This summer, I set out to answer a scientific question: do menstrual products release heavy metals, and could this affect people’s health? But what struck me most wasn’t just what I found in the lab,it was the voices and experiences of the people who trusted me with their stories.

The survey I ran ended up being the most meaningful part. I thought of it at first as just “data collection,” but as the responses started coming in, I realised it was people letting me into really personal experiences of menstrual health. Some shared symptoms they’d never connected to products before, others wrote about frustrations or moments of relief, and some simply shared their routines. Reading through those stories felt powerful. It reminded me that research isn’t abstract; it’s about lives, bodies, and voices that often aren’t given space.

The lab side was a completely different beast. Honestly, a lot of it was frustrating; protocols going wrong, contamination messing up results, equipment that just wouldn’t cooperate. I had days where I left feeling like I’d achieved nothing. But every time I got discouraged, I thought about the survey responses. That made it feel worth pushing through, because the work wasn’t just about numbers on a page,it connected back to people’s lived realities.

When I finally brought the pieces together, the story they told was striking. Tampons were leaching measurable levels of lead in my experiments, while menstrual cups released much less. And then, almost in parallel, the survey showed tampon users reporting more symptoms. It was one of those moments where lab results and real-life voices lined up, and that felt huge.

If I’m honest, the biggest thing I learned this summer wasn’t about heavy metals at all. It was about the value of listening, and how important it is to make space for people to share experiences that often go unnoticed. I feel really grateful that my project didn’t just generate results, it gave people the chance to be heard. That’s what I’ll carry with me going forward in both my Laidlaw experience and the rest of my career.

Please have a look at my report if you're interested in learning more about this topic :)