NR: I am a Doctor and Scientific researcher in genetics. In my medical role, I am Head of the Cancer Genetics Service at the Royal Marsden Hospital in England. We see families in which a genetic cause of cancer is being considered. We evaluate the likely genetic contribution, undertake genetic testing in cancer patients and their relatives and advise on potential options for screening and preventative measures. In my scientific role I am Head of the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology at the Institute of Cancer Research. My team identifies genes that predispose to cancer. I particularly work on breast cancer, ovarian cancer and childhood cancers. The link with the clinic is very strong and allows us to translate our scientific findings back into clinic to benefit patients. We are currently particularly focussing on using new sequencing technologies to increase the accessibility of gene testing to benefit cancer patients and their relatives, through an initiative called the Mainstreaming Cancer Genetics programme (www.mcgprogramme.com). I love both the scientific and clinical dimensions to my work and feel tremendously lucky to be able to work on things that are both useful and endlessly fascinating.

NR: Music has been a life-long passion of mine. I couldn’t imagine a day without music in some form (even if just singing in the shower!). I don’t know where it comes from, I’m a complete outlier in my family, although my son is very musically talented (one could contemplate the contribution of nature vs nurture!). I learnt the piano as a child, after begging for lessons for quite some time, but am very mediocre. However, I can sing and I have always written songs and harmonies without really thinking about it, and without any formal training. Over the years I have done various different things, but gradually found it increasingly difficult to fit in organised musical activities. So, a couple of years ago I decided to start recording my own songs and I’ve really loved it. Initially I was just doing it as a musical outlet for myself, but last year I posted some of my songs online and had a really positive response, which was unexpected and lovely. I now have over 1000 followers and have been inspired to make an album which I am hoping to release sometime in 2013. My songs tend be stories about the complexities of life, with lush harmonies, quite a jazzy feel and I have a fondness for a slinky bass line.

NR: Overall I don’t think so. My singing and songwriting are very instinctive, I don’t work out what to sing and am pretty fluid about notes and timing, whereas my science is iterative, meticulous and I’m very pedantic (as my students would likely testify with a heartfelt sigh). However, in producing the tracks for the album my scientific approach has rather come out; I want every note and sound to be the right one. My producer, Joe (from www.auburnjammusic.com), is both amazingly talented and very patient! Fortunately he also has a passion for detail, so it’s worked out well and I’ve loved working with him on the album.

[Check out Nazneen on SoundCloud, like the song “Running Wild.“]

NR: Until I put my music online I had, moreorless, kept my music and my science separate. But of course the internet is an open place, so pretty quickly people started to make the link. Initially, this made me anxious, but I don’t think there has been any negativity, perhaps a little surprise that I’d never mentioned it before. I can’t quite remember why I decided to keep these two very important strands of my life separate. For certain when I was younger I thought my music might make people take me less seriously scientifically, but I also did like having something to escape to that was completely removed from the day-job.

NR: Yes I think so. I love words and communicating with words, whether in lyrics, or research papers, or presentations, or in explaining things to patients. I love the way a few well-chosen words can distill something complex into something simple. How words can be so beautiful and so powerful. Words are the common thread and joy of many of the things I do, scientifically and creatively.

NR: It’s an interesting question. I would certainly like some of the perceptions about scientists, particularly women scientists, to become less one-dimensional. I am becoming increasingly engaged in thinking about new ways in which to reach people, particularly with the Mainstreaming Cancer Genetics programme, which will need to communicate broadly to many different groups to be successful. One of the benefits of my ‘creative side’ is that I have quite a lot of creative friends. One of my closest friends is a brilliant playwright who has recently got funding to write a play based on a genetic theme which came out of the hours I spent bending her ear about it! Music and science are already entwined in many ways and I would quite like to develop ways to use music to teach new audiences about science.

[Video of Nazneen talking about ovarian cancer discoveries made possible by funding from Cancer Research UK.]