I am currently Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Liverpool, which is actually my home town and continues to fascinate me. I have moved around though! After graduating in Chemistry and then a PhD in Biophysics in the UK, I did a post-doc at NIH studying membrane fusion mechanisms. I only really found my metier after moving for a second post-doc to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. This was a great environment to learn intricate cell biology techniques and remains a strong influence on how we approach our science. After establishing my own laboratory at Liverpool, we initially focused on the interplay between endosomal membrane trafficking and cell signaling. This ultimately led me to ubiquitin biology and to the deubiquitylases (DUBs). We laid down the concept that a balance between ubiquitin ligase and deubiquitylase activities determine receptor fate at the endosome. Since then we have been interested in identifying DUBs germane to oncology and neurodegeneration, with the aim of mechanistic understanding. In recent years, I have been pleased to work together with industry partners to drive the development of DUB inhibitors. I now look forward to working with Entact on the next phase of the DUB translational story — harnessing rather than inhibiting their activity.