Essential, awesome, unstoppable

"I recruited Abi in my lab to set up a brand-new research model, stem cells, in a lab that uses zebrafish day in day out. I had my worry that she might feel isolated and disconnected from everybody else's research. But not Abi. She has dived into our research with an insight I have rarely seen, and built her own bridges with other lab member's projects. She routinely asks questions to her colleagues during each lab meetings, she wants to understand it all and has had a lot of catching up to do on the zebrafish front. In exchange she has been training the rest of the team at maintaining stem cells and in less than a year being here, she has converted a lot of us to the power of stem cells and we truly feel part of the stem cell world thanks to Abi. Thanks to her expertise and knowledge, we have been able to attract significant internal funding to set up the first iPSC facility at the university, which she will lead and continue building those fantastic collaborations. This ease at communication and natural leadership talents have transformed my lab into an organised, cohesive and highly interactive team. Abi makes everybody feels at home, welcoming new starters with her openness and awesomeness. Abi's thirst to expand her skillset to start genetically engineering stem cells has placed her in situations outside her comfort zone, reaching out to new people to ask for help and networking at conferences. She is now applying for travel grants to go to international stem cells conferences on her own, presenting her posters and even being part of the judges pool to select the best posters! She is unstoppable and such an inspiration. Abi being Abi, of course she beats people up outside the lab in her Martial Arts classes! Abi is essential to me, to our team and to the department, she has made her mark on us all and I can't imagine having a lab without her in it, ever!"

Nominated by Noemie Hamilton, Neuroimmunology in Action Hamilton Lab / Department of Biology, University of York, United Kingdom