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Headlines 13 What is your earliest memory of science? Watching my third form science teacher conduct some tests on my favourite, and rather large crystal, to find out what it was made of. I don’t remember the outcome, but I do remember the analytical nature of the process and the sense of wanting to do more of that. What drew you to the field of science that you have come to work in? I want to make a difference to health. My family has been touched by cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. In coming to terms with this, discovering molecules with the potential to be future medicines is what I need to be doing. Who do you look up to, whether they be in your field of work or not, and why? The “good sorts” who donate their time and energy in support of organisations like the Neurological Foundation. Why? Because some people just do amazing things, big and small, and remind me to never give up. How did you get to where you now are in your career, and what has been the biggest turning point or defining moment of your career? By saying yes to some really interesting research opportunities, meeting lots of interesting people, gaining invaluable experience in different labs in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The next step was in challenging myself to apply these experiences to new research areas, starting with a drug discovery project for a new asthma medicine. The big turning point came when I took a position at the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre and became part of the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Biodiscovery, where my computer-based drug discovery research and the disease expertise of the researchers that I collaborate with are combined to discover molecules that tackle new ideas for treating different diseases. What is the most rewarding part of being a researcher? On one level, the most fundamental level, it is discovering something new; for me, it is getting the data showing that a molecule worked perfectly in its intended application. At a higher level, it is the collaborative nature of scientific research, where we can work in teams that bring together different skills and experience to successfully solve a problem. For me, this is embodied in my current Neurological Foundation funded project. What has been your most important scientific finding? Your most surprising finding? Turning a compound that was weakly inhibitory for many enzymes important in controlling how cells work normally and in disease settings, into a far more potent version that only works on the one enzyme we want to regulate in some of the immune system cells that support tumour growth. The Neurological Foundation has funded a small project grant for you to research new mechanisms of pain relief for Multiple Sclerosis. What motivated this research and what do you hope to achieve with it? The research was motivated by a serendipitous observation that some of molecules I was designing for an anti-cancer project also worked on a protein that affects how we sense pain. After discussing this with neuroscientists Professor Bronwen Connor at the University of Auckland and Associate Professor Bronwyn Kivell at Victoria University of Wellington, our next steps became clear, that regulating this protein could be relevant to the chronic neuropathic pain in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Our project seeks to understand more about this protein in MS. If you had to imagine the world of science 100 years from now, what do you think it would look like? I would like to think that we will be on the way to having functional forms of the machines used in sci-fi movies that scan and correct our physical condition. Do you have any words of encouragement or wisdom for those looking towards a career path in science or research? Be open to opportunity, talk with lots of people, listen to many more, be brave, be thoughtful, ask questions, do new things, write down your ideas. When you’re not busy with your many projects, what do you like doing? Going camping with family and friends, swimming at some of the great beaches we have around Auckland with my children and trying to surf my stand-up paddle board (sometimes I even catch a wave).