Like so many scientists, I saw my life turned upside down by the arrival of the sweetest baby imaginable three years ago. I was toiling away working towards that Holy Grail of young academics – the tenure track faculty position – at what I consider to be the best laboratory in the world: Richard Lenski’s experimental evolution group at Michigan State University. I was examining how the interplay of evolution and mutation affect the very instructions of life – the genes that govern the behaviour, shape and lifecycle of the simple bacterium E. coli. Professionally, I was blissfully happy. Personally, with family, house and most importantly, dog and boyfriend, back in Canada, I was miserable. I chose family and love. I learned to love a life of contentment I didn’t know was possible. But I missed, oh, how I missed, science and working at the cutting edge.
In the three years since, I have returned to laboratory science, left laboratory science, begun writing, consulting, teaching and taken part in the Grand Adventure – Canada’s Greatest Know It All season two. I have started writing. I did my first spartan race. I take my daughter swimming and to ballet lessons. I’m slowly but surely finding my voice: what I do best is talking about science, teaching it, and consulting on the proper way to evaluate scientific evidence. I started this blog to help communicate my passion for the wonder of the natural world, and the power of the scientific method. Take a look around, message me, and join the conversation.
