“My chosen setting of the Old Combination Room evokes fond memories of gathering together before Hall. Included in the portrait is a 3D-printed model of the mitochondrial ribosome, representing some of my work as a structural biologist.

 During my time at the MRC-LMB I have been inspired by many female scientists. The book shown is a tribute to some of the most successful female scientists who have worked at the institute. I have also included a rowing oar that was gifted to me during my captaincy of the ‘Sirens’. It bears the names of the smart, creative and determined women that have provided much of my support network in Cambridge. Being a female Fellow at Corpus is to be part of an equally strong, motivational and supportive community.”

Nirupa is a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Career Development Fellow studying the molecular mechanisms of telomere maintenance with a particular interest in aberrations associated with malignancy. She is also an Honorary Consultant Haematologist at Addenbooke’s Hospital with an interest in haemato-oncology.

Nirupa did her medical training at the Royal Free and University College Medical School, London and completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge, within the structural studies department at the MRC-Laboratory of Molecular Biology. During her PhD she studied the structure and function of mitochondrial ribosomes by cryo-electron microscopy.