You don’t lack intelligence. You don’t lack effort.
What you lack is the space to think clearly, without a critical voice making your decisions for you.
That is where I come in.
I help life science researchers stop overthinking in and outside the lab, so you can build a satisfying career, not just survive the one you have now. That might mean finishing your PhD, launching a biotech startup or changing fields. All of these are valid. I won’t push you out of academia, and I won’t keep you in it. I’ll help you choose with a clear head.
I know your world from the inside
I have a double master’s in Regenerative Medicine and Technology, and I started my career in the lab. I know what six hours at the confocal microscope feel like, what it means to repeat a gel someone else ruined, and how a four-year PhD contract shapes every plan you make.
I also know the voice. For years, it told me I was mediocre. I thought the cure was doing something hard: if it was hard, it proved I was smart. So I kept choosing what was hardest instead of what was right for me. It took me years to admit the lab wasn’t my place. I don’t want it to take you that long.
I have lived and worked in four European countries, in academia and beyond. I know expat life: the partner in another city, the flight home you can’t book yet, the contract that ends before you know what comes next.
Since 2020, I have been mentoring and coaching scientists.
Why the tools you tried didn’t work
You have probably made to-do lists. But to-do lists assume organisation is the problem, and when everything is urgent, a longer list only adds pressure. You signed up for workshops, then missed them because an experiment ran late. You read about your situation and felt recognised, but understanding something is not the same as changing it.
You are not failing because you aren’t trying hard enough. The tools simply weren’t made for this problem. You don’t fix a flat tyre by pressing harder on the accelerator.
How we work together
Coaching is not therapy. Therapy helps you explore your past and heal. Coaching helps you move forward. I work with researchers who are functioning but keep getting stuck in overthinking, people-pleasing and self-doubt. We look at what is happening now, what you want to change, and what you can start doing differently this week.
We start from evidence, not from a blank page. Your critical voice has been keeping score for years, but it only remembers the crashes. Together, we start recording the good driving too.
What changes
You decide on a direction without asking yourself the same question again and again. You walk into a conversation with your PI knowing what you offer. You ask the technician to focus on your samples, calmly and without guilt. You take a break, and you actually rest.
You don’t need to wait until things become unbearable. These patterns are easier to change sooner rather than later. I offer different levels of support, depending on what you need and how ready you are to act.