Paul Drayson speaks to Joanna Carpenter 

‘Heart beating, you want to do well, the adrenaline is racing.’ Paul Drayson gets a lot out of life. The former Defence Minister resigned from the government last November to pursue his dream of international motor racing and drive in the 2008 American Le Mans Series. ‘There are some real similarities to what it feels like to be sitting on the grid waiting for the race to start and sitting on the front bench in the Houses of Parliament waiting to stand up and answer questions,’ he says. ‘I’ve learnt a lot about how to cope with that pressure. I think that it's going to be helpful in my life now.’

Despite a new job as Science Minister, with a seat in the Cabinet, he is planning to continue racing next year. ‘The Prime Minister supports it,’ he goes on. ‘It’s unusual to have a Minister who does this [but] I really do think it’s important for politicians to have a hinterland, to be real people in the sense that they’re not just 100 per cent encased in politics.’ He’s certainly not been encased in politics all his life. ‘I’ve spent my whole life with science and technology. I absolutely love it; I’ve been a science entrepreneur for twenty years,’ he says.

Vaccine company

‘An interest in cars led me to an engineering degree... I then went on to a PhD in robot technology and applying robots and robotic design to other manufacturing technology, particularly the food industry,’ he adds. Later he co-founded PowderJect, a very successful vaccine company, which he sold in 2003. ‘PowderJect was created out of... a very innovative idea of formulating medicines as tiny particles then injecting them using a helium gas jet to penetrate the skin painlessly – the needle-free injection,’ he says. 

Running a vaccine company led to Westminster and a new passion for communication: ‘While I was running PowderJect, I... found myself having to... explain to politicians and to the media why animal testing of medicines was vital to make sure that they are safe. I found that I really enjoyed it... and so I decided to really focus on that,’ he reveals, adding, ‘It’s partly about being involved in public service, giving something back if you like, but it was also something I found fascinating.’ 

Priorities

His enthusiasm and enjoyment is evident as he sets out his priorities: ‘We’ve created a renaissance in science in the UK. We’ve doubled the science budget, we have fixed the science laboratories so that the science estate is really quite good now. The next challenge is to make sure that the way in which government operates is based on good science across government.

‘I think the main issue [in science policy] is making sure that we maintain our investment... as we go into really quite challenging economic circumstances,’ he says.

‘The second thing is a communication thing... One of the things I’m actively engaged in now is getting people to really consider coming back to science.

‘If people are asking themselves, “What do I do with my life next?” – Come back and teach physics, come back and do that PhD... come back and start a science-based enterprise,’ he exhorts. ‘It’s really vital that young people, particularly children understand that it really is worth going through the hard work that is involved in studying difficult science subjects at school, because of the opportunities that it provides to have a really interesting life... Look at me. I have had a blast.’

Reference

Paul Drayson's American Le Mans Series campaign.

Dr Joanna Carpenter is a freelance science writer and SPA’s Shorts Editor