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Cristina Legido-Quigley
Head of Systems Medicine, SDCC Copenhagen
And - Associate professor, King's College London
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You can try many times, you can give up, just work towards something, slowly.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
In my job I look for many molecules in the blood and organs in the body to find out how disease starts. As an example, one day I can ask myself: why is it women have a higher risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Dementia?
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS FIELD?
I love my job because it is like being a molecular detective of the human body. As a child I was fascinated by animals - the little San Anton frog was my favourite pet. My father had his own lab analysing materials, I think this made me want to work in a lab.
WHAT DO YOU LOOK AT & THINK, "I WISH YOUNGER ME WOULD HAVE KNOWN THIS WAS POSSIBLE?"
Finishing my degree was an achievement for me. I am a dropout from two previous degrees and got my full degree (an MSci and PhD in chemistry) in my 30s. I would tell my younger self: “You can try many times, you can give up, just work towards something, slowly”.
WHY DO YOU LOVE WORKING IN STEM?
In STEM you work with many interesting people - and usually they are passionate, humble and curious - and of course you learn every single day.
BEST ADVICE FOR NEXT GENERATION?
I think if you are a young woman and you like nature/science, thinking and solving problems, you have to go for a career in STEM! There is so much we don’t know yet, we need your help to discover it all.
INSPO / FUN FACT
I like Twitter - I follow scientists so I can easily link to a paper for my 15-min train ride.