No Hero Left Unsung
There are few things more inspirational than someone making a positive difference without the need for recognition – but you have to find them first.
When I visited Dublin for the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering’s (ISPE) European conference, I was pleased to find a copy of W.B Yeats’ collected poems sat on the bedside table in my hotel room. I’ve read more than one article pointing out the relevance of a famous line in The Second Coming to current times: “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.” But I think that’s taking things a bit too far – after all, Yeats wrote the poem in the wake of the first world war, the Russian revolution and political upheaval in his native Ireland. Instead, I’d like to reflect on another line in the poem: “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”
To me, Yeats’ line is about how turmoil energizes and empowers the worst of us, while leaving others unsure and afraid, but it also works more generally. During my time at The Medicine Maker, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to many leading scientists, thinkers, and business people passionately working to make the world a better place. Though not lacking in conviction, these people are often remarkably humble, and can be reluctant to shout about themselves.
Cornell Stamoran expresses a similar sentiment beautifully: “I'm frequently inspired by seeing the dedication of ‘unsung’ heroes – people who persevere and perform in important but less visible jobs every single day, without drama or the need to be recognized.”
We understand that such people don’t need recognition, but it is to our industry’s detriment if we fail to do so – whether they like it or not! The pharmaceutical industry does deserve its bad press at times, but is the coverage fair overall? It surely won’t be unless we showcase and celebrate the best our industry has to offer. And if people aren’t given the recognition they deserve, how will others be inspired – as Cornell has been? These questions get to the heart of why we’re proud to bring you The Medicine Maker Power List 2019.
Clearly, many inspirational and talented women and men will not appear in this years’ top 100 – the limitation of a finite list. And so, I urge you to nominate your brilliant, yet underappreciated, colleagues for next years’ list, by emailing me directly: [email protected].
Over the course of my Biomedical Sciences degree it dawned on me that my goal of becoming a scientist didn’t quite mesh with my lack of affinity for lab work. Thinking on my decision to pursue biology rather than English at age 15 – despite an aptitude for the latter – I realized that science writing was a way to combine what I loved with what I was good at.
From there I set out to gather as much freelancing experience as I could, spending 2 years developing scientific content for International Innovation, before completing an MSc in Science Communication. After gaining invaluable experience in supporting the communications efforts of CERN and IN-PART, I joined Texere – where I am focused on producing consistently engaging, cutting-edge and innovative content for our specialist audiences around the world.
