We’re thrilled that Liz Ashworth joined the British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA) in May as our new part-time Communications Manager, responsible for managing updates on the charity and its work. Liz brings 15 years of experience in PR and charitable communications to the role and works with other clients in the charity sector.
Part of her role includes taking the lead in promoting and expanding our Understanding Ageing: Meet the Scientists public lecture series — a programme of free online seminars that allows people to hear directly from expert scientists.
Why This Matters
Ageing is something that affects us all. As life expectancies increase, the challenges and opportunities of getting older become ever more important — for individuals, families, communities, and policymakers. Research into ageing doesn’t just help scientists; it has a significant impact on health, quality of life, prevention of disease, and how we plan for healthier, more fulfilling later years. But many people don’t realise this… yet.
The BSRA’s public seminars are designed to demystify this work. These free lectures—open to anyone, regardless of scientific background—feature expert speakers explaining topics such as immune system ageing, physical activity, prevention of disease, and more. There’s always time for audience questions as well. More details on this are here: bsra.org.uk
What Liz Brings to the Role
Liz comes to BSRA with a strong background in science communication and public engagement. She understands how to make complex topics accessible and engaging without losing scientific rigour. Here are a few things she’s doing:
- Oversight of the public lecture series: ensuring that each event is well-promoted, inclusive, and reaches a diverse audience
- Increasing visibility and reach: using social media, newsletters, the website, and partnerships to bring more people into the conversation around ageing research
- Streamlining access & engagement: making sure getting involved (registering, viewing lectures, asking questions) is as easy and as welcoming as possible
- Gathering feedback & evaluating impact: helping BSRA understand what works for attendees, what people want to learn more about, and how the series can grow and improve
- Events management: working with wider ageing research institutions, Universities, research centres and local community groups to deliver in-person events that raise awareness of the value of ageing research, and the role of the BSRA.
What’s On
Liz is coordinating the BSRA Online Public Seminar Series which started at the beginning of October, following the in-person public lecture that we organise each year at our Annual Scientific Meeting. Here’s the line-up for our Autumn Programme, with other events in the pipeline for 2026:
- “Immune System Ageing: how to mitigate the consequences in older age” with Professor Janet Lord bsra.org.uk
- “The Biology of Getting Older: Ageing or Inactivity?” with Professor Steve Harridge (5 November) bsra.org.uk
- “Ageing and the Prevention of Disease” with Ewa Hudson and guests (panel discussion on 3 December) bsra.org.uk
All seminars kick off at 6.30pm UK time, are entirely free, and require only a simple registration to receive the link.
Why We’re Excited
Having Liz on our team means the BSRA can further its mission to make ageing research accessible, engaging, and useful. Research isn’t just for labs and academic journals; it should inform everyday decisions, inspire hope, and help people live healthier, happier lives throughout the ageing process.
With Liz’s skills and passion, we plan to grow our lecture series to reach more people —bringing together researchers, practitioners, and those interested in ageing from every walk of life.
A note from Liz
“Health and healthy lifestyles have always been of huge interest to me. Understanding what makes our bodies ‘tick’ and what, if anything, can be done to age well is so motivating to me, especially as biological ageing typically starts in our 30s and therefore we need to start thinking about it sooner than we think!
“I love meeting people who attend our events, both virtually and in person, and taking feedback to the charity on what we can do to improve the understanding and support of the importance of ageing research, acting as a translator between ageing scientists and the general public.
“If we haven’t met, do drop me an email to get involved with our events or to create a new public engagement initiative together: liz.ashworth@bsra.org.uk.”
Join Us
If you’ve ever been curious about ageing science — what actually happens in our bodies as we get older, what we can do to slow down or prevent disease, how lifestyle, environment, and biology all interact — then we’d love you to join the next seminar. Keep an eye on BSRA’s events page, and follow us on Facebook @BSRAgeing.