Question Author
Both my degrees were obtained from Yorkshire universities, so it came as no surprise that I began lecturing in yet a third Yorkshire university. Over a university career lasting some 38 years, I began teaching mathematics students the Fundamentals of Statistical Theory in groups of 40 or so and ended up teaching medical students Statistical Analysis by Computer Package in groups of about 200 (give or take). Moving to medical applications was a natural step for me, as I quickly learned that many diseases were not well understood ~ and not attracting Grant Money (for a Mathematics Department) would not be likely to be studied. I decided that I would take on such studies as PhD projects ~ and if the research was not funded by external grants, then so be it!
Over the course of time, I published my findings in learned journals including Epidemiology, River Blindness in Africa, prognostic indicators for Severe Head Injuries, effectiveness of treatment of Genuine Stress Incontinence, assessing polychemotherapy in the treatment of Soft Tissue Sarcoma, Strategies for Post-operative Breast Reconstruction, Benign Multiple Sclerosis, and Effective Management of Domestic Violence. All of this had its humble beginnings in jigsaws in Belfast and playing cards on Rocky Island!