I was an undergraduate and a postgraduate at the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR), University of Southampton, during which time I played in the university orchestra, sang in the chamber choir and Light Opera Society, and studied acoustics. For a year while writing up my PhD (on geoacoustic inversion in shallow water) I sang with the choir at Lichfield Cathedral. Three years at Arup Acoustics followed, which fulfilled an early ambition: working on the acoustic design of concert halls and opera houses. Since 2003 I have been working on photoacoustic imaging and biomedical ultrasound in the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering at University College London. I am currently Professor of Biomedical Acoustics, and a member of the Photoacoustic Imaging and Biomedical Ultrasound research groups.