Jennifer Nichols is a Principal Investigator at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, UK. Her lab works on lineage segregation and the establishment of pluripotency in the mammalian embryo. In 2017 she was awarded the British Society for Developmental Biology's Cheryll Tickle Medal, given to mid-career female scientists with outstanding achievements in developmental biology. We met Jenny in her Cambridge office to talk about pluripotency in vitro and in vivo, the importance of collaboration in her career path, and what playing a musical instrument has in common with research.