Q&A: Richard Wingate, BrainFacts Editor-in-Chief

Richard Wingate is Professor of Developmental Neurobiology in the MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders at King’s College London. He completed his DPhil in Neurophysiology at Oxford University in 1992 with Professor Ian Thompson. From there, Wingate won an MRC Training Fellowship with Professor Andrew Lumsden followed by an MRC Travelling Fellowship to work with Professor Mary Beth Hatten at Rockefeller University, New York. He returned to London as a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow and then won a Wellcome University Award Fellowship at King’s College London. Wingate completed his Masters degree in Academic Practice in 2013 and is a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He was appointed Director of Interdisciplinary Science Education at King’s College London in 2024 having served as Head of Anatomy and Director of the Centre for Education in Life Sciences and Medicine.

Richard has collaborated on a variety of public engagement projects across a range of media and is an ex officio member of the Public Education and Communication Committee of the Society for Neuroscience. He was scientific advisor for the Wellcome Collection’s “Brain: the Mind as Matter” exhibition (2012) and curator of “Between” and “Photo51” at the Inigo Rooms. He has served on a number Wellcome Trust panels for Science and Art and is the author of the “The Story of the Brain in 10 ½ Cells” (Wellcome Collection/Profile Books).

Neuroscience Quarterly (NQ): You’ve been BrainFacts’ editor-in-chief (EiC) for 10 years. How would you describe BrainFacts to a new viewer?

Richard Wingate (RW): BrainFacts is a trustworthy source of information about the healthy brain and a reliable reference when seeking more general information about disorders and disease. It has excellent content for a range of audiences and keeps its finger on the pulse of new advances in neuroscience through its dedicated editorial team and writers backed by an editorial board of experienced neuroscientist communicators.

NQ: Over your tenure as EiC, what sticks with you in terms of successes and challenges?

RW: I have been really excited by the increased name recognition of BrainFacts, our growing social media presence, and the large complement of our audience that navigate directly to our site without being referred by a different source. I think that this is a real testament to the quality of the writing and resources such as our accessible animations. I am proud of our Brain Bytes and Brain Futures series, which were introduced during my tenure. These lie at opposite ends of the scale for length and depth of content, but each has their own specific impact. I am also really delighted that we have a regular BrainFacts LIVE event at each SfN annual meeting, bringing neuroscience to the communities hosting the conference.

“It’s more important than ever that we make case for the necessity of content steered by practicing scientists who are experts in the field.”

Our challenge will always be standing out against the “noise” in a digital world. It’s more important than ever that we make case for the necessity of content steered by practicing scientists who are experts in the field.

NQ: Bringing digestible science to the public is a big role and a big responsibility. What unique contribution is BrainFacts making in that space?

RW: We see peaks of interest during school semesters, hinting that educators and students comprise a notable group of our audience. That means scientifically vetted, clearly communicated, accessible, and engaging content is a winning combination where it perhaps matters most — the education of the next generation of scientists.

NQ: Why is bringing reliable information about science to the public so important?

“BrainFacts is in the unique position of being able to reach into the neuroscience community for both its stories and its fact checking.”

RW: Misinformation, both inadvertent and deliberate, erodes the trust that is the essential glue in the social contract between scientists and the public. For this reason, reliability is at the heart of what we do. BrainFacts is in the unique position of being able to reach into the neuroscience community for both its stories and its fact checking. What is also important is that we represent debate as a part of a healthy scientific ecosystem and demonstrate that reliable science is also science that is constantly being re-evaluated and tested.

NQ: What do you hope to see BrainFacts accomplish in the future?

RW: I believe that a public desire for reliable and trusted sources of information is only going to increase and that BrainFacts is perfectly positioned to grow ever more successful, whichever platform or platforms it occupies. I would love members of SfN to see BrainFacts as part of their voice in the broader neuroscience community.