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What is your background?

I am a lifelong biologist: I spent my childhood on a working farm and moved on to study biotechnology, biochemistry, and eventually synthetic biology in my PhD where I researched synthetic spider silk as a biomaterial. I worked in medical communications alongside my PhD, and after that, I had a wonderful time in lab-based research and development (R&D) working for several Scottish start-ups and spinouts. This is when I discovered my interest in technology commercialisation and broader innovation strategy beyond R&D.

What are your professional interests?

I like finding ways to put ideas to work for the good of society. My main professional interests are focused on technology commercialisation and innovation strategy development across a range of regulated industries such as biotechnology and synthetic biology, as well as human health and next-generation agriculture. I,m also interested in cross-cutting themes (equality, sustainability, education) as a part of a more holistic and integrated view of life sciences.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I collect hobbies. I love hiking and open-water swimming and overall, I try to be in nature as much as possible which is partially the reason for my move to Scotland. In winter, I design and create knitwear. I,m very interested in sustainable fashion and especially in natural fibrous materials such as wool and silk. Besides this, I look after an unreasonably large collection of houseplants and, more recently, I started growing herbs and oyster mushrooms, too, as a part of my newest interest in urban farming.

What have you enjoyed most about working at Optimat so far and what are you looking forward to working on?

The breadth and diversity of work at Optimat has definitely been a very exciting and enjoyable change from my previous roles where I focused on niche technological details – I like thinking about ideas holistically so this is a very good fit for me. Another one of my favourite aspects is seeing how my scientific and experimental training translates into data-informed, analytical evaluations, strategies, and recommendations. And the third notable thing is the excellent work-life balance that this company fosters which was a massive (positive) cultural shock for me after spending several years in academia and startups.

Who would your top three dinner party guests be and why?

Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), Frida Kahlo, and Dolly Parton. I think it would make an evening of interesting socio-political conversations, good music, and an impeccable vibe of not taking oneself too seriously.