A Career Focused on Seeing More Clearly
Susan’s academic roots lie in microscopy. That fascination began at university, where she moved from electron microscopy to confocal imaging, and it continued through her first technical roles, her PhD, and into her academic career. Using these techniques, she carried out research in biomaterials and tissue engineering, particularly focusing on silicon-based materials, silicates, and biodegradable polymers for craniofacial bone repair.
Her expertise enabled her to establish an advanced microscopy facility after completing her PhD. What Susan has always loved most is using a broad range of microscopy techniques to solve problems and design projects that answer research questions efficiently and creatively. Over the years, that work has spanned an astonishing range of applications — from diagnosing nano‑scale faults in human sperm, to analysing conservation work on historic Italian frescoes, alongside her core academic research on bone.
In 2009, Susan shifted from a technical pathway into academia, focusing on pathology education, where histology and microscopy sit at the heart of learning. Teaching, she says, is “super‑rewarding” — especially the challenge of making complex topics accessible and watching students experience those all-important “lightbulb moments”.
Her leadership roles have included leading the Graduate Entry Medicine programme and serving as Director of Teaching and Learning at Derby Medical School. She later returned to the School of Life Sciences as Head of Anatomy — a full-circle moment, having started her career there as a Level 1 Imaging Technician.
Inspiring the Next Generation
Throughout her career, Susan has been deeply involved with the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS), first as a member, then as Honorary Secretary for Education and Outreach, and later as Vice President. These roles allowed her to focus on the extraordinary power of microscopy to inspire young people.
Through this work, Susan has helped engage more than 250,000 children across the UK and beyond, reaching four countries and developing a professional qualification for practising microscopists worldwide.
She now leads Ignite!, a charity dedicated to supporting children and young people through curiosity and creativity — especially those from communities facing the greatest challenges. One of Ignite!’s flagship initiatives is the Nottinghamshire Festival of Science and Curiosity, a project close to Susan’s heart and one that brings her enormous personal fulfilment.
Moments That Matter Most
Among her proudest achievements, Susan highlights being invited to author Human Histology — as the first woman and first non‑clinical contributor to the textbook. It was the very book she studied from as a student, and remains one of the key texts in the field. She is currently working on the third edition since becoming involved.
Another defining experience came through her participation in Nottingham Life Cycles, a series of long‑distance charity cycling challenges. Covering up to 1,400 miles in just 14 days, these events raised over £3 million for causes including children’s brain tumour research, dementia research, and breast cancer research. The impact was tangible: funding helped commission an intraoperative MRI at Nottingham University Hospitals, directly changing lives.
Beyond the physical challenge, Susan describes these experiences as life‑changing — meeting inspiring families, pushing her own limits, and discovering a resilience she hadn’t known she had.
Advice for Those Starting Out
Susan’s advice is refreshingly human:
Do something you truly enjoy and find meaningful — work takes up too much of life not to.
She is also passionate about wellbeing, encouraging people to take all their leave, protect their balance, and avoid the trap of endless work. Many of her biggest opportunities, she reflects, have come from small, everyday interactions.
On a personal level, her philosophy is simple but powerful: remember that you are no better or worse than anyone else, and try not to worry about things beyond your control.
Inspirations, Passions, and Other Paths
When asked who she most admires, Susan points not to a single figure but to people who are honest, fair, and unafraid to speak out. She also has a love of live music, singling out the Irish rap group Kneecap for their energy, intelligence, and commitment to revitalising the Irish language — describing seeing them live as the modern equivalent of witnessing punk for the first time.
If she weren’t in academia, Susan knows exactly what she’d be doing: renovating old houses as an architect, rescuing neglected buildings and restoring them to their former glory. Exploring French property listings, she admits, is her “happy place”.
And if she could travel back in time? Not to a dramatic historical moment, but to a simpler era — when phones were attached to walls, algorithms didn’t shape opinion, and life was lived more outdoors, with fewer screens and shared sources of truth.