Series 17 May 2024

Working Scientist career profiles

These articles profile individual scientists with unusual career histories, achievements, skills or outside interests.

Articles

My moonshot to preserve endangered species

Coral cryobiologist Mary Hagedorn wants to bank biological samples at the frozen lunar south pole.
- Lesley Evans Ogden
Career Feature25 Aug 2025 Nature
A sit in the sauna can save endangered frogs

Anthony Waddle’s unconventional approach resulted in a stunningly practical solution to fight a deadly fungal infection.
- Saugat Bolakhe
Career Feature19 Aug 2025 Nature
Before studying parasites, this PhD researcher was their host

Kevin Liévano-Romero abandoned a veterinary career in Colombia to move to the United States, where he studies feared but fascinating creatures.
- Hannah Richter
Career Feature21 May 2025 Nature
My fight to unlock cannabis and psychedelic drugs for use in medical research

Physician Sue Sisley battles to study cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms for pain, addiction and PTSD.
- Robin Berghaus
Career Feature28 Apr 2025 Nature
How blowing the whistle on the Theranos scandal transformed Erika Cheung’s career

Cheung, a laboratory assistant straight from university, raised the alarm over dodgy science and a duplicitous boss.
- Benjamin Plackett
Career Feature26 Feb 2025 Nature
Beyond black and white: an ecologist applies racial-justice principles to predators and their ecosystems

Tyus Williams harnesses his lived experiences to inform his research — and shares it all on social media.
- Robin Donovan
Career Feature21 Jan 2025 Nature
How I hunt down fake degrees and zombie universities

André Hesselbäck uses his photographic memory and higher-education expertise to sniff out rampant credential fraud and degree mills.
- Christine Ro
Career Feature4 Nov 2024 Nature
Massive Attack’s science-led drive to lower music’s carbon footprint

Climate scientist Carly McLachlan partners with the UK band to put the environmental impact of concerts centre stage.
- Esme Hedley
Career Feature4 Sep 2024 Nature
Tales of a migratory marine biologist

Christine Gabriele’s research involves tracking the endangered humpback whale in both Hawaiian and Alaskan waters.
- Lesley Evans Ogden
Career Feature28 Aug 2024 Nature
Whistleblowing in science: this physician faced ostracization after standing up to pharma

Physician scientist Nancy Olivieri describes hard-won lessons from decades of fighting for scientific integrity.
- Sara Reardon
Career Feature20 Aug 2024 Nature
How a midwife became a neuroscientist to seek a cure for her son

Terry Jo Bichell felt the need to work on a scientific solution to her son’s rare disorder, even though it meant being a PhD student in her fifties.
- Elizabeth Landau
Career Feature20 Aug 2024 Nature
The geneticist who uses science to free parents wrongly convicted of killing their children

Carola Vinuesa describes how her career changed after identifying a genetic mutation that helped to secure the freedom of Kathleen Folbigg, who was serving a 30-year jail term for killing her four children.
- Benjamin Plackett
Career Feature16 Jul 2024 Nature
How we packed off the giant pandas from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo

As the zoo prepares to welcome two giant pandas from China, its director Brandie Smith discusses the departure of their predecessors, Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and a three-year-old cub.
- Anne Gulland
Career Feature10 Jun 2024 Nature
Racing across the Atlantic: how we pulled together for ocean science

Isabelle Côté and three other female marine scientists competed in a row across the Atlantic ocean, making the trip in 38 days to raise money for ocean education, conservation and research.
- Lesley Evans Ogden
Career Feature3 Jun 2024 Nature
How I fled bombed Aleppo to continue my career in science

Aref Kyyaly’s quest to find a safe place, away from Syria, to do research taught him perseverance. Don’t give up, is his advice.
- Benjamin Plackett
Career Feature8 May 2024 Nature
The neuroscientist formerly known as Prince’s audio engineer

Susan Rogers worked with the legendary singer-songwriter before earning a PhD in her 50s on auditory memory and how we listen to music throughout life.
- Anne Gulland
Career Feature14 Mar 2024 Nature
I run a physics lab — and thousands of kilometres a year

In 2023, Jenny Hoffman ran across the United States in 47 days, smashing the women’s world record. But she still found time to lead a research team.
- Sara Reardon
Career Feature12 Feb 2024 Nature
A crime-busting path to planetary science

Andrew Lincowski was a police officer before undertaking a PhD in astronomy and astrobiology. For a while, his career spanned both roles, before he moved into teaching.
- Anne Gulland
Career Feature17 Jan 2024 Nature

Working Scientist career profiles

Articles

My moonshot to preserve endangered species

A sit in the sauna can save endangered frogs

Before studying parasites, this PhD researcher was their host

My fight to unlock cannabis and psychedelic drugs for use in medical research

How blowing the whistle on the Theranos scandal transformed Erika Cheung’s career

Beyond black and white: an ecologist applies racial-justice principles to predators and their ecosystems

How I hunt down fake degrees and zombie universities

Massive Attack’s science-led drive to lower music’s carbon footprint

Tales of a migratory marine biologist

Whistleblowing in science: this physician faced ostracization after standing up to pharma

How a midwife became a neuroscientist to seek a cure for her son

The geneticist who uses science to free parents wrongly convicted of killing their children

How we packed off the giant pandas from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Racing across the Atlantic: how we pulled together for ocean science

How I fled bombed Aleppo to continue my career in science

The neuroscientist formerly known as Prince’s audio engineer

I run a physics lab — and thousands of kilometres a year

A crime-busting path to planetary science

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