of Cate Diaz, a woman with dark curly hair wearing a muted yellow top..

    Cate Sofia Diaz Anaya

    (she/her)

    Undergraduate Student | King’s College London

    DNA CREATE Team Member

    “I'm passionate about DNA CREATE because it's a program that is exploring the fluidity of science; it is not just looking for the 'right' answer.“

  • Image of Marina Yasvoina, a woman with wavy brown hair wearing a black top.

    Dr Marina Yasvoina

    (she/her)

    Lecturer in Neuroscience Education | King’s College London

    DNA CREATE Team Member

    “DNA CREATE excites me because it shows students that science is art: it’s about creativity, experimentation and seeing the world from different perspectives.”

  • Image of Mel Frances, a woman with dark hair wearing a grey top..

    Mel Frances

    (she/her)

    Artist and Game Designer

    DNA CREATE Team Member

    “I passionately believe that science and creativity are completely connected, I think scientists are creative in the way they imagine, and experiment, and for me creativity is about having a scientist's curiosity and sense of possibility about the world. I'm so excited to be part of a programme bringing the two fields together.”

  • Image of Richard Wingate, a man with short salt and pepper hair wearing a dark suit jacket and dark shirt..

    Prof Richard Wingate

    (he/him)

    Professor of Developmental Neurobiology | King’s College London

    DNA CREATE Team Member

    “I love the idea of art and science collaborating to learn form each other.”

Our DNA CREATE Community

At the centre of the DNA CREATE Community are the DNA CREATE students.

The workshop week is facilitated by the DNA CREATE core team in collaboration with a team of DNA Champions, Undergraduate Interns, and Neuroscience Researchers from across King’s College London. The team regularly work with a range of artists and creatives to develop and deliver interdisciplinary approaches.

DNA CREATE is more widely supported by a wealth of strong partnerships with educational institutions and community organisations.

All the 2024 DNA students stand on the steps of the Hodgkin Building. Around 60 people, mostly Year 12 students stand smiling at the camera.

  • DNA CREATE Students are Year 12 students from high schools and colleges across London, with a particular interest in the study of neuroscience and how it can overlap with creative approaches. DNA CREATE Students are offered places on the programme with widening participation indicators in mind, recognising that some students have to overcome more challenges and barriers to access university spaces and embrace the study of neuroscience.

  • DNA CREATE Champions are Year 13 students who have been involved in the previous year’s DNA programme who return to help support the delivery of DNA CREATE and the students involved.  

  • Undergraduate Interns are King’s College London students, who have successfully secured funding under KURF (King’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship) for a programme of career development, often with a focus on science communication. Interns include both students who were previously part of DNA and those interested in supporting the programme.  

  • Neuroscience Researchers include academics from across the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, including those from the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology and the MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Researchers will engage in workshops to explore creativity in their own research practice, as well as working across the DNA CREATE week to support students in their creative neuroscience projects.  

  • The DNA CREATE team work with a range of artists and creative partners to put creative practices and approaches right at the centre of the DNA week.

  • DNA CREATE wouldn’t work without the vital collaboration of a range of educational partners: schools and colleges across London. DNA CREATE is particularly focussed on considering an expansive research community as it spans from a school classroom to a neuroscience lab.

  • The DNA CREATE team work with a range of cultural, creative and community partners to deliver and celebrate the programme. DNA CREATE 2025 culminates at a sharing at the Science Gallery London.

Four DNA Champions from 2024 stand gathered together, smiling at the screen.