A massive massive MASSIVE thank you to you all for your support on Twitter and beyond. I have a date with @NIHRresearch to discuss my experiences of discrimination from their interview panel. It’s taken 2 years and 7 months -and a Twitter movement to make it happen. This movement included the Beyoncé of academia @trishgreenhalgh , @soniajohnson the Taylor Swift, @Emmafreud (a true highlight for my mental health team - YES she is related to Freud), the wonderful @caitlinmoran amongst many many others. I thank you all. Sadly my academic mentor who would have been my PhD supervisor, Prof Elizabeth Murray, passed away in April this year, and in Farsi we would say 'her space is empty'. She taught me and many other women to be the best that we can be. She is also the reason why I released my NIHR experience to the general public. After she passed away, I stopped reading @bmj_latest . If I am completely honest, for years I had only really read the obituaries. When she died, I couldn’t face reading her obituary. The BMJs began to pile up. My husband teased me, asking if I would like the BMJs to go straight from the doormat to recycling bin. That night, my middle daughter was ill and spiking temperatures when she finally fell asleep - I was unable to sleep myself. I was staring at the BMJ, and suddenly thought, ‘What would Elizabeth do?’ So I decided to be brave and read the BMJ. Elizabeth was truly fearless, and even as she was dying, she said, “I have few regrets. I, Elizabeth Murray, have had a great life.” So for Elizabeth Murray, I opened the BMJ. The Lasker paper caught my attention and sparked a fire in me. So even in her afterlife, Elizabeth is championing women. To continue in her spirit, I ask to hear all the voices. If you have experienced any discrimination from medical funders, I am compiling anonymised letters, so that together we can demonstrate that these problems are endemic and can only be addressed through structural change. Can we hear all the voices? PM me any experiences and please RT + share widely.

Smart. Talented. Compassionate. Activist. Pragmatic. Powerful. Doctor. Surgeon. Mother. Female. Chief executive @EvelinaLondon @GSTTnhs BOOOOOM Well done @gubby_ayida - one of the most inspiring leaders I know! guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/news/… #MedTwitter

Have you read Race&Gender Inequity paper @bmj_latest ? Are you surprised? I am not. For too long women have been subject to bias & discrimination. A call to action for all those in academia. Read about my experience @NIHRresearch bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p100… It's time to #SpeakOut

OMG. Explaining to my non medic husband who @trishgreenhalgh is “she is like the Beyonce of the academic world”. I literally have goosebumps. Thank you for sharing, supporting and helping get the conversation going. Time to #speakout

1/ Well not bad for a days work! The most exposing & brave thing I have done in workplace. It’s a decision that took 2 years to make & @bmj_latest paper to spark it. If you want to pm me re experience -I am hear to listen. It’s time to #SpeakOut about UK funders