Professor Dame Carol Robinson is the first female Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University, having previously been the first woman in the same role at Cambridge University. She left school at 16 and later took a long career break to raise her three children, yet her pioneering work is helping to improve drug design for conditions from cancer to schizophrenia.

In March she was named the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women In Science European Laureate for 2015. The programme has honoured 87 laureates globally since 1998 for excellence in science, including two who later won the Nobel prize.

Robin Yapp: What were your career ambitions when you left school and how did you achieve so much in the academic world having missed out on higher education?

Prof Robinson: I never planned a career in academia or science – it just happened. All I knew was I loved chemistry at school, so I decided I’d continue in science. I was encouraged to study for a degree part-time and was later accepted to do a PhD at the University of Cambridge. When I was appointed research professor at the University of Oxford, I felt I had achieved a career in science.

“The opportunities to present research, interact at conferences and carry out collaborations across the world are tremendously exciting.”

What is the significance, for a lay audience, of the work for which you’ve gained recognition from the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme?

I work on membrane protein complexes, which act as the gatekeepers to cells controlling the import and export of molecules in and out of cells. They can open and close and let the drug back out of the target cell, making it less efficient. The better we understand how these gatekeepers work, the better we can design drugs.

How does the programme advance the cause of women scientists? Can you envisage gender equality, meaning it’s no longer needed?

Programmes like this are helping to put women scientists on the world stage and celebrate their successes. They also encourage mentoring and I feel this is an important part of getting women to stay and progress in science. More programmes now exist to address this but there’s still a lot more we can do until there is gender equality in science.

You took an eight-year career break to start raising a family. What would you say to women who feel they have to choose between having a family and achieving their professional potential?

I’m often asked this and my answer is always the same: do what you feel is right for you. I have no regrets. Equally, I’ve seen women cope extremely well with balancing motherhood and academia. I’m a strong advocate of how flexible a career in science can be – don’t think of it as being stuck in the lab all day. The opportunities to present research, interact at conferences and carry out collaborations across the world are tremendously exciting.

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You’ve sometimes used unorthodox methods in your research. Have you ever felt your freedom to experiment has been restricted by outside pressures or perceptions?

No, I always felt confident in my work, but it was personal confidence I lacked. I felt my unconventional start was a huge disadvantage but my methods have paid off! As I get older, and maybe wiser, I’ve become less worried about what people think of me and more confident to say what I really think.

Are there still barriers to women advancing in science at leading UK universities and in the private sector? If so, what needs to change?

It’s very much still perceived as a man’s world and it really shouldn’t be. One of the main issues is the lack of role models. When I was young there were none, apart from the obvious Dorothy Hodgkin or Marie Curie. The long hours culture conflicts with family life and in my opinion this is the biggest perceived obstacle for women entering academia.

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It’s a rare event when a politician puts his personal and professional reputation on the line but the highly regarded, lifelong Labour MP Michael Meacher is doing just that. His latest book, Destination of the Species: The Riddle of Human Existence, launches an impassioned plea to the divided worlds of science and religion to put their differences aside, join forces and engage in nothing less than an evolution in human consciousness.

Now working closely with Ed Milliband, Meacher has spent over 40 years in politics with six years as an environment minister within government. He has often been a lone voice against contentious government policies, including those of his own side. He spearheaded a personal challenge against what he believed was an unjust war in Iraq and vehemently opposed many destructive environmental policies.

Caspar Walsh: What makes you believe science and spirituality can work in partnership?

Michael Meacher: There is clearly some kind of intelligent design in how our planet began to evolve life forms and this has continued to evolve into who we are today. Science is now struggling to get its head around the sheer scale and possibility of the universe and the unlimited scope of human consciousness. Science cannot reduce consciousness to fit the models it currently has for understanding the world we live in. Spirituality and faith can help us understand. Scientists are beginning to realise the limitations of sticking to reductionist models.

The Gaia theory [that all living things on Earth form a single, self-regulating complex system] was once seen as a far-fetched concept but as a result in a shift in scientific understanding and study, it is now universally accepted and seen as fact. The evidence of intelligent design is becoming clear.

Our increased secularisation, where science is the overwhelming paradigm, is now beginning to shift towards a bridging of science and spirituality. More and more scientists are opening up to this possibility, and growth materialism is losing favour.

Where are our understandings of the world, through science and religion, leading to?

The question for us is are we humans part of the continuation of this cosmic plan or just a stage in it? Our ruthless unchecked destruction of our planet makes that debatable. Humans are not the pinnacle of evolution but simply a stage in the process. It is essential we all strive for the truth of why we’re here; but I think none of us will ever reach an ultimate truth because ultimate knowledge has no boundary or defining end.

We have achieved great things in science but the greatest individual characteristic of us, as humans, is the emergent property of our spirituality. It is not for us to transform and dominate the world through science and politics, but to transform ourselves.

Would you recommend politics to a newcomer?

I was first going to go into religion, then social work. Politics was last on the list. I wonder if it would have been better if I had stuck to one of the first two. But there is an opportunity for politics to effect real change and to be a wonderfully uplifting experience. Change is always possible.

I would say don’t do it unless you’re doing it for the right reasons. Whatever you do, don’t lose touch with your inner self, with what is driving you. Set your eyes on what’s going to help benefit your fellow citizens not just your self-satisfaction. Don’t lose touch with what needs to be done for others and for your nation.

How important do you believe personal awareness is to those in power?

The only way to deal with the issues that power brings up is personal awareness. There is a desire for some politicians to want to retain power through a simple fear of losing it. Power can be very dangerous, the more power you have, the more you want.

I am guilty of wanting glory. All of our motives are mixed and tangled. The people we need in power are those who really know who they are, and there needs to be an open public assessment of the personality of our leaders. It needs to be transparent and clear so the voting public can really know the true workings of those they are voting in to lead and govern their country.

But ultimately it is people power that will change everything.

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