Academia needs fixing

I’m a postdoc at the Salk Institute studying T cells, circadian rhythms, and cancer immunotherapy. I did my undergrad, masters, and PhD at the University of Cambridge. After ten years in the UK, I was desperate to move somewhere where ambition was more culturally celebrated. I’ve now been in San Diego since January 2025. I love the idea of academic research, and I love many facets of it in reality too, but my firsthand experience has also left me somewhat jaded. I have written previously about the perverse incentives that drive someone to do a PhD, the problems with traditional academic publishing, how the hiring process for wet-lab scientists is not fit for purpose, how bias seeps into academic research at every layer, and more. During the BBI, I wish to explore meta-scientific topics more deeply, focusing on the future of human talent. For example, how will incoming advances in robotics alter the structures and incentives within academic labs?

Obsessive scientist who sometimes does other stuff too.

I just really like learning new things. This includes being the first human ever to learn some new bit of information–which is what scientific discovery is. The best way to learn is to experiment and to do. This includes in the lab, but also logically stress-testing ideas in essays or open debate. When I’m not in the lab, my wife and I like to go to cafés (I’m fairly deep down the speciality coffee rabbit hole), which is where I do most of my reading and writing. I’ve also always been into fitness and sports (playing, not watching). Since being in San Diego this has mainly taken the form of running, surfing, and pickleball. I am quite well-travelled, mainly thanks to my fantastic parents, and I’m quite a competitive person, mainly thanks to my two brothers. My role model is Aristotle.