I came to CABI in 2002, by a very convoluted route! A BSc Biochemistry from Sheffield University, research assistantships at Cambridge and then with Unilever, Bedford, followed by a PhD Kings College London on cell adhesion receptors (integrins to those in the know). Then postdocs in developmental biology at Oxford University and with ICRF, Oxford & London.
Tired of commuting and organising labs, I took some time off and came back into science with a bang and a sidestep, joining CABI in 2002, having looked at what I wanted out of my future career.
I joined as an editor, working on human health and was thrown into the deep end, playing a key role in the creation of Global Health, our public health database, which involved amongst other activities, devising the coverage and setting up the advisory board. I now act as its champion (what is the point of having an excellent product & mission if you don’t tell people about it?), acquire content & provide sales support as well as usual editorial duties. I’ve discovered I have a flair for lateral thinking, organisation and networking!
Those “usual” editorial duties include editing Tropical Disease Bulletin and Abstracts in Hygiene & Communicable Diseases, which are printed journal subsets of Global Health.
My interest in the problems of developing countries & ensuring Global Health is a venue for their own research (solving local problems with global information!) has involved me in R4D, the website that CABI built and now manages for DFID, as well as being an active member of a number of development-related list servs. I often tell new acquaintances when asked about myself, that I am a scientist by training, an artist by inclination. As I review my past career, I realise that scientifically speaking my twin passions have been tissue culture and public health! I don’t know how I fit in any art, as public health can be all-consuming…