How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Good at counting
Brief background/short CV
I was born in Bristol, came to Cambridge after school and liked it enough to start a family and career there.
I studied science at Cambridge University, ending up focusing on biochemistry. Did research on self-replicating RNA for my doctorate at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Continued working there thanks to a fellowship from Homerton College to build a synthetic cell, before becoming an investigator scientist.
What do you do?
It might look like I spend most of my time mixing together small amounts of clear liquids. But thanks to the molecules inside them, if we mix the right ones together we might create life.
Brief description of a typical day
We think about what experiments to do in the morning, we do them in the afternoon, we think about the results in the evening.
What’s the best thing about your job?
If you discover something, that knowledge can spread forever.
If you weren’t doing this job, what would you be doing instead?
Something else creative – writing or programming.
Your top tip for someone thinking about a career in science?
At school, find out more about things that you find interesting. This may lead you to studying a science at university. When there, try spending a summer in a lab you find interesting.
What or who inspired you to follow your career?
All my teachers and mentors who were smarter than me and also super keen about science.
What did you want to be after you left school?
I hadn’t worked that out yet, thankfully university gave me more time and more experience to choose.