Being senior enough in the field, having enough solidity, I don't feel afraid of being marginalized.

We're involved in a very large study that's federally funded and being done with Kaiser Permanente, and saliva is a very non-invasive way to get cells from the body.

Ageing is so many different things, and cells being able to self-renew is part of the picture but not all of it.

If we think of our chromosomes - they carry our genetic material - as being like shoelaces, I work on the plastic tips at the end that protect them.

Studying organisms at a molecular level was totally compelling because it was moving from being a naturalist, which was the 19th-century kind of science, to being very focused and really getting to the heart of these molecules.

I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them.