International Day of Women and Girls in Science: Spotlight on Suruthi Gnanenthiran

"Apparently I knew by the age of 9 what I wanted my future to look like and that I wanted to be a scientist." Suruthi Gnanenthiran, Volunteer at Juvenile Arthritis Research

Suruthi joined our volunteer team last year and has been an incredible support to the whole team as well as to parents/carers during our family events including our ParentZoom sessions. 

For International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which happens on 11th February each year, we asked Suruthi about her life as a scientist. Suruthi told us:

Growing up, I loved science but I often worried about following my passion because of my arthritis. However, I was (and still am) very inspired by the story of Dorothy Hodgkin. She is the only British woman to have won a Nobel prize in Chemistry for her work in crystallography, and she achieved this while struggling with her rheumatoid arthritis. Given my own interest in crystallography, I was very moved by her accomplishments! It is always important to remember that I am #MoreThanMyArthritis

Suruthi was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis at the age of 3 and so has a lifetime of experience in living with JIA. It is inspiring to children and young people as well as their parents/carers to hear about how Suruthi has been able to follow her dreams and go into the field of science whilst learning to overcome the challenges of living with JIA. She also loves visiting the alpaca farm in her spare time and going on alpaca walks. 

Here she is with her "I'm more than my arthritis" poster ready for Juvenile Arthritis Month by Juvenile Arthritis Research (JAMJAR) which is happening in March. You can find out more and download your own poster at www.jarproject.org/jamjar

You can read our previous interviews for International Day of Women and Girls in Science as follows:

2023:  International Day of Women and Girls in Science with Dr Stephanie Shoop-Worrall 

2024: International Day of Women and Girls in Science with Dr Lianne Kearsley-Fleet