Steve Kassem: Neuroscientist who maps brains

The first interviewee for Future of Work column.

It was my boyfriend who first introduced me to Steve Kassem, a young neuroscientist from Sydney. “You’ll love him: he’s so interesting – and a genius," he told me, knowing how I felt about geniuses (very positively). 

I was hooked – who was this person? A young neuroscientist with the gift of the gab? I was writing a science article at the time and needed a super smart person to answer all my questions without telling me it was “not their area of expertise” (memo to all scientists: you’re ALREADY experts in EVERYTHING when it comes to the average person, so please just comment). 

Steve not only obliged, but went above and beyond. Since then, we’ve forged a friendship and try to catch up anytime I’m in Sydney and he’s down in Melbourne. He’s a fascinating character with a larger-than-life personality, intellect and heart.

So it’s fitting that he start off this column of mine about people who do interesting jobs. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.