I first became interested in the genomics of rare diseases as an undergraduate medical student at the University of Oxford. I completed my BA dissertation on the genetics of chorea acanthocytosis, a rare neurological and haematological condition, under the supervision of Prof Tony Monaco at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in Oxford.

After completing my medical degree, I stayed in the Oxford region for Foundation medical training. I subsequently moved to Bristol before later starting academic haematology training as a NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow. I was drawn to haematology as a specialty because of its combination of laboratory and clinical medicine, its strong research base and my experiences of training with inspirational haematologists in Oxford and Bristol.

I took time out of training to complete a PhD investigating the genomics of rare haematological disorders under the supervision of Prof Andrew Mumford and Prof Paolo Madeddu (University of Bristol) and Prof Willem Ouwehand (University of Cambridge). I subsequently returned to clinical training as a NIHR Clinical Lecturer in haematology, and I continue to develop my research interests in the genomics of benign haematological conditions. I am a member of the NIHR BioResource and ThromboGenomics consortia, the Genomics England benign haematology GeCIP and the US ClinGen Platelet Disorder expert group. I have also spent 6 months visiting Prof Walter Kahr's group at the University of Toronto, using inherited disorders of platelet number and function to provide insights into platelet biology.