Seeing a strawberry under a microscope in school made Dr Ueli Nachbur fall in love with biology – a passion that drove his career to becoming WEHI’s first Scientist Entrepreneur.

I knew I wanted to be a scientist… when what I saw under the microscope that day left me mesmerised. I remember thinking how the seeds mimicked craters on the Moon’s surface, and my fascination for understanding how nature forms all these little wonders grew from there.

I love being a scientist at WEHI because… I’m surrounded by people who share my scientific passions. WEHI also offers a broad spectrum of scientific opportunities, which is what enabled me to transition from a career in discovery research to drug development.

Being a scientist entrepreneur is exciting as… it allows me to bridge my passions of research and drug development to ultimately benefit patients.

“It’s that possibility of having real impact that drives me out of bed every day (as well as coffee!)”

One of my career highlights has been… helping lead the work on WEHI’s investment in Entact Bio, which is now a well-funded biotech company at the international forefront of protein enhancement. It gave me enormous pride to be a part of this and was a nice reminder of the collective impact my team can bring.

Collaboration to me… is the key to almost everything. Everyone I work with manages to teach me something new every day, and I find that very enriching.