Katey Rayner: Always Asking Questions.

Abstract

As the youngest of five sisters, Katey Rayner could perhaps have been at risk of being overshadowed. But that never happened. As a child, she was outspoken, always debating, dissecting people’s arguments, and constantly asking, why? In those early days, the endless questioning was a way to rationalize and understand the world. But by the time Rayner was an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto, the questions became more focused: How do diseases happen? What are their molecular pathologies? How can they be treated? Later in her career, Rayner added new, equally important questions: How do I give a talk? How do I write a grant? How do I write an article? These questions were aimed at garnering advice, but not necessarily to follow, she says. Rayner curates advice, essentially polling people to see what’s out there. And this aspect of her character, she insists, helps her achieve her goals and stay one step ahead when making career plans. Rayner is currently the Director of the Cardiometabolic MicroRNA Laboratory at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, where she and her team investigate how microRNAs contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and how microRNAs may be used to treat cardiovascular diseases in the future.1,2 I grew up in Ottawa, Canada, where I am now. The summers are very hot and the winters are very cold—as a kid, I walked backwards to school because the wind was so cold in my face. But it’s also so snowy and sunny that there are a lot of activities you can do, like skiing and ice-skating, which makes it fun. No. I always really liked school. It was something that came easily to me—I was a typical bookworm. But I wasn’t particularly fascinated with nature. One of the things I always …