Unlike most members of OPIG, I don’t work on small molecules, antibodies, or protein structure; I use hypergraph representations of protein complexes to predict gene essentiality and drug targets. I have also had an unconventional route to get here, and on the way, discovered my love for learning and research.

Friends and family had noticed I jumped around with my interests, so much so that when we used to meet up, they took great delight in teasing me about what my current adventure was – ‘you don’t settle do you!’, ‘when are you going to find what you’re looking for?’, ‘why can’t you just stick to something’. Looking back, there was a pattern, I just couldn’t see it yet.

Read more: Curiosity might not kill the cat

On paper, I looked like a proper nut job. Started off as a data analyst, moved to France and had two kids, returned to the UK and volunteered as a National Trust gardener, set up my own garden design and build business, started a chicken farm with 2000 birds, café and shop, joined my accountant to grow his business, submitting tax returns and running his accountancy practice…

You can perhaps see what they were getting at, and I was beginning to question my own motivation and sanity! At this point, my kids left home and suddenly I was free, as all the choices I’d made had always been with my husband and kids’ needs first. But was I supposed to stay as a practice manager and perhaps learn how to become an accountant? What was I looking for? Why couldn’t I find something and stick to it?

After a chat with my human resources friend, she took me through a coaching exercise and suddenly I knew – I wanted to try and help discover something! Very cliché but true. But how do I do that? She pointed out that although it was great fun teasing me about my apparent lack of resilience, it could be that I was a learner, someone who is driven by curiosity. So, even though I already had a BSc in Electronic and Computer engineering, I started back at the beginning with an Open University Maths degree. Two years later, I did a PGCE (secondary school teaching qualification) and taught teenagers how to learn maths… maybe I’m supposed to help kids discover something?

Then I noticed AI, prompted by discussions with my brother and the AlphaGo documentary, and I was hooked. I devoured everything I could, applied to Aberystwyth University to complete an AI masters and got in! Couldn’t believe it, me in my 50s going back to uni – my friends had a field day! And then it dawned on me, what happens when I finish? How am I going to get a job at my age?

I knew I needed to start making connections so rather than doing my dissertation at the uni, I applied to institutes and companies to take me on for the 3 months and complete a project for them. And I got in! One of the most positive, lovely people I’ve ever met works at the Rosalind Franklin Institute and he said yes and showed me what life could be like if you become a researcher – learning as a job! AND, I might help discover something! AND, a PhD position became available to start that year as someone had dropped out! So I applied. I didn’t get in.

As I was making the application, I explored different types of PhD routes and applied to Oxford. And I got in! So here I am at OPIG, learning every day with other people who love to learn too. Society teaches us to think learning is step one before you can ‘do your job’; it took me 50 years to realise that learning can be the end goal. I’m at the age where most of my peers are thinking about retiring, but I don’t want to take it easy and go travelling. My foot is firmly pressed to the floor, it’s just my vehicle is a bit slower, perhaps a golf cart. But I’m fine with that; when you’re not racing, you might notice things others miss.