I graduated with a BSc in Chemistry with Biology from Mount Allison University (New Brunswick, Canada) in 1990, after which I did a brief stint working in an electrochemistry lab at the Université de Sherbrooke (Quebec, Canada) before immigrating to France to teach English. I eventually found myself in London where I worked in various guises at the Science Photo Library Ltd. I left the post of acting- Syndications Manager there in 1999 to take a gap year, returning to the UK in 2001 to pursue an administrative career at the University of St Andrews. I stayed in Scotland until the end of 2014, when I moved to Bristol, taking up the post of Research Development Administrator for three Health Research Networks under the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute, a position I supported until March 2025. I am now based in the Biomedical Research Centre: Bristol working with People in Health West of England, a partnership which provides a co-ordinated approach to patient and public involvement in health and care research across the region.