Dr Mariatulqabtiah Abdul Razak, or Maria for short, remembers arriving at Imperial at just 23 years old, the first in her family to study for a PhD. “It was my first time travelling abroad and staying away from my parents. I brought along my favourite Garfield pillow for comfort. I still remember it in the aeroplane cabin!”

She had never intended to leave home to study at all. With First Class Honours awarded for her BSc Biotechnology, she was offered the chance to go straight onto a PhD programme on recombinant virus vaccine sets, spending half her time at Imperial, and half at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). “I thought, this sounds interesting. Let's do it!” she says.

Having met a friend and fellow PhD student on the plane, Maria quickly found a community and a home away from home in Paddington.

She has vivid memories of her early days at St Mary’s Hospital Campus. “It was a gloomy afternoon when I first saw the blue hanging signage of the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum,” she says. “The Fleming Lab, which my father often told me about when I was a child, was located just opposite my own laboratory.”

Maria cites her father as a vital influence on her career choices. “From a very young age, I was drawn to science,” she says. “Even though my dad was not in a science field, he had instilled this vision of his children changing the world through science. He quoted the contributions of Marie Curie – the pioneer of radioactivity – and Alexander Fleming, whose discovery of penicillin has saved millions of lives. He viewed science as a significant tool for addressing real-world challenges.”

At Imperial, she says her supervisor, Professor Mike Skinner, was also an inspiring influence, not only supporting her research, but showing her how to live a balanced life as a scientist. “He always found time to go diving,” she laughs. “He enjoys life without compromising impact.” She has always sought female role models too and was happy to collaborate with Professor of Virology Wendy Barclay, who she describes as “an amazing scientist – humble, helpful and sincere.”

After completing her PhD in Clinical Medicine Research, becoming the first graduate of the Malaysia-Imperial Doctoral Programme, Maria returned to Malaysia to join the Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science at UPM. Benefiting from the mentorship of valued colleagues, she was quickly promoted to Associate Professor and is now Deputy Dean of Industry and Community Relations for the Faculty. Maria is also a Visiting Associate Professor of Shizuoka University, Japan.