Angela Russell: ‘We have to not be afraid of failing’
The medicinal chemist on thinking like a scientist and knowing where you want to go
My dad trained as a scientist and was always very enthusiastic about science when I was young. I remember lighting methanol on the floor of the garage as one of our earliest experiments!
I had a really inspirational teacher during my A-levels. When I was thinking about applying to university, he took the time to talk to me about his research. As he described his experiments, I could predict the experiment that he would do next. I guess at 17, that really flips something in your brain and I felt that this was something that I could do, that there’s something in my brain that makes me think like a scientist.
I thought very long and hard about whether I wanted an academic career. Originally I had thought that I would just like to focus on research but I realised that I also really enjoy teaching. I loved being able to nurture the talent of the next generation coming into science, alongside the opportunity to think about research and move forward to answer new questions. That combination I found really potent.