Carlton Hill, Edinburgh (Diana Eastman Photography)
Actual name is Claire, in case you didn’t know.
Born and raised in a picturesque and quaint corner of Scotland called the East Neuk of Fife, I believed from an early age that I would stay there my whole life. I loved Scotland and saw my beautiful Edinburgh as ideal the place to call home: for studying, working and settling down. I lamented in the back of my head that I wasn’t more well-travelled, but…well…we can’t have everything, can we?
Then something happened. I unexpectedly landed a 12 month chemistry placement in Philadelphia, USA (unexpected because (a) the year of global recession saw placement opportunities dry up before our horrified eyes (b) that GSK post was the last internship I intended to apply for before calling my search off). Working, travelling, taking up crazy new hobbies for a year in a new country turned all my preconceived ideas upside-down: the whole world literally opened upon before me. I didn’t have to live the rest of my life in Scotland; I didn’t have to lament being poorly travelled, I could work to change the situation. I also realised that Chemistry & Science was my passion, and I wished to commit my life and education to pursuing it.
That was 2009-10. In 2011 I graduated with an MChem in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh. In 2013 I got my Organic Chemistry PhD at Rutgers University in the USA. I’ve also lived in Basel, London and Atlanta…and hope to live in many more places.
St Andrews Lynx's Blog 
I love you. You are the lynx. I am the snowshoe hare. We will together love and die in cycles of blood and snow in the high Canadian arctic. Amen.
Substitute “Canadian arctic” with “Scottish tundra” and I’ll be in absolute agreement.
I have a question. I am an MS student in Chemistry, shifting to a Ph D in Chemical Education in a different university. My relationship with my advisor is not great and hence I am not taking letters of recommendation from her. Do you think that would affect my chances of getting into the Ph. D program?
I think that admissions committees would expect to see a letter from your advisor when you apply to their program, and would be concerned if you didn’t supply it. They might think that your advisor refused to write you a letter, for example (which would be a sign that the PI really didn’t think you were suited for graduate work, or did something seriously wrong in their lab).