• Question: How did you get into science and why?

    Asked by anon-271576 on 23 Nov 2020. This question was also asked by anon-270517, anon-261336.
    • Photo: Natsuko Imai

      Natsuko Imai answered on 23 Nov 2020:

      Biology was always one of my favourite subjects at school. That and my love for David Attenborough! My sixth form biology teachers also really inspired me to study biology at University. I originally thought I was going to study Zoology, but then took a course in infectious diseases and totally fell in love with that (weird I know). It was also a field where medical research can really make a positive impact on people’s health and quality of life.

      I now work with lots of researchers and public health experts around the world and our work helps to inform health policy.

      In terms of studying, it meant doing biology/chemistry/maths for A-levels, biology/infectious diseases at university.

    • Photo: Jamie McGinn

      Jamie McGinn answered on 23 Nov 2020:

      Hi! This is such an important thing to think about, because it is so fantastic to do work you love. I have a few reasons that science was for me:
      Exciting – I love being active, experiments and travels and ideas. I never sit in an office all day, and I always get to try different things.
      Meaningful – It is a great help when you wake up in the morning to feel like you are doing something important to help others.
      Challenge – It is almost impossible to be bored, there is always more to learn, and eventually you get to choose that. Picking what you research is so awesome.

      To be sure, I picked my GCSEs so that I could get a good taste of biology and other sciences, which was a great start. I went on to do Biology, Chemistry and Maths for my A-levels and then it was time for University. This was super exciting as I could finally pick my favourite bits of science to focus on – I went for Genetics and it was so cool!

      I ended up as a Scientist because I wanted to have a job I love, and am inspired by. I think it is working out well so far! 🙂

    • Photo: Veronica Caraffini

      Veronica Caraffini answered on 23 Nov 2020:

      I got interested in science when I was maybe around 11 years old. I had a great science teacher and I feel in love with the way she was teaching. I started reading a bit more about these topics on my own and I decided to study in a scientific high school. There I found out that what I really wanted to study was biology. In particular, I was fascinated by finding out how the human body works and how we can treat various diseases. So after high school I studied biology at the university, where I learned more about cancer, which is not a single disease but many diseases that can be quite challenging to treat. Since I was fascianted by this topic, I decided to start my thesis internship in a laboratory where they were studying cancer research and from the first moment I entered and looked at cells under a microscope (after struggling to find them at first!) I knew that was what I wanted to do as a job!

    • Photo: Melanie S.

      Melanie S. answered on 23 Nov 2020:

      I got into science because of my secondary school science teacher! I was about 13 years old when I was in her class, and I had never known any scientists – or completely understood what scientists did, honestly. But my teacher noticed that I seemed quite interested and enthusiastic in her lessons, and she took the time and effort to have scientific discussions and answer my (many) questions after class and find opportunities for me to get more involved in science. She encouraged me a lot and introduced me to the world of science as a potential career.

      My teacher was a chemistry teacher, and she gave me a book called Uncle Tungsten by Dr. Oliver Sacks. He was a neurologist (a medic who specialises in treating problems that have to do with the brain, spine, nerves, and nervous system in general), but he was very interested in chemistry as a boy. This book was about his experiences with chemistry as a young boy, but it was because of this book that I started becoming interested in biology and studying the brain. As I progressed in school (and read more of Dr. Sacks’s books), my interests narrowed a bit more, and now I’m a neuroscientist, studying the brain! All thanks to my wonderful secondary school teacher, and Dr. Sacks’s writing!

    • Photo: Sarah Killcoyne

      Sarah Killcoyne answered on 24 Nov 2020:

      I loved all sorts of science as a kid. I had a rock collection, loved the planetarium, enjoyed catching bugs, thought dinosaur bones were amazing and was lucky enough to live in a city with a really great science and nature museum. I don’t remember when biology became so interesting to me, but by the time I was planning for university I knew I would study biology.

      In university I had to take many biology courses and I found that genetics and evolution really fascinated me. I feel that I was very lucky to have been able to make a career out of that interest!

    • Photo: Berengere Digard

      Berengere Digard answered on 24 Nov 2020:

      I got interested in science thanks to an absolutely brilliant science teacher when I was 15. I also loved to watch science documentaries. That is why at 18 I considered going to Med School, but I realised that sure, I was really interested in the way the human body works, but I did not want to be a medical doctor. So instead, I decided to study Biology, and see where that takes me. I didn’t really have a plan! But I really enjoyed doing science, so I just kept on doing science!

    • Photo: Carissa Wong

      Carissa Wong answered on 25 Nov 2020:

      I always loved spending time in the garden looking at bugs, or pond dipping. So I was always fascinated with living things! So it was natural that when I studied science at school I found a way that my interest in living things could become something I studied. My mum also is a scientist and supported my interest in science by taking me to museums and things! I then took the relevant GCSEs and A levels to study cell biology at university and then eventually ended up here as a researcher of cancer and the immune system! But all along the way I just followed my interest at the time (there was no grand plan!)

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