Can you describe yourself in three words?
Faith, hope and iteration. You need faith in the people around you and the work you are doing to have the confidence to take action. Hope gives you the motivation to act and believe your efforts will lead to a better outcome. Iteration grants you resilience – to have the freedom to fail, come back, and fix it again.
You went to the University of Aberdeen to study Biomedical Science (Pharmacology). When did you realise this was what you wanted to study?
Back in primary five, a local police officer came to visit our school to talk about drugs, drug misuse and the laws surrounding them. The aim of the session was to remove the mystery around drugs and to help us understand their risks, but for me it sparked a curiosity. I was intrigued by how these compounds could have such dramatic effects on people – physically, mentally and behaviourally. It made me wonder what was really happening inside the body to cause those changes.
From that point on I was drawn to the science behind it all, and how something so harmful in one context could also be used for good in another. The old saying ‘the dose makes the poison’ really stuck with me. Pharmacology is all about that balance and understanding how a drug’s effects can shift from therapeutic to toxic, depending how they are used.
What motivated you to pursue your master’s degree and PhD?
After finishing my degree in Biomedical Science (Pharmacology), I wasn't entirely sure what direction to take next. While I had a strong interest in pharmacology and bioscience, l had always been quietly fascinated by chemistry as well. It was during this period that a charismatic professor at the University of Aberdeen called Joerg Feldmann, gave a talk about a master's programme in Analytical Chemistry and made a compelling case for it.
Analytical chemistry is the science of understanding what's in an environment: what's in the water, what's in the air, how it gets there, and in what forms. I was captivated, particularly by the idea that even something normally harmless – seemingly insignificant – can, under the right conditions, be extremely impactful.
I decided to join the master's programme, and it turned out to be an incredibly valuable experience. Up to that point, my studies had been largely academic with limited lab work, but analytical chemistry was very hands-on and equipment focused. It gave me a new appreciation for the challenges and intricacies of working in a practical lab environment.
After completing the programme, I began a PhD in fluorine environmental chemistry, a topic that remains highly relevant today, especially with ongoing discussions around perfluorinated compounds, or so-called ‘forever chemicals’. Unfortunately, the equipment I was using proved temperamental, and I quickly realised that lab work wasn't where my strengths lay. After about a year, I made the difficult decision to step away from the PhD.
How did your career path lead you to your role at TauRx?
I heard about a part-time role at TauRx through a friend and decided to apply. After meeting with the line managers, I joined the team to help prepare for an upcoming MHRA inspection. This involved organising documents, the glamorous job of removing countless staples, and preparing boxed records for storage. What started as a short-term role turned into a 10-year journey with TauRx.
Can you tell us about your first role as a Data Vendor Management Officer and Archivist, then your most recent position as a Data Science Lead and Commercial Support Officer?
I’ve always reported to Kath Martin, but my responsibilities have slowly evolved over time. Initially I was responsible for preparing documents for archiving. This involved carefully organising files, ensuring every record was complete and managing their transfer to the achieve. Within six weeks I was entrusted with the additional responsibility of becoming the named archivist. Over the next couple of years, this role gave me a deeper understanding of how projects operate, how to run meetings effectively and how the archiving process supports TauRx’s overall mission.
Alongside that, I gradually started taking on vendor management tasks. I learned how to run vendor relationships, including looking after the relationship with our analytical lab at the University of Aberdeen. Through dealing with documents and working in the department, I also picked up data management responsibilities. It was essentially a development process of picking up skills, learning as much as possible, and taking advantage of any opportunities that came up.
About a year or two ago, I became Data Science Lead, with primary responsibility for the data management of the most recent Lucidity study, which was a big milestone. Since then, I’ve transitioned into more commercial work – thinking about what happens if our potential oral treatment for Alzheimer’s disease is approved by the MHRA and planning for that scenario.
For me, it’s always been about being in the right room at the right time and being willing to take responsibilities on, even if I wasn’t very familiar with them. I try to live by the principle that when an opportunity arises or someone asks you to do something, say yes.
Tell us a bit about the TauRx Lifestyle Club and your involvement with it?
The TauRx Lifestyle Club is a group focused on health and well-being, helping people thrive at work and in their everyday lives. One of the events I suggested, which I felt worked out well, was themed around holidays. Instead of a standard talk about wellness tips, I proposed an event where people could share their worst holiday experiences. It was simple, but it got everyone talking, laughing, and connecting. We heard some fun and memorable stories from colleagues across the company, and it sparked conversations that wouldn't normally happen in a work setting.
While the theoretical objective might have been to encourage people to be safe on holiday, the real value came from the connections we built. Sharing funny, unfortunate, or unexpected experiences with colleagues helps strengthen relationships, and that kind of engagement is what really contributes to overall wellness. For me, that's what the lifestyle club is all about – creating spaces where people can connect, share, and feel a little better about their working life and relationships.
What has been the main highlight of working at TauRx so far?
Closing out the Lucidity study and its database. It was an enormous undertaking, and the whole team was incredibly proud to reach that milestone.
The process involved a huge amount of data cleaning and verification. Every piece of information, from patient files to lab results, MRIs and clinical outcome assessments, had to be checked and reconciled to ensure accuracy. The goal was to bring all these different data sets into alignment before Biostatistics integrate them into a single, complete and reliable database.
What is the best professional advice you can give, or you have been given?
One piece of professional advice that has stuck with me, especially for anyone starting out in a scientific or academic environment, is not to over explain yourself. When you come from an academic background, it’s easy to fall into the habit of overthinking, over analysing, and explaining every step of your thought process. But in a professional setting, your line manager has hired you to solve problems and take the work off their plate.
The key is to put yourself in their shoes, assess the situation, weigh up the options, make a decision, and take ownership of it. You might make mistakes along the way, but you can always iterate and learn from them.
Tell us something about yourself that would be a surprise to most people?
While finishing my undergraduate degree, I applied to join the Royal Navy and made it as far as the Admiralty Interview Board (AIB). This is an intense, multi-day process intended to thoroughly evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. It includes physical tests, intellectual problem-solving, group exercises focused on leadership and decision-making, and, as the armed forces like to emphasise, a close look at character and integrity as well. It’s pretty gruelling!
I failed and I likely wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t. The process isn’t a strict pass or fail, but the verdict was fairly clear and I wasn’t the right fit. I was told I was clever enough but lacking a certain je ne sais quoi in leadership and decisiveness.
I could have taken issue with the characterisation and re-applied, but I’ve learned that iteration only works when you understand the problem you’re trying to solve. Sometimes perseverance means tackling the same challenge until you succeed. Other times, you go and find entirely new and exciting problems. You might have to fail at those for a while too, but with enough faith and hope you’ll get there.
