There are many instances when a doctor becomes a leader in their field and wins prestigious awards, but only happened to fall in to their area of expertise by chance—an accident of circumstance. Ammar Al-Chalabi, Professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics at Kings College London KCL; London, UK) is one of these cases. From a young age, Al-Chalabi was intent on practicing medicine, aiming for the heights of the Australian Flying Doctor Service. His resolve was truly tested when he faced rejection from medical school 14 times over three years, before being accepted by Leicester University (Leicester, UK). He attributes his steadfast pursuit of medicine to his father, who held the belief that “failure is fine as long as you keep trying and always give it your best shot”. That is what he did.

During his childhood and adolescent years Al-Chalabi moved countries five times, relocating with his father’s job at British Petroleum, attending seven different schools, which he laughs off as helpful for “teaching me to get on with people”. After medical school in Leicester, he moved to London to do a PhD and Nigel Leigh, a leading specialist in motor neuron disease happened to offer him a post that “suited him and suited me”, Al-Chalabi recalls. With Leigh, he obtained his PhD, won the prestigious Charcot Young Investigator Award, and cemented his future in neurology, specifically genetics and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research.