Beatrice studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge and was awarded an MSci (First Class with honours) in 2009. She stayed at Cambridge to undertake PhD studies under the supervision of Professor Matthew Gaunt in the field of transition metal catalysis and in 2014 moved to the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, where she spent two years undertaking postdoctoral research with Nobel Laureate Professor Ben Feringa in the field of molecular switches and motors. In 2016 she moved back to the UK to take up a postdoctoral research position in the group of Professor Varinder Aggarwal FRS at the University of Bristol. In 2018 Beatrice was awarded a prestigious Royal Society University Research Fellowship, allowing her to establish an independent research career at the University of Bristol. Beatrice’s research focuses on using modern synthetic methodologies for the design and development of autonomously operating molecular motors and on understanding the out-of-equilibrium regimes under which these systems operate. Beatrice’s research is supported with funding from the Royal Society, The Leverhulme Trust, and EPSRC, and in early 2021 Beatrice was appointed to a proleptic lectureship at the University of Bristol. Later in 2021 Beatrice took a period of maternity leave following the birth of her first child, Gwen.

“Historically, women have been acutely underrepresented in my field of research – synthetic organic chemistry. The “leaky pipeline” is very evident and as I have progressed through my career I have watched with sadness as the number of women declines at each new stage. While there have always been a handful of brilliant women in senior positions, women whose ground-breaking research has inspired and encouraged me, models of a research career which included raising children were few and far between. For a long time, it wasn’t clear to me whether it was even possible to take time away from leading a research group and the associated fast-paced world of research to raise a child. However, with the support of the University, the School of Chemistry, and my funders, I am proud that over the last year I have built something that works for me, my family, and my research. I took 8 months maternity leave after my daughter was born. During this time, my group were supported by my amazing colleagues, and I was able to use “keeping in touch” days to continue to guide the intellectual direction of our research programme. Our funders were flexible and accommodating and my return to work has been supported by the University’s “Returning Carers’ Scheme” which has given me the required time and space to re-build the research momentum of the group. Ultimately, there is no “right” way of balancing a research career with raising a family or other caring commitments, but I feel that the School of Chemistry has supported me as I have worked out what works for me. As more men take paternity or parental leave, and, as a society, as we increasingly recognise and value the importance of supporting other forms of leave, which may be needed for many reasons, I believe that we will increasingly see that taking periods of leave within our careers will be no barrier to an ambitious and successful research career.”