Alison North
WISeR: “What sparked your initial interest in science, and what drew you to your specific field?“
AN: “I grew up in a family of scientists so science was an obvious career path. But, what kept me from shifting to my alternative career (a professional classical musician) was the first time I looked down a fluorescence microscope as an undergraduate. Geeky but true - I knew immediately that this was what I wanted to do. So I chose a PhD and then two postdocs which all heavily involved microscopy. While I was pondering whether I really wanted to set up as a lab head next, I realized that I enjoyed dabbling in various imaging projects to help other people much more than I wanted to focus on a single research area. In fact, my own PhD student said to me one day "Isn't it a pity that there isn't a job where you could just be a microscopy consultant?" A few months later, a head of lab at RU approached me about moving here to set up the Bio-Imaging Resource Center. So I moved here, intending to stay around for a couple of years - and the rest is history, that was 25 years ago.“
WISeR: “What aspect of your work in STEM energizes you the most, and why?“
AN: “I like finding solutions for people - whether it's finding somebody the perfect microscope for their biological application, or the best fit job for them, or introducing them to great colleagues who can help them. I enjoy the problem-solving aspects of my job and I love the worldwide imaging scientist community - you could not find a more fun, proactive and caring group of people than the staff and heads of imaging facilities worldwide. After all, we have all landed in this type of core facility job because we enjoy helping people - and that means we also enjoy helping each other find solutions to problems.“
WISeR: “Looking back at your career journey, what achievements or moments have brought you the greatest joy?“
AN: “What brings me the most joy as I get older is seeing people I have trained - either on microscopes or as staff members - succeed in their own careers. I am so proud of all of the staff who have left my facility, many of whom now head their own core facilities, and also the students and postdocs who didn't have a clue about how to operate a microscope when they came here, even looking scared of them when they first came here, and yet now they run their own research programs based around microscopy. The highlight of 2024 for me was when I managed to find 3 separate funding sources that enabled us to bring over a young scientist from Africa to attend an external microscopy course I was running, who had no funds herself to attend. Just seeing her face light up throughout the course and knowing that she would take all this new knowledge back and share it throughout Africa was immensely satisfying.“
WISeR: “What advice would you give to young women who are just beginning their STEM journey?“
AN: “Just don't even think about the fact that you're a woman in science. I never considered whether I could succeed as a woman, it simply wasn't a thought process. I realize I was lucky - my mother was a physicist at King's College London, many moons ago and she would go out to lunch every day with Rosalind Franklin, as woman weren't allowed in the lunch room in those days! But thanks to pioneering women like them, the world has gradually changed. It still has a way to go, but I have found that if you have self-belief and are confident that you can do the job, and you always try to do it to the best of your ability, then you earn the respect of most people around you.“
WISeR: “How do you maintain work-life balance in a demanding field?“
AN: “I'm not sure I do really. It's difficult. I don't have children, which means I don't have to down tools at 5 pm - on the other hand, I've never finished work by then anyway, there's always far too much to do each day still. I don't mind working late in the evenings but I make sure that my weekends are entirely devoid of work, whenever possible (I don't even check e-mails, nor do I want my staff to!), because I have so many other interests. Plus, I love to travel, and when I'm on vacation, I'm truly on vacation and I de-sync my work e-mails. I'm a strong believer that you can switch off like this and still do a good job - people are too much at the beck and call of their cellphones nowadays, while I'm old school!“