Plans & Prospects 2023

what I wanted, and that’s what I still
love about it here today. We don’t have
upper and lower common rooms, we
have one mixed room. We don’t have
a high table. I just felt I was amongst
my own people. I felt a shared vision,
common interests, and more or less the
same values.
Above: Mootaz with his Oxford Colleagues
Below: Receiving the Young Neuroscientist of the Year Award from the International Society of
Neurochemistry in Honolulu, Hawaii
Wherever life takes you,
don’t go alone
Regardless of the institution, working in
science research comes with challenges,
setbacks and cumulative achievements
that you simply can’t reach on your
own. Back when I was a PhD student, I
went to my supervisor with a proposal
to work on a huge paper that could
be a game-changer. Like anything
in life, there are certain journals in
academia that are more popular than
others. In the field of science, it’s three
journals called Cell, Nature and Science
(scientists tend to collectively call them
CNS as they are the central nervous
system of science and discovery), and
they were what we were aiming for.
With three main authors, it took us
five years to complete this paper with
contributions from 13 institutions. We
submitted it, and after all that hard
work, we got rejected. It was such a
heartbreaking moment.
But there was something in me that
decided to stand up and not take no
for an answer. We agreed to try again
together and we were determined to
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earn it. And guess what? We fought, and
got in. It was such a team effort. More
importantly, we currently have a drug
candidate that is about to start phase I/
II human clinical trials. Between the three
of us as authors of the paper, we’ve got
three fellowships, three major honours
and more than 250 citations in just three
years and I am sure that more will come
in the future.
For anyone wanting to go into the
world of scientific research, I’d say make
sure you’re doing it because you are
passionate about it. To be honest, it’s
not the most financially rewarding job,
and many people talk about the cons
of this kind of high-pressure work, but
there are so many pros. It’s like buying
a house; you’re not just paying for the
bricks, you’re paying for the view and
the neighbourhood. For the community.
In science, you’re always surrounded
by people who are motivated, driven,
passionate, and smart. It’s rare to find the
same mass density in other professions,
so it’s such a stimulating environment.
Meeting people, exchanging ideas, and
having your own ideas challenged: these
aren’t just trials to overcome but a
privilege and relief. You need to dream
big but remember the hard work that it
takes to get there. Success is just the tip
of the iceberg, so enjoy the journey and
make some friends along the way.