Jessie Stow MRSC

I have had some fantastic mentors in my career, so it is hard to name just one! When I started my first apprenticeship, I was introduced to analytical science by Suzi Cowan, and I admired her diligent approach to problem solving. After moving to Astex, Nicola Wilsher and Lynsey Fazal were both my mentors. I was inspired by Nicola’s breadth of knowledge and her drive to support the progress and development of those around her, which has made her an excellent leader. Lynsey mentored me while working, studying for a PhD and being a parent, which highlighted her inspirational dedication. There are many more mentors who have impacted my career, too, and took the time to answer my questions, provide training or guidance when I needed it.

In drug discovery, you often face new challenges and I enjoy using these as an opportunity to research and expand my knowledge. I love piecing the puzzle together to draw a sound conclusion, and it feels even better knowing that conclusion may put us a step closer to discovering a new drug for a patient in need.

Gaining workplace experience is a fundamental first step on your chemistry career ladder. Finding a voluntary role, placement, or apprenticeship can help you to get an insight into industry, start networking and start to apply your knowledge. There are so many different careers in chemistry, you can use workplace experiences to try them out!

Good research culture is being able to generate hypotheses and diligently gather data to draw a conclusion. Teamwork, collaboration, communication and recordmaking skills are all essential. In an ideal culture, researchers can share knowledge with other researchers to apply the appropriate expertise to answer research questions.

Scientists often specialise in a particular field, and collaborating means that experts from different areas can come together to share ideas and knowledge. This is very important in drug discovery since it is a multi-disciplinary activity.