Ep 18: You can only connect the dots looking back, with Thais Sala

On this weeks’ episode of Beyond the Device we are joined by Thais Sala, whose story began in São Paulo where she grew up with a rare sense of clarity about what she wanted from life. From a young age she was driven by the idea of using science to improve lives. That purpose guided her through competitive public universities, long hours in neuroscience labs, and the belief that research was the path she was meant to follow.But early in her career, a series of setbacks forced her to reconsider everything she thought her future would look like. One major disappointment changed the direction of her academic journey. Another pushed her to take a leap few people would take. She left Brazil, left her master’s, and moved to Ireland with no clear plan, only the need to start over. What happened next came from a moment that looked insignificant at the time. It set off a chain of events that brought her into the medical device industry and eventually into roles across technical services, quality, regulatory and post market surveillance. Along the way, another unexpected turning point tested her resilience and forced her to find stability in the middle of uncertainty. Those experiences shaped how she works today. They taught her to trust the process, to stay adaptable, and to accept that the most important opportunities often arrive sideways rather than straight ahead. Her story is a reminder that you cannot plan every step. You can only connect the dots looking back, and the moments that feel accidental often become the ones that define you.