Page 5 - PERIODIC Magazine Issue 6

successes, and keep going. It is important to troubleshoot regulating biological pathways. Prof. Fischer couldn’t attend
when an experiment doesn’t go as planned as some of the the meeting; however, along with the Vallee Foundation, he
most exciting discoveries in science come from mistakes. awarded me the first ever Eddy Fischer Lindau Fellowship.
Determination, perseverance, and serendipity are key in This was presented on his behalf by Nikolaus Turner,
scientific research. Managing Director of the Lindau-Nobel Foundation Board
Member, and Prof Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, President of
Other days in the lab involve writing or meeting with
collaborators and these are as important as doing the the German Research Foundation and Secretary-General
experimental work. It is crucial to communicate our findings of both the European Research Council and the Human
with the scientific community: it puts our science into Frontier Science Program Organization. It reads: “Have faith
perspective, shapes our future direction and, sometimes, in yourself and believe you can do anything you propose to
even helps in influencing policy. do.” This message is worth sharing.
My day will, however, always include a cup of tea – the
group is very international and dynamic. I enjoy learning
about the different cultures during our group tea breaks.
You were recently selected to represent Oxford
at the Lindau-Nobel Laureate meeting – Can you
tell us a little about that?
Meeting with 40 Nobel Laureates is definitely a once-in-a-
lifetime experience. The excitement levels and passion in
Lindau were off the scale. At first, I was star-struck by seeing
the laureates; later, it felt normal to talk to them. After all,
we were all united by our love for science. The laureates
gave talks about their Nobel-winning research, their current
research and their future directions, but what caught my
attention the most wasn’t the lab bench data. Unlike a
traditional conference, the Lindau-Nobel meeting was After the meeting, which was filled with cultural events,
focused on what shapes a scientist and on the importance of attended by high-profile politicians, and surrounded by
science communication, outreach activities, interdisciplinary natural beauty, I went on an academic tour in Baden-
science, and global integration. All of these topics are close Württemberg. We visited over ten German and European
to my heart as I have advocated for them on committees in institutes where we had the opportunity to talk about our
our department. research and see the science done in Germany from a new
angle. Spending a week with 19 talented scientists from
It is our duty as scientists to demystify scientific concepts
to the public. Science and technology evolve much around the world was eye-opening and I left Germany with
quicker than policy, but if policy is not up-to-date then we new friends and connections, a new perspective on science,
are not legally protected, and so it is imperative that we and lots of aspirations. I’m now looking forward to going
work closely with politicians to update regulations. Many to the USA as part of the ACS Future Leaders programme
topics were discussed, including personalised medicine to discuss new initiatives on science, technology, and
and ways to make it more affordable, the importance of information and to discover new avenues.
breastfeeding, the usefulness of GMOs in agriculture, the What are your hopes for the future?
problems with the publishing system, and the benefits of
crowdsourcing. Each of these topics deserves an article by I have come to realise that success in science is not an
itself! overnight effort, but an accumulation of years of hard
work. In the future, I would love to have an independent
The meeting was beyond inspiring. I was thrilled to see the academic career and I aspire to meaningfully contribute
philanthropist nature of the laureates and their efforts in to mankind. My ultimate dream is to contribute back to
helping underdeveloped countries and combatting global my society by helping establish a research centre in the
challenges. They emphasised the importance of being Middle Eastern region. I have also recently worked with
kind in the scientific world and encouraged us to spend Oxford Entrepreneurs and helped to organise the Oxford
more time with our families! My most precious take-home Hackathon – I would love to help nurture ties between
moment came from Prof. Edmond Fischer, the oldest living science and entrepreneurship with the aim of developing
Nobel laureate who was co-awarded the Nobel Prize in new technologies and treatments. I hope to help scientists
1992 for discovering the role of protein phosphorylation in in underdeveloped countries as science has no nationality.

5
Periodic
The Magazine of the Department of Chemistry