Mary has a particular interest in using digital storytelling techniques to understand perceptions of local research communities, and has coordinated photo-elicitation and film projects about risk in small-scale farming practices, patient’s experiences after discharge from hospitals, health issues in vulnerable groups, and the experiences of altitude sickness in religious pilgrims in Nepal. Her team also works to build the communication capacity of local ‘front-line’ health workers and vets in Vietnam and Nepal.

The PCE team runs a school engagement programme in local schools in HCMC and Hanoi, with science clubs, online science competitions, and a weekly magazine page about science.

An example of public engagement projects that the school engagement programme team did is science theatre shows with scripts about enteric diseases, antibiotic resistance, and dengue transmission – these toured over 120 schools and were watched by over 100,000 children.