Saleha told us about her journey from Sutton Trust summer school back in 2007 to the Silicon Valley of the UK, and what it’s like working at the forefront of scientific discoveries. 

 

Tell us a little bit about your background…

“I’m originally from Bolton and went to a local state school there. Both my parents are first generation immigrants, they worked in low skilled jobs with little pay and growing up we didn’t have much. So you would say I’m from a working class background.

My secondary school didn’t have a sixth form so I had to move to another school for my A-levels where I studied Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Further Maths. I initially wanted to study medicine at university however I struggled with the transition to a different school. I also wasn’t aware of other careers in science, there wasn’t much in the way of career advice at school and I didn’t know anyone who worked in a professional job except for my teachers. I later realised that like many professional jobs if you don’t have the right contacts and networks it can be very difficult to pursue a career in medicine.

After my sixth form experience I encouraged my siblings to apply for a scholarship for a sixth form at the local private school. It became clear that where you are educated makes a difference. We all had similar academic abilities, however I saw that they had very different experiences – students at their school got a leg up in their university applications and careers, they were offered coaching, and the teaching was in smaller groups and much more personalised. They’ve all gone on to great careers which goes to show being talented and working hard isn’t always enough, for them the scholarships and connections they made literally changed their futures.”

What did you do at university?

“I eventually got my university place through clearing. I called several universities and the University of York called me back to offer me a place. I had a look around, accepted the place and was the first in my family to go to university! I hadn’t planned to go through clearing however when I didn’t get my place to study medicine I didn’t have a plan B. I was terrified however it was the best decision I ever made.

I studied Biochemistry at York and loved my student experience. However one thing that became clear was that being state school educated and from a low socio-economic background does put you at a disadvantage – others had had very different experiences prior to coming to university. It wasn’t cool to be academically gifted at my school and essay writing was completely alien to me. I also had to work throughout my degree. I used to work late shifts in the pathology lab at the hospital, I worked in the admin offices at the university and also as a student ambassador showing prospective students and their families around campus. Studying was crammed in around work and sometimes that was exhausting!

I still wasn’t sure of what I wanted to do after my undergraduate degree so I went on to study a Master’s in Bioscience Technology still at York. I was lucky to be awarded a studentship to help with my fees and living costs but I still had to continue working alongside my degree. I remember discussing the challenges I faced with an external professor who turned to me and said , “You don’t look like someone from a disadvantaged background”, which I found quite upsetting. What does disadvantage look like?

As part of my Master’s I did a placement at Cancer Research UK in London and really enjoyed being in the lab doing translational research. This led me to apply for a PhD at the University of Leicester, in collaboration with UCB Pharma. I knew I didn’t want to stay in academia and wanted to be in the pharmaceutical industry and doing a PhD in collaboration with a pharmaceutical company gave me an insight into what I could expect.”

Tell us about your current role?

“I joined AstraZeneca in 2017 as a lab scientist, after my PhD and Postdoc at the University of Leicester. I’ve been very fortunate to do different things and try different roles: I’ve worked in several lab teams and in a project management role in our communications team; now I’m in a non-lab based scientific role working in the Emerging Innovations Unit. In a nutshell, we identify and validate novel scientific ideas and cool technologies, and find opportunities to work together with external scientists and experts to identify and develop our medicines of the future. We work with lots of academics, start-ups, young entrepreneurs… the external element is super cool.

I mainly support two areas in our group. Firstly Indication Discovery – this is about using novel computational approaches to identify new disease that our existing medicines could potentially treat. This involves looking at scientific data and working closely with other scientists to build and validate a hypothesis. Secondly, Horizon Scanning, which for us is about trying to identify novel early-stage science to ensure we are prepared for how we do drug discovery in the future. For instance, if we take AI as an example there may not have been many clear applications 10-15 yrs ago however now we are starting to see it embedded in lots of things we do. It’s about making sure we are prepared for new technologies that will ultimately help us accelerate and get medicines to patients faster.

Our team also manages AstraZeneca’s Open Innovation programme. This enables us to bring together the best scientists from around the world and from within AstraZeneca, and by making our tools and expertise available we hope to solve shared challenges through collaboration. We have lots of data and innovation that could be useful to others and we have regular engagement events at universities around the world.”

What are you involved in outside of work?

“In my spare time I volunteer for ELRIG, which is the European Laboratory Research & Innovation Group. We’re a not-for-profit organisation that provides an opportunity for people to learn, connect and collaborate. We do this by hosting scientific meetings and events, predominantly across the UK and Europe. I am a Director on the Board and Chair the Scientific Programme Workgroup. My workgroup organises events and networking opportunities however we have other workgroups dedicated to Early Career Professionals, vendors, marketing and communications to name a few.

One of our core values is to ensure scientific content is open access for everybody. Conferences and scientific meetings can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you’re early in your career, that is why our all our in-person and virtual meetings are free to attend no matter what your background.“

Any other reflections or memories you’d like to share?

“I have gone from being someone from Bolton, who on paper had the odds stacked up against them, to working at one of the largest pharmaceutical companies not just in the UK but globally. When I was at school I had no idea about what careers I could go into with a science degree. Beyond a lab-based scientist there are so many jobs that you’ve never heard of. We have over 80,000 people working in AstraZeneca, yes some work at the lab bench but there are also intellectual property experts, communications managers, colleagues in finance, clinical trials co-ordinators and thousands of other roles. 

I am conscious of how incredible it is to come to work every day at AstraZeneca’s headquarters here in the centre of Cambridge. We are at the heart of what you can describe as the Silicon Valley of the UK – surrounded by outstanding science, technology, and innovation! However this can also create inequalities so I want to leverage my roles and experiences to increase socio-economic diversity within our sector. Many of us recognise that talent is widespread however opportunity isn’t and it’s unfair that your postcode still determines your outcome in life. 

I have been extremely lucky in having great teachers and mentors throughout my life; they sought opportunities on my behalf, encouraged me to pursue higher education, and ultimately enabled me to dream big and get to where I am today. I am a huge believer in paying that forward and enabling the next generation of scientists and developing our future leaders regardless of their background.  That’s why I’m involved in the mentoring programme at the Social Mobility Foundation, I’m a founding member of 93% Professionals (UK first ever network of state school educated professionals and allies) and my door is always open to anyone who wants advice or wants to talk. Connect with me on LinkedIn and have a coffee with me – I don’t have all the answers but I can certainly promise a good conversation!“

If, like Saleha, you’d like to share your story with us – just get in touch with the alumni team via [email protected].

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