What advice would you give a young researcher?

Be prepared to move. Increasingly people seem to want to stay put, but you need to be willing to move to where the best research opportunities are for your particular research interests - and that includes working abroad.

And read as much of the scientific literature as possible in your area - spend a few weeks in libraries doing background reading. It's important after your pre-registration year to find out what really excites you and this really helps and allows you to take the time to develop your ideas.

What has been most important to your success in research?

Making two career moves. If I had stayed in Newcastle, where I did my training, I wouldn’t have progressed as far. In Newcastle, I obtained a post as Demonstrator and then as Lecturer. But moving to Leeds, to take up a Senior Lectureship, opened up my research opportunities. I was interested in lymphoma research and going there, to join Prof Colin Bird, was a quantum leap in the quality of my research. My second move was to Leicester, as Professor, and then I became Dean of the Medical School.

What has been the hardest challenge in your research career? How did you overcome it?

Funding can be the hardest challenge for researchers. I think it’s really useful early in your career to link up with senior researchers who are successful and to learn from them. As a young lecturer in Newcastle, I was involved in putting together a big bid to the MRC for a programme grant. I wrote my sections of the application and my professor ruthlessly edited them – and it was a very useful learning experience. It’s hard to compete for funding when you’re young, so it’s very helpful to collaborate with people who have already been successful in the grants process.