Trust in science is never a given. In fact, skepticism is an integral part of the scientific method. In this chapter we argue that trust in science can be fostered through participatory research, making research more inclusive, transparent and responsive to societal values, questions and concerns, lowering barriers between academic and societal knowledge, and using societal concerns and skepticism as a source of inspiration and information. This is not an easy approach, as we are facing emerging challenges: societal polarisation (often in response to disruptive technologies), growing inequalities and the replacement of a common public sphere by communicative bubbles and social media. Yet, to the extent that participatory approaches work, they may enable societal stakeholders to distinguish valid from unsubstantiated trust, healthy from unfounded distrust, while enabling researchers to conduct relevant, engaged and value-driven research, opening up to multiple perspectives while foregoing partiality and ideological biases. In short, we aim to foster trust in science though epistemic inclusion. This requires intense collaboration between science, technology and technoscience on the one hand and social sciences and humanities on the other. We will zoom in on recent developments in biomedical fields, using experiences from virology during the COVID-19 crisis as our case study. Rather than seeing societal engagement and interaction as the final stage of a research trajectory, research must build on mutual learning, involving societal dialogue as part of the “empirical cycle” and as an intrinsic component of participatory research methodologies.