In this final article of the Journey of a Young Investigator 2025 series, Sudipta Tung from the Department of Biology, Ashoka University, writes about how his early research interactions shaped his scientific interests and the trials and tribulations of establishing and running a Drosophila evolution lab.

Rajalakshmi Srinivasan leads the Aging Genomics lab at the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology, Bengaluru. In this Journey of Young Investigator (JOYI) 2025 article, she shares how her India-centric path has shaped her career and sheds light on the pros and cons of pursuing postdoctoral training in India.

Chetana Baliga studies interventions for antimicrobial resistance at the M. S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences (RUAS), Bengaluru. In this inspirational Journey of Young Investigator (JOYI) 2025 article, she shares the story of her difficult postdoc to PI transition and how the support from her friends and colleagues, near and far, propelled her to success.

Ankisha Vijay is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology (JIIT), Noida. For this Journey of Young Investigator (JOYI) 2025 article, she narrates how she remains steadfast to her rewarding role as a mother despite the challenges of charting her path on a research career.

Sharon D’souza is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, SVKM’s Mithibai College, Mumbai. In this Journey of Young Investigator (JOYI) 2025 article, she writes about her interest in plant metabolomics, how she switched fields for her PhD, and shares some tips for running a lab with resourcefulness.