• Question: What would it mean to you if you were successful in achieving your goal?

    Asked by Caitlinr to Eleni, Hannah, Jenny, Oli, Steven on 4 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Oliver Charity

      Oliver Charity answered on 4 Nov 2016:

      Hi Caitlinr,

      If I were successful it would mean a lot. I would feel a sense of achievement, which is really hard to come by in science. There are a lot of failed experiments and many problems to solve in any research area, so actually creating an impact on the world with your research would mean a great deal to any scientist, I’m sure.

      Oli

    • Photo: Jenny Batson

      Jenny Batson answered on 4 Nov 2016:

      Hi Caitlin
      I agree with Oli. In science there are always challenges (which makes it interesting) so it helps to set mini goals. Then each time you achieve a goal it means you have solved problems and made progress. Then when you achieve your overall goal (mine is currently to get a drug into the clinic, which might not be possible but could work) it would be a huge success after a lot of hard work so it would be an amazing feeling and it would mean that you could make a difference to patients, celebrate with your team mates and hopefully get more money to fund the next work!

    • Photo: Steven Street

      Steven Street answered on 6 Nov 2016:

      Hi Caitlinr,

      I agree with what both Oliver and Jenny have said… In science you always set yourself lots of goals, from small ones like finishing an experiment before the end of the day, to huge goals like trying to find a cure for cancer. As your goals get bigger, they are increasingly challenging to solve, but that doesn’t stop you from trying!

      Each small step you take in achieving a goal, no matter how small is such an amazing feeling. Bigger goals, like finding a cure for cancer require people from all over the world to work together, and would be impossible to solve on your own!

      One of my personal goals would be to discover a new anti-cancer drug that passes clinical trials and can help treat people with cancer. That’s an extremely tough challenge, that any one person is unlikely to achieve, but that’s why we must work together! If we ever got there, it would literally mean the world to me. Cancer kills 1 in 3 people in the UK, and it’s a disease that affects everyone. I know several people who are suffering from cancer at the moment (including a 6 year old boy with a brain tumor), and you see all of the damage and suffering it causes… To be part of a team that makes a difference to those people’s lives would literally complete my life!

    • Photo: Eleni Vikeli

      Eleni Vikeli answered on 8 Nov 2016:

      Hello Caitlinr,

      I agree with everyone. I need to add that I would jump from my joy if I found a new antibiotic that can become a drug after all this time of low discovery rate and the issue of multi-drug resistant microorganisms!!

    • Photo: Hannah Bolt

      Hannah Bolt answered on 8 Nov 2016:

      Hi Caitlinr,

      As everyone else has said, it would be lovely if I got some great results from my research. It would mean all the hours of hard work had paid off!

      My goal is to develop new treatments for neglected tropical diseases, which is very hard! It would be lovely to get a drug into clinical trials and see it used by doctors. However, this process can take up to 20 years and costs billions of pounds, so probably isn’t very likely!

      Hannah

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