Dr Jie Song is a plant scientist who joined Imperial in 2014 and is currently a Royal Society University Research Fellow in Life Sciences. Her research focuses on molecular networks throughout plant development. She first studied flowers, later the entire plants, and then the regeneration of plants.

"The more I study plants, the more surprises they give me. I get to know how dynamic and active they are. There is so much going on within the plants for things we take for granted, for example, growing roots back from cuttings or timing their flowers and fruit to align with the seasons, and plants are doing this all so well, rarely making any mistakes. Some molecules plants use to achieve these goals are similar to those in mammals. However, plants can regenerate from a tiny piece of tissue whilst we can’t grow ourselves from shed skin! I have more questions than when I started and this makes research even more interesting.

I love working in a multicultural team. Research labs are almost always international. I did my first degree in China and my postgraduate in the UK. I feel extremely fortunate to have met and worked with so many brilliant scientists along my career, from all over the world. It is very interesting to see how education and research is done in a different way.

I enjoy teaching and working with the next generation. I was incredibly lucky have learned from great mentors throughout my education and research career. Now in a world leading university, I feel privileged to be part of the learning journey of many young budding scientists, engineers, etc. They also give me fresh ideas for my research.

I really appreciate the support and nurturing environment in my workplace. My colleagues are super supportive. We cover each other in case of unplanned absence. We look at each other’s work and give feedback. We share facilities and resources – oh yes research sometimes is quite expensive or unaffordable if all done by one lab alone. I have used and value the flexible working arrangements and training opportunities from Imperial."