‘My Autism Is Helping Me Find A Vaccine For Covid-19'

Dr Camilla Pang, 28, is autistic and a scientist from Monmouthshire who works for a pharmaceutical company. She is part of a team at University College London researching a vaccine for COVID-19.

- Helen Carroll

I was five when I started to feel like a stranger among my species: someone who understood the words but couldn’t speak the language. I’ll never forget asking my mum, ‘Is there an instruction manual for humans?’ Things began to make sense for my family when, aged eight, I was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

People with autism have a harder time processing and understanding events – we have no filter in what we see or say, get easily overwhelmed and can display idiosyncratic behaviours so our talents can be overlooked.