Ruth Tipples

Department Manager, Department of Infectious Disease

"I enjoy facilitating the interactions between academics and operational services so that the academics can get on and do what they do best: teach and research.  When someone has been successful in obtaining a new grant or fellowship and are appreciative for the help my team and I have provided them on the way, it makes the job worth it”. 

"I joined Imperial on a temporary basis when I moved to the UK from New Zealand and 20 years later I’m still here having undertaken many different roles within Faculty of Medicine, and having met many people I now consider not only work colleagues but good friends outside of work.  Some key influencers over my time at Imperial have been Jonathan Weber, Myra McClure, Jo Thompson, Michelle Coupland, Azra Ghani, Christl Donnelly, Nick Grassly, Tim Hallett, Siobhain Griffin, Neil Ferguson to name a few.  They have encouraged me and put my name forward for opportunities I wouldn’t have necessarily considered otherwise.  Each of them have excelled in their own careers and been role models in demonstrating what you can achieve when you set your mind to a goal.  

"My key philosophy is always to do the best I can with a smile, and if I can take the time to help someone else along the way, then this will be returned if I need assistance in the future. My advice to others would be to recognise that everyone in the Institution, from the Provost to the cleaners, has a part to play in achieving Imperial objectives, so treating everyone with care and respect makes the workplace a much more pleasant place to be."