Science is a process for understanding the world. As Dr. Pardis Sabeti sees it, it’s much like a scavenger hunt, and her job is to move from one clue to the next. Sometimes the clues go cold, leading to more questions than answers. But sometimes, the right clues can save lives.

For years, Dr. Pardis Sabeti followed the clues left by mathematics to design new methods for understanding the genomes of both humans and pathogens, and how they evolved. She established herself as a powerful, mold-breaking force both in and out of the lab. She pushed the boundaries of genomic analyses. She sang and wrote with the Indie Rock band, Thousand Days. And she built a following for her elaborate holiday cards featuring her lab family (and the occasional celebrity cameo).

Then, in 2014, the Ebola outbreak hit and suddenly all of the clues Pardis had been chasing fell into place. She had been preparing for this fight. The rapidly mutating virus proved deadly, yet Pardis and her colleagues’ methods provided doctors with an opportunity to save countless lives. Once the outbreak was controlled, Pardis was recognized by TIME, as a 2014 Person of the Year. She wrote a song honoring the colleagues who had lost their lives to the disease, and encourage her holiday followers to donate to the families of health workers and those affected by Ebola.

Shortly after, Pardis was a passenger on an outdoor tour in Montana when her vehicle went over a cliff. She was catapulted onto the boulders below, hitting her head, shattering her pelvis, and breaking both knees. Doctors told her that accidents like these usually hold a less than 5% chance of survival. Suddenly, the tables had turned, and her life now rested in the hands of countless doctors and scientists who had been preparing for this fight.

Despite the inevitable struggle, Pardis chose resilience. She followed the clues once again, this time studying one survivor and then the next, mirroring their behaviors. After four months in hospital beds, with a body full of metal plates and legs full of scar tissue, she got back to work.

At the end of the day, science like Pardis’ is about people. The people whose lives it saves, and the people who use it to save others. Dr. Pardis Sabeti has been both, and she’s ready for the next clue.