Professor Joanna Wardlaw is Chair of Applied Neuroimaging and Head of Neuroimaging Sciences at the Centre for Clinical Brains Sciences at the University of Edinburgh.
How did you become involved in academic research and why?
I am naturally curious and was motivated by research questions.
What’s the best thing about your job?
The variety and challenge
What has been the highlight of your career in academic research?
So far, taking thrombolysis for stroke from no. 1 contraindication to licenced routine treatment worldwide.
Why should more women get involved with academic research?
We are thorough, honest, less liable to hubris and more likely to produce reliable results.
What advice would you give to women considering a career in academic research?
Go for it. Start as early as you can. Take every change to get relevant research training. Do projects, no matter how small. Publish. Keep at it and never give up.
Is there a woman you look up to or is inspirational in academic research? And if so why?
Interesting. I have never thought about that. Any woman whom makes a major contribution to advancing science deserves recognition and is inspirational, but most women are too busy getting on with the work and are not very good at self promotion so they are less well know than their male counterparts. I spend more time thinking about the many women down the ages who have made major contributions to science or art or politics but who are mostly forgotten.
Read more interviews with inspiring women working in clinical radiology and oncology