Whether battling climate change, pandemics, particles or diseases, inherently scientists want to contribute to the pursuit of knowledge, to better humanity. Mum always described me as a problem solver, right from a young age. For me, the most important problem I’ve ever wanted to solve was her neurological disorder. That led to doing my honours in neuroscience at the University of Otago. My path has taken me into mental health research; I’m incredibly humbled to have the opportunity to build on the work of the people before me (and around me) to contribute to solving issues like anxiety disorders.