I think it’s hard to choose one moment or hurdle. I think the hardest moments, which I’m sure many researchers can relate to, are when the ‘dark’ stars in life appear to align, and I have experienced this kind of astrological phenomenon myself even quite recently. You know the kind of period in life where you are working with a challenging client(s) or colleague (though thankfully, I’ve had nothing but incredibly supportive colleagues in recent years/roles), or on a challenging project(s) – which are all manageable on their own… but then this is layered with team absences or challenges, which aligns with teen-troubles at home, which aligns with a leak springing up in your house, and your dog is sick (on your fancy rug no-less), and then maybe your car breaks down, and your energy bills are about to go up…

Sometimes it feels like the universe is betting against you, and life feels relentlessly difficult and you’re spinning a thousand cracked or broken plates – which in a challenging and dynamic industry like ours it can be hard to manage. Thankfully, as I alluded to, in recent years I’ve worked with nothing but supportive colleagues which is fantastic and makes the world of difference, but in the past, I’ve felt like I’m working with people who don’t want me to succeed, and that is one of life’s biggest challenges, both in and out of work. This is why I always have the default mindset that whomever I’m working with is likely trying their hardest and wants us both to do well, and to treat people with kindness and support. 

We’re all still riding the wave of AI as it continues to be developed and refined for our specific research use cases. As a qualitative researcher, I can already see people’s interest in qual at scale is vastly increasing – though, conversely, many clients also still want to be in the room with the end users of their brand. I believe both ends of the scale are incredibly important options in the qual tool kit and foresee demand for both increasing in the coming months and years (which I’m really excited about).

I also believe that while there’s already a growing trend for companies to do more to look after their people (across the supply chain) and planet, there’s still a way to go here. Plus, these are both challenges that can be as equally negatively impacted as they can be vastly improved by AI – so I imagine demand for knowledge, skills and training for/from researchers in these areas will considerably increase. 

I have been so lucky throughout my career to have many inspiring team leads, managers, and mentors, right from my first toe-in-the-water of the insights world back in my internship at Orange/EE, (guided by Nick Bonney and Anna Thomas, plus everyone else in the amazing insights team there) through to my latest roles in both Human8 (most recently under the guidance of Kev Lacey) and Toluna (thank you to Lucia Juliano, Claudia Strauss and Louis Wright for your trust and support). Some of my best friends are also people I have met through my work in research – they have been shoulders to cry on, people to belly-laugh with, people to walk home drunk with, roommates, therapists, bridesmaids and so much more. I came into research very young, and the people I have met along the way have had a profound effect on shaping me as the full-grown functioning human that I am today.

Thank you to every single person for making me who I am (I’m sorry I don’t have space to list everyone, but you all know who you are). I was also lucky enough to be under the guidance of both the late great Ken Parker and Andy Cumming; their passion for, and willingness to invest time in, budding researchers is something I was lucky enough to experience firsthand and I will never forget their kindness. I’d like to wrap up by saying how blown away I am by how kind and generous many people in the industry are willing to be with their time and knowledge, including many who don’t even know me that well/have only had very little cross over with me – most recently Sinead Jefferies, Sarah Jenkins and Karen Schofield. Thank you all.

• The full MRS Research Heroes list for 2025 can be found here.