Born in London, England, I grew up in Canada, after my parents emigrated here when I was young. We were a military family, moving from Nova Scotia to the Yukon then Trenton and my father’s final posting in southern Germany. While we were living there, my father took early retirement from the Canadian Air Force and then a position with the Canadian government, still in Germany. I finished high school and attended the University of Aberdeen, studying pharmacology. After completing my studies, I joined the toxicology department at the Research and Development Division of Syntex Pharmaceuticals in Edinburgh. Syntex was a multinational, California based company where I had the opportunity to develop my career in drug development. After 7 years in toxicology and moved over to Regulatory Affairs, attracted by juxtaposition of science and drug regulation. I became a committed Regulatory Affairs Strategist, specializing in clinical regulatory aspects of drug development. After Syntex, I worked in small to medium sized pharmaceutical companies, gaining experience in a variety of therapeutic areas and with regulatory authorities in US, Europe, Canada and Japan.