Careers Café: From Broccoli to Biotech – Exploring unexpected journeys in science and sustainability

Online session (PLEASE NOTE: This meeting has changed to Zoom)

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https://bham-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/84738648769?pwd=8AJwXstPr5E8pE4qjXx7JkpkaUunfv.1


Meeting ID: 847 3864 8769

Passcode: 047155

CAREERS CAFE:

Join the RESILIENCE team and guest speakers online for exclusive insights into exciting careers across UK Medicines Manufacturing & beyond.

In this Careers Café session, we will hear from Dr. Kelly Stewart, Assistant Professor, Heriot-Watt University in a talk titled: From Broccoli to Biotech - Exploring unexpected journeys in science and sustainability.

Dr Kelly Stewart – Assistant Professor of Sustainability at Heriot-Watt University

Kelly had no idea what she wanted to be when she ‘grew up.’ She loved biology, reading and researching random things, so she thought that studying biology at university would be something she would enjoy. However, she didn’t have the correct grades to get onto her ideal course and she’d never known anyone who had went to university before, so it seemed a bit daunting and like university might be out of reach.

However, with family support, perseverance, and initiatives that supported students from under-represented backgrounds to access higher education, Kelly became the first person in her family to go to university.

Then her curiosity took her on a wild ride! At university she discovered that plants were amazing organisms. She ended up doing a PhD on how to cure a disease that causes a type of tumour in broccoli (yep, even vegetables can get sick!), then became a molecular biologist who made glow-in-the-dark plants to study how climate change affects them.

Her work changed course many times. She started working with companies to turn their ‘waste’ into useful products, and helped businesses grow their biotech ideas from the lab bench to having real-world impact. She even helped train the next generation of scientists along the way.

Now she is a lecturer and researcher at Heriot-Watt University, showing how science and sustainability go hand in hand to create a better future - and proving that you don’t need to have your career all figured out from day one.

Her journey is proof that no matter where you start, with hard work, perseverance, a bit of curiosity and a love for problem-solving, you can build a career that’s exciting, meaningful, and completely your own.