Science is a challenge. The best I have heard science to be described is that it is a ‘labour of love’. As a leader, I champion ‘compassionate leadership’ - a style of leadership that places importance in everyone’s wellbeing. We adapt to the ‘ups and downs’ of science and are conscious of the ever-evolving world we live in.

To function well as a group, we cultivate collegiality in our daily interactions. We respect each other and treat everyone the way we want to be treated ourselves. All lab members have the responsibility to create this shared collegial environment for everyone to thrive in.

As a science group, we do not exist in isolation. We recognize we are a part of a wider science community. As such, we aim to contribute in service of our community; whether it be our university community (University of Birmingham), locally (West Midlands/Birmingham), nationally (UK), and globally.

As a group, we believe that the best way forward to achieve our goal is by being collaborative. This means creating an environment in our group where every members share in our common vision and collaborate towards the group’s goal. It also means partnering closely with all our stakeholders in science; be it our academic collaborators, industry partners, patient advocacy groups, professional bodies, and policymakers.

Science is a safe space for everyone. I want to foster a lab environment where everyone has the ‘confidence’ to express themselves. It is important to me to nurture an environment where we have the ‘confidence’ to have tough and challenging discussions, engage in scientific discourse, while respecting everyone and their set of boundaries.

Science is a privilege. I like to say that ‘science is a very expensive hobby’. Thus, I believe that science should be conducted ‘conscientiously’. To me, adopting conscientiously lead to a sustainable science in twofold manner:

• Scientific sustainability. We will maintain a culture of rigor and reproducibility with our science. We uphold the truth, however challenging it may be. When afforded funding and resources to conduct our science, we utilize said privilege carefully and will maximize the use of all scientific resources.

• Environmental sustainability. We uphold that we each have a responsibility to behave sustainably to help preserve the Earth we live in. Whenever possible, we will engage in our science as sustainably as possible. This includes for example, working with our industry partners to source sustainable consumables.

We recognize that members of our lab come from a diverse background and all walk of life. We embrace each other’s culture and recognize strength in our diversity. We will learn from each other and respect one another’s culture in our behavior. We will foster a positive research culture where everyone feels respected and appreciated. We will not tolerate any discriminatory or bullying behavior - this will be taken seriously and escalated per institutional policy.

Science is embracing the unknown. I find I am most inspired when I think outside the box. Sometimes, this makes me the ‘dark horse’ in our research community; but I view them as a ‘creative’ perspective to the same problem. I aim to train people in my lab to approach science creatively and questioning their findings with fresh perspectives with open mind.