verran became interested in the intersection of science and the arts; supporting students to engage with different disciplines. in 2009 verran launched the "bad bugs book club" which looks to engage people with microbiology and infectious diseases. the book club is open to the scientists and non-scientists. she held a "bad bugs book club" at the british science association science communication conference in 2015. the book club was a case study in "science communication: a practical guide for scientists." verran has used zombies and vampires that can act as models of infectious diseases, and demonstrated the exhibit at cheltenham science festival. she has researched effective means of evaluating science communication. she launched the manchester metropolitan university (mmu) science communication master's program in 2016. verran has been involved with the bradford literature festival and manchester children's book festival. she has written for the conversation. she has explored how educational interventions can impact adolescent opinions of vaccinations.