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Honestly, everyone who has mentored me throughout my research career (Alison, Martin, Jason, Emily, Kris, Steve and Francis) have all at one point given me important advice or seen something in my experiments that has inspired me to investigate a problem in a new way. I also remember watching Bonnie Bassler’s TED talk on quorum sensing as a postdoc and knowing immediately that studying the chemistry of microbes was where I wanted to take my career.

This is easy: my group. I get to work with the most fantastic team of chemists and biologists to try and solve problems that I genuinely believe could one day positively impact the world. Their enthusiasm, motivation and creativity make it an absolute joy to come to work every day. I hope they never underestimate how important they are to me and our lab’s journey.

A career in chemistry will ask a lot of you, and at times will challenge you beyond what you believe you are capable of. But it will all be worth it. Chemistry is the central science that underpins everything in nature, in industry, and in the future. Choosing it as a career will allow you to see the world, and will give you the tools to change it for the better.

I think industrial biotechnology is going to transform the chemical industry. Not only can we design microbes that can now completely decouple chemical manufacturing routes from fossil fuels, we can scale them up, and when we do, they can be carbon-negative. Chemical manufacture can therefore become an industrial activity that benefits the environment!

Chemistry enables you to explore the natural world with a precision and creativity that isn’t possible in any other field. It is the central science that underpins everything, and understanding it enables you to design ways to visualise, change or repair everything, from disease, to crop yields, to the colour of your lipstick.

Meeting my now partner of 15 years at a chemistry Christmas party in Oxford in 2008. He’s been so supportive throughout my time as a PhD student, postdoc and especially during my transition to life as a group leader. I couldn’t have done it without him.

I lost a close friend to Motor Neurone Disease during my first six months as a group leader. Dealing with this whilst trying to navigate my way through my new professional life as an independent scientist was one of the toughest moments in my career.

Also, the two-body problem. International postdocs and short-term contracts have meant my partner and I had to live apart (and in different countries) for 3 years.

Inclusivity. Creativity in science is what changes the world, not technical nuance. Maximising creativity in research can only happen when everyone has an equal voice, and ensuring inclusivity is the only way to achieve this.

Through the training of people who are passionate about science, creative and motivated to change the world.

I work in the field of chemical biotechnology where success is determined by your ability to cross the boundaries between chemistry, biology and industrial research. This requires a concerted effort between large teams of people and is imperative to every ongoing project in my laboratory.

I’m an organic chemist at heart. It has to be carbon.