Previously I had a postdoctoral position doing protein NMR at the LMB in Cambridge. This was a tempestuous time, as in those six years I got married, moved house, had my first child, moved again, got divorced, met my current husband, had my second daughter and remarried. I also had health problems but managed to do some good science in between all this.

Before coming to Cambridge I spent one year at the University of Glasgow and before that I did my Ph.D. at UEA in Norwich. I ended up in Norwich as an exchange student from Leiden in the Netherlands. The exchange was meant to be for 9 months but 15 years on I still haven’t left the country!

I have found being part of Cambridge AWiSE very enthusing; meeting women in similar positions to myself, juggling families and work, each of us having found a different balance and ways to cope.

I also enjoy networking with other women working in male dominated fields in general. I am lucky to be on the steering group at this exciting time for AWiSE: it has given me some insight into employing someone, asking for funding and applying for charity status. I have also made some valuable friends.

MentorSET was a revelation: it is great having a mentor, a woman I admire greatly who gives up her time to listen to me and help me think through my decisions. The benefits of being a mentor were more surprising: it has made me realise that I do actually now know a lot that would have been useful to know 10 years ago! It is great to be able to pass it on.

Tennie