Why did you choose a scientific career?
Excellent chemistry and biology courses at school and a gift subscription to the Scientific American convinced me in my mid-teens that the way we shape our understanding of genes as blue print of life on earth will shape the world we live in – for the better or the worse.  It thus seemed better to contribute than to be taken by developments in this area by surprise.

Did you always know that you wanted to be a scientist or did you become a scientist ‘by accident'?
As a good tom boy I always enjoyed experiments in our chemistry, biology or physics classes at school, but I rarely thought about ‘career’ before I had to.  In retrospect, I am not surprised to have read natural sciences, as I can get at least as exhilarated from a walk through the forest, as from visiting a Monet exhibition or reading Rudyard Kipling’s poems. 

What factors stimulated your career (colleagues, mentor, own motivation, family)?
The ‘sine qua non’ for my career is my own strong motivation to go to the bottom of things that also led me to study life at the molecular level.  This drive is based in a natural curiosity and enthusiasm combined with quite some tenacity; these traits in turn were nurtured by my parents, who share them.  Professor Peter Leadlay’s support and enthusiasm that I enjoyed throughout my undergraduate and doctoral thesis work on soil-dwelling, antibiotic producing bacteria was invaluable in taking these hurdles (he compared difficult periods in research towards a Ph.D. to banging your head against the wall until either the head goes or the wall).  In all subsequent career steps I have developed close and fruitful working relationships that have and will continue to influence my path.

How did you obtain your current job position (factors that have been a barrier/stimulated your scientific career)?
The unique combination of my work experience in the private and public sector, research and teaching in the natural and social sciences at leading Universities, and my multi-cultural and multi-lingual background have helped me to become an independent scientific consultant on risk governance and food safety for clients including the European Commission, the Organisation for Economic Coordination and Development, national research institutes, and the University of Oxford.

What ambitions do you have regarding your career?
I would like to continue to bridge gaps between natural and social science, between private and public sector organisations, and between diverse cultures of governance in working towards more effective participative governance of the impacts of technological innovation on society and the impacts of society on technological innovation.  As the word ‘career’ suggests, I plan to progressively assume greater responsibilities, whilst building on past experiences.

Have you ever had the feeling that you had to choose between personal life and work?
No.  It seemed all a matter of setting the right priorities at the right time.

Do you have any specific advice to other women that pursue a scientific career?
Shape it such that you enjoy it (at least most of the time), if you do not already.

Personal achievements
Successfully combining a fulfilling and multi-faceted career with raising and enjoying life to the fullest with my baby daughter Laurine.