Dr Zoë Ayres
Trying to leave things better than I find them
Analytical Scientist 👩🔬 #AcademicMentalHealth advocate 🌱 Founder VoicesofAcademia.com 💬 Author of "Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD" 📘 ADHDer 💚 Proud mum 👶 she/her. Views mine.
- FWIW I think that this is exactly what making Twitter untenable for a lot of us was about; Destroying our networks, and by doing so breaking connections and community, and in doing so wearing down our hope that together as a collective we CAN make a difference. We can. We still can.
- You all fairing alright because it's quite challenging to not absorb all of the bin fire of news at the moment isn’t it?
- I don't think I'm being dramatic when I say that workloads going from 5 person teams to 1 person has the potential to harm. It's egregious.
- Missing from the coverage of redundancies at Edinburgh: this was done in such a haphazard, uncoordinated way, there are now core teams who have gone from 5 people to 1 with no change in workload or pressure and huge loss in knowledge of institutional process. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2576321...
- Having the patio redone and got a time capsule because why not? What am I putting in it?
- This hits hard this morning. I have ADHD. I was diagnosed via Right to Choose. I am currently being denied access to meds because the NHS are refusing to, despite me following due process as they are prioritising younger people due to lack of funds. Wouldn't deny me heart meds though would they?
- For what it's worth I think all of the following can all be true at the same time: -Detection of microplastics via analytical techniques can be really challenging due to detection limits -Some scientific papers out there are poor and lack rigour -Microplastics are bad for human health
- ‘A bombshell’: doubt cast on discoveries of #microplastics throughout human body, from brain to blood, arteries to testes Exclusive: Some scientists say many detections are most likely error, with one high-profile study called a ‘joke’ Story by me www.theguardian.com/environment/...
- The first Voices of Academia blog of 2026 A journey from researcher to research enabler: A story of acceptance and shifting identity by Sarah Masefield "...I’m not a researcher now. I was outmanoeuvred by the system." voicesofacademia.com/2026/01/09/a...
- Reposted by Dr Zoë Ayres[This post could not be retrieved]
- Toddler having major surgery followed by chickenpox the following day was not on my bingo card. Thankfully recovering slowly and out of hospital now but what a wild few days.
- My daughter's hip operation was successful yesterday. So so grateful 🙏
- Reposted by Dr Zoë AyresLeaders at @ukri.org should be seriously looking at the lottery first idea. 68% lower economic costs, increase in diversity of award holders and well received. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Been going for a half an hour walk each day for the last few weeks, which is a big change for me, and I'm horrified to report it's actually helping loads
- Reposted by Dr Zoë Ayres[Not loaded yet]
- My hot take: if your assessments fall down the moment you make disability accommodations, your assessment is shit. Do better.
- Reposted by Dr Zoë Ayres[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Dr Zoë Ayres[Not loaded yet]
- Got an unsolicited "love you mama" tonight from the kiddo for the first time this evening Followed swiftly by "cuddle mummy's eyes" *attempts to hug only my eyes* Toddler chaos at its best
- Needed this today (chicken noodle soup)
- Sometimes think about the Prof who said I should "f*ck off and die", described me as "not very bright" in a group meeting, because of my mental health work (despite having not met me). And that the university did nothing despite there being a recording. It's rather motivating to keep speaking up.
- Reposted by Dr Zoë Ayres[Not loaded yet]
- Just reached the "a new notebook will fix all my problems" for the 13th time this year
- Saw something (can't remember the source, sorry) about how leadership is not about being liked or fully understood in the moment but operating on doing what's right for the long term, even when some people don't get the direction. And that resonated a lot. Takes a lot to be strong in your conviction
- Little ones surgery was scheduled for tomorrow, cue her projectile vomiting today (yay toddler life), despite us isolating for a week, and now it's rescheduled for the week before Christmas. I guess I'm learning to be resilient as we go, because gosh this is a rollercoaster of shit proportions.
- Reposted by Dr Zoë Ayres📣 New NBER Working Paper out today 📣 "The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct" Sarah Cohodes & Katherine Leu
- Puzzlewood looking magical today
- Daughter has started saying "little" and "biggie" to describe things and "biggie spoon" cracks me up every time. Sounds like a 90s rapper.
- Always imagined I might garden with a future child at some point in my life. Something truly spectacular to suddenly realise you are living an actual dream.
- We are looking for bloggers for Voices of Academia for 2026. If you'd like to make a difference by sharing your mental ill-health experience whilst being in academia, please find out more and submit a pitch here: voicesofacademia.com/contact-2/
- Every time I see a job advert saying they are seeking a "highly motivated" individual I let out a tiny scream.
- Alan Carr on a wobbly bridge is exactly what I pay my TV licence for.
- Reposted by Dr Zoë Ayres[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Dr Zoë Ayres[Not loaded yet]
- We found out last week our daughter has hip dysplasia and needs surgery next month. I cannot tell you how much the realisation that I cannot protect our little girl from the world hurts. I'm so anxious and just want her to be okay. The hope is if they operate she'll be completely fixed.
- Have had a really productive day today then the panic has set in that maybe this level of productivity is "normal"
- People often ask what the point of an ADHD diagnosis is, and this is what I've got: I look back at myself in my 20s and think "I should have been kinder to her". I already know I won't look back at my 30s and think the same. I no longer hate myself. I've given myself permission to thrive.
- Given up on the concept of being "well-rounded". I'm more like a hexagon, and depending on what side I happen to accidently roll I get work, family, exercise, hobbies or a tidy house. None can co-exist.
- Felt shit, made him lunch
- Reposted by Dr Zoë Ayres[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Dr Zoë AyresLol the Nobels can't even acknowledge women's contribution to discovery. But sure let's acknowledge The Machines.
- Reposted by Dr Zoë Ayres[Not loaded yet]
