Share your story: who inspired you to pursue a career in science?
With the International Day of Women and Girls in Science approaching on 11 February, we would like to open a conversation within the FEBS community.
Many scientific journeys start with inspiration. Sometimes it is a well known scientist. Sometimes it is a teacher, a family member, a mentor, a school visit, a museum, a book, or a moment that sparked curiosity and made science feel possible.
We would love to hear your story.
Who inspired you to pursue a career in science?
Please share your experience in the comments below. Big or small, personal or professional, every story helps enrich our community.
This day provides a framework to reflect on inspiration and visibility in science, but this conversation is open to everyone. Women and men alike are warmly invited to take part.
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My biology and chemistry teachers, Mrs Moorhead, Mrs Ellis, Mr Skilling and Mr Harris at high school inspired me to want to do science after finishing school. Then I went to study biochemistry at the University of Leeds. My personal tutor there, Professor Sheena Radford, motivated to continue with a career in science. I will always be grateful for the time she spent mentoring and advising me.
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to make a contribution to the world. Through science, I am able to combine this desire to do meaningful work with my personal interests, specifically the brain.
My interest in science actually started in high school. I was deeply impressed by a book by Gülten Dayıoğlu called “Mo’nun Gizemi” (in English: ‘’The mystery of Mo’’). It was the first time I really started thinking about how the human body works, what makes each person unique, and how much of that is hidden in our cells. That book triggered a lot of questions in my mind and made me curious about biology at a deeper level. Furthermore, I loved and admired all my science and biology teachers, and I especially enjoyed the practical sessions in our science classes.
My journey into science began with my high school strengths in biology and chemistry, which led me to study biochemistry. At first, I didn't fully understand all that the field entailed, but I soon discovered just how fascinating and wide-ranging it could be. Early in my studies, I developed a strong interest in neurodegenerative diseases—conditions that profoundly impact patients and families and are becoming more common as populations age. This growing interest inspired me to pursue a PhD, allowing me to deepen my expertise and contribute meaningfully to understanding these complex diseases.
Already as a child, I was excited about exploring and trying to figure out how things around me work, which is the basis of scientific work, in my opinion. Since this curiosity stayed with me during my school years, it was pretty clear I wanted to keep exploring and do research. I became fond of my elder sister’s chemistry notes long before my first chemistry class, and I immediately fell in love with the formulas and equations. When selecting the right field for my university studies, I saw a higher potential in connecting chemistry with life sciences, which is why I pursued my degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and moved to the field of proteins and biocatalysis.
I have always been curious in understanding the world around me, and working in science, more specifically molecular biology and biochemistry, allows me to pursue the exploration into the mechanisms that underlie the functioning of life!
Honestly, for as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a scientist. Choosing my field was a bit difficult, but I think I was most influenced by an excellent Chemistry teacher in elementary school, followed by excellent Biology teachers in high school. The choice for me was between Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, two fairly similar fields, but in the end I decided to go for Biochemistry because of my lack of interest for some mandatory Molecular Biology courses.
My favorite course in high school was Biology, and I finally decided I would study Molecular Biology when we were learning about genetics and human physiology. Throughout my life I was also always curious about how things and various aspects of the world worked, and I like learning new things, so I believe it was kind of natural for me to aspire to be a scientist.
My grandma was a chemical laboratory assistant at the local university. I remember hearing the stories of my mum's childhood, visiting my grandma at work and seeing all the glassware full of colourful or funny smelling liquids. It sounded so cool and years later, I got to confirm for myself in my organic chemistry labcourse that science is indeed as cool as it always sounded!
I was always interest in health and disease but, having several medical doctors in my family, I was certain I didn’t want to study medicine. I studied biotechnology instead and, during my bachelor, I was fascinated by how cells work and by how almost miraculous life seems once you understand how complex everything is at the molecular and cellular levels. This curiosity, and my willingness to make a (small) contribution through science, is what led me to pursue a PhD and later a postdoc in biomedical research.