ChemDiverse: Profiles

The chemistry career profiles on this page were produced as part of the ChemDiverse: Videos project, funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

In the boxes below, you will find a series of profiles created by a wide range of people working in the chemical sciences, describing their day-to-day work, challenges they have faced and overcome, and advice they have for pursuing a career in chemistry.

Aaron Lau

Aaron’s parents were secondary school teachers. He is one of the few academics of Chinese descent at the University of Strathclyde

Ferial Haque

Ferial has endured many challenges before succeeding in a scientific career including, surviving war and being a migrant woman of colour

Ashleigh Fletcher

Ashleigh has battled a degenerative inherited condition whilst studying in a male gender orientated degree and is now the Deputy Head of Department for Teaching and Learning

Michael Brown

Michael was determined to pursue a career in chemistry despite not previously studying the subject at school.

Laura Faulds

Laura is a queer woman who grew up in an area with a high poverty rate, and openly discouraged from going to University – she did it anyway.

Iain McLellan

Iain is a LGBTQIA+ man with a degree in geology and chemistry. He faced challenges growing up in Scotland as a gay man, and how this environment led him to believe he would not be able to pursue a career in the sciences.

Sara Velasquez

Sara was born in Central America and up until now has lived in 4 countries and speaks 4 languages. Sara is keen to promote science as a career choice

Christine Davidson

Christine is a woman in STEM with a senior role in academia. She was the first female lecturer appointed in the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry

Saima Salehjee

Dr Salehjee is a woman-of-colour in STEM, working in the Higher Education sector. Saima is the only Muslim and South Asian woman in her immediate working environment.

Hammad Ullah

Hammad was born in a small town in Pakistan, trained as a pharmacist in Pakistan, but is transitioning into a new career in research. He is currently a PhD student at the University of Naples in Italy.