My journey in the field of pharmacology and toxicology began back in 2000 as an undergraduate pharmacy student at Birla College Campus of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Srinagar Garhwal, nestled amidst the breathtaking Himalayas of Uttarakhand.

After a postgraduate degree in pharmacology, I kicked off my research career as a Research Associate at Nicholas Piramal Research Center, Mumbai. My interest in pain neurobiology led me to pursue a Ph.D. at University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panjab University, Chandigarh. I was motivated by the immense suffering caused by chronic pain disorders, which fueled my desire to advance my research in this field. Eventually, I got an opportunity to work with Srinivasa N. Raja, professor and director of pain research, at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, States, where I worked for four and a half years.

Although Srinivasa N. Raja wanted me to continue and grow at Johns Hopkins, I had always wanted to come back to India and contribute to the Indian Pain Research. My father's deteriorating health also made this decision easier for me. In July 2016, I finally returned to India and set up my own independent research lab at National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research-Ahmedabad before joining Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi as a full-fledged independent researcher.

Being a Principal Investigator (PI) mentoring young Masters and Ph.D. students came with a unique experience and great responsibility. My goal was to provide the best guidance possible and help my students achieve their dreams. Drawing from my dual research experience in India and the United States, I quickly realised that conducting research in the Indian academic environment can be challenging.

Establishing an independent pharmacology-toxicology research laboratory that I can truly call my own was challenging yet exciting experience that came with its own incredible range of opportunities:

• Initially, I struggled with the slow pace of paperwork and bureaucracy within the institute. The process of ordering supplies and receiving them often took almost 2-3 months, which hampered the ongoing lab experiments and the overall research output of the students.

• Additionally, we had limited equipment needed for projects, and I had to customise my experiments according to the available instrumentation and facilities in the department and the research institute.

Thanks to funding agencies, fortunately after a few failures, I successfully secured early career and core research grants from SERB, SPARC grant from MHRD, ECD grant from ICMR and a few consultancy projects from the pharmaceutical industries. This support helped me in setting up a functional Neuroscience and Pain Research Laboratory at Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology, IIT (B.H.U), Varanasi.

• I also faced hurdles while setting up an approved animal house facility in my engineering institute, it was tough to convince them. But with persistence and teamwork, in 2020 we finally succeeded in establishing our own institutional animal ethics committee - a crucial step for any institute conducting biological research and drug discovery.

• Work-life balance becomes a bit demanding at times with a young child and a spouse who's also a working researcher. But my 10-year-old son is a shining ray of sunshine in our lives, he loves to visit my lab and office when his school is closed or operating in online mode. I’ll look back on these moments with fond memories in the years to come makes it all worth it!

What I have learned from my experience is that persistence and motivation are key to thriving in this field.

Currently my lab is having one post-doctoral fellow, six Ph.D. research scholars, two project fellows and four Masters students. So far, I have supervised 4 Ph.D. and 18 master students and all of them are well settled in industry or academia in India and abroad. I have been blessed with a team of hard working and motivated students who left no stones unturned and made sure that our lab gets established in no time.

During my initial research exposure in the pain field, I found that treatment with best available analgesics leads to inadequate pain relief at the cost of severe toxicities including sedation, drug addiction, respiratory depression and many more. That’s where we started to seek answers for the development of novel anti-pain therapeutics devoid of adverse effects and CNS toxicities. Students in my lab are currently working on dissecting the cellular and molecular intricacies associated with chronic pain disorders and formulation-development of novel therapeutics devoid of central toxicities and drug addiction.

Message to Young Colleagues:

• The key to reaching your goals lies in hard work, focus, and motivation.

• Keep updating your knowledge by reading new articles and holding weekly journal clubs in your labs.

• Take the time for bench work in your new lab, as this not only inspires young minds being trained in your team, but also gives direction to new interesting findings.

• Acknowledging your team’s good work and avoiding criticism for simple mistakes helps cultivate a positive, supportive environment in the lab where everyone works and helps each other.

• Make sure you train them well and spend time with them discussing their projects and problems. I guarantee they will cherish the experience and appreciate your role in their professional and personal growth for a lifetime.

As a mentor, you have a great responsibility to the young students who look up to you with hope and expectations. I know that the Indian academic landscape still faces challenges, such as limited funding and slow administrative processes. But I am confident that with our collective efforts and as times change, the future of Indian Science will be brighter.

Lastly, don't forget to carve out time for yourself and your family. This journey of learning is not one to be taken alone, and it's important to have a balanced life.

I grew up in the planned city of Gandhinagar, the green city of bushes and trees. In the springtime, I mastered the art of capturing up to five butterflies in one hand, eventually releasing them in the wild. A mango orchard near my home sprouted yellow flowers in spring and green mangoes in summer, sparking my curiosity about nature. These experiences were foundational in my determination to become a scientist at the tender age of nine.

Following this passion, I opted for botany in my undergraduate degree at Sardar Patel University. At that time, I was the only student to choose plants as a field of study. But with the firm support of University trustee C.L. Patel, more students enrolled. It was also an opportunity to interact with scientists at the Anand Agriculture University who sparked my interest in agricultural science.

Post my Master’s in Biotechnology, I moved to the University of Florida where I studied calcium signaling in groundnut seed development. This underground growing legume can be severely affected by low soil calcium. Post my Master's, I worked on the metabolic engineering of sugarcane for diverting carbon flux for triacylglycerol production as a lab associate for four years. This research led to the foundation of the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE). I pursued my doctoral and postdoctoral research on rice genome editing at the University of Arkansas, which complemented my knowledge of crop improvement at both molecular and phenotypic levels.

An unexpected event marked my decision to move back to the country. In early 2020, my parents visited me in the United States, just before the pandemic. Three days before India announced the lockdown, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. It was a testing time as travel and healthcare services froze. Fortunately, with the support of Washington Regional Hospital (Fayetteville, Arkansas), my mother could undergo a successful surgery. With help from the Indian Consulate, the Indian Embassy, and the Ministry of External Affairs in the Government of India, my parents could travel back on the first Vande Bharat Mission flight to Ahmedabad. The unpredictability of life modified my perspective and I decided to look for opportunities close to my hometown (in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar).

Before 2005, the Gujarat region did not prioritise plant biotechnology research. However, in the past one and a half decades, with efforts of state and central government agencies, several premier academic institutes were established. As a plant biologist with an agriculture and plant science background, this seemed that home was calling!

I attended a faculty recruitment webinar organised by Ahmedabad University and the Indian Embassy in Washington D.C. I presented a vision of my research during the interview. It was a perfect fit for my experience as Gujarat is the leading producer of the country's groundnut oil crop. Additionally, the University was extremely supportive of the unpredictive nature of travel during the pandemic and accommodated my requests for joining date changes.

Although India is an agriculture-based economy, plant biology research has been underfunded. In the past decade, however, investment in plant biology research has increased by more than 50%. With generous support from the state funding agency (Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission) and the University start-up grant, we aim to improve the quality of groundnut fatty acid composition through genome editing.

As Ahmedabad- Gandhinagar is an emerging research hub, I have networked with my peers in this region. It resulted in successful collaboration at IIT-Gandhinagar, with an old schoolmate at the ICAR-National Research Center for Grapes, and with a groundnut breeder at Junagadh Agriculture University.

I believe biotechnology-based research in crop improvement is not yet at the field scale. However, our government’s decision to delimit the SDN1 and SDN2 category crops (the crop category that does not contain transgenes, only edits for trait improvement) has boosted research in this field. This decision enables a relatively speedier translation of crops from plant to plate.

I attend to the call of my home with all research opportunities falling in place. I am now returning what I earned.

It was a simple school experiment of observing pond water samples through a compound microscope that had the most impact. It was my introduction to the world of microbiology, a science of innumerable viable albeit invisible creatures! Science magazines became a staple and a graduate/postgraduate degree became essential.

I was motivated toward rice research because I belonged to Bardhaman, a district in West Bengal, known as the 'Rice Bowl of Bengal'. Rice production is hampered by abiotic stress, nutrient mismanagement, and pest attack resulting in recurring economic losses to farmers. Thus, I decided to work on the benefits of the rice-associated microbiome at ICAR-National Rice Research Institute. I worked with beneficial rice endophytes (microbes that live inside the plant tissues) that enhance sustainable production and reduce economic losses in rice production.

Since my earlier expertise was in microbiology, I floundered in my early days with plant cultivation and experimental culture. Scientists and fellow research scholars at ICAR-NRRI taught me to grow rice and study its life cycle. The diverse scientific atmosphere of ICAR-NRRI shaped me to work on several burning issues of Indian agriculture. While working as a Ph.D. scholar, I observed how methodically my thesis guide managed administrative work associated with running a lab. I hoped to implement the same while setting up my laboratory.

Fresh after my Ph.D., I joined as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology at RK University, Gujarat, where I taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses for two years. My teaching interest is inseparable from my research ambitions. I strongly believe that research and teaching activities complement each other. I observed that students were curious to know the aspects of microbial life. They also wondered about research as a profession, such as: how many hours researchers work and whether people tend to work in groups. It helped me design a curriculum focusing on research and research-based learning. Here, my research entailed understanding the role of indigenous microbes in combating salinity and metal stress in agriculturally available soil.

I moved to the University of California, Davis for a post-doctoral position. There I assessed microbial interaction with wild rice genotypes through omics techniques.

As most Assistant Professor/ Scientist positions in India have an age limit of around 35, I started exploring opportunities. I joined the Presidency University, Kolkata as an Assistant Professor in 2019 and immediately started applying for grants to establish a laboratory. In the same year, I was awarded the Young Scientist in Agricultural Microbiology by the Association of Microbiologists of India, a big motivation in my early career.

In 2020, I was awarded two grants from SERB and UGC. Since it was the pandemic, I faced difficulty in grant execution. With immense support from the administration and colleagues of Presidency University, I initiated research and established my laboratory that I named the “Laboratory of Microbial Interaction”.

Currently, we are investigating factors that influence the colonisation of beneficial plant-associated microbiomes to specific niches. We profile epiphytic, endophytic, and rhizoplane microbial dynamics and diversity while adopting culture-dependent approaches. We aim to identify a “personalised plant microbiome” and construct plant genotype-specific synthetic microbial consortiums. We expect these consortiums to enhance the plant nutrient use efficiency under stress. I am hoping to contribute to the yield and eventually feed the ever-increasing Indian population.

I believe that research output should reach common people while simultaneously breaking social and economic barriers. Thus, I am inclined to shape a culture of product-based research.

A young investigator can think about the following while starting:

1. One should focus on submitting grant proposals immediately upon joining. Without seed funding from the institute, setting up individual laboratories can be very difficult.

2. While initiating a new laboratory, one should have prior knowledge about the already existing shared facility of the institute. Planning the proceeds from the first grant is essential as you might require infrastructures unique to your work.

3. While recruiting scholars prefer laborious students to intelligent students.

4. Network building and collaboration are important to solve a problem. Always share your research problem with peers and mentors. Ask for help.

5. The balance between professional and personal life is really important.

As a child, I wanted to become a doctor and had a keen interest in biology. I used to love the subject and had an indomitable instinct to know the “what, how, and why” of natural beings. This constant inquiry annoyed my mother, leading me to redirect my questions to my teachers, fellows, and others. My nature remained the same, but my questions evolved.

During the summer vacation of my undergraduate biotechnology program, I caught on to the popular subject of programming. I learned the basics of computer systems and programming languages C, C++, and Java, which kindled my interest in programming alongside biology.

During my bachelor’s degree in biotechnology, I found much to explore in genetics, evolution, and biochemistry. I always found pleasure in performing experiments and noting down outcomes. However, merging the study outcomes was painstaking; manual analysis and data interpretation seemed a herculean task to me.

This struggle was a source of discontentment. Although experimental research generated much data, there was a lack of a clear pipeline for its analysis. There also was a need for validating data authenticity. Thus, combining my interest in programming languages with the need for automated data analysis, I decided to pursue a masters in bioinformatics. The decision was challenging on many fronts:

1. I had to shift to a new city, away from my parents. Since I was a girl from a small town with a humble and orthodox background, I faced challenges that tested my determination.

2. I was the first among my peers to pursue a transition to bioinformatics.

3. There was a general lack of awareness about bioinformatics as a course.

4. Bioinformatics at that time was not considered applicable to plant/agricultural sciences (only to medical research/animal sciences).

5. Only a few universities offered a Ph.D. in bioinformatics.

Starting a lab and going from ‘zero to one’ is never easy, but what a wild ride the last few years have been! To borrow from Dickens- ‘It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.’

I had been a Postdoc at HHMI, Janelia before moving back to India. A place nestled in the secluded suburbs of Virginia, hosting some of the best minds in neuroscience; akin to working in a Zen monastery. Witnessing science here was exciting & nerve-wracking at the same time! I returned to India in 2019 and was awarded a Ramalingaswami Fellowship from DBT to start my own lab. I weighed multiple options for an ideal host institute based on science, geographical location, and the possibility of managing the two-body problem.

I decided to move to Manipal, a quaint student town, close to the pristine beaches of southern India. The Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) had just been recognised as an ‘Institute of eminence’ by the Govt. of India. I joined the newly established Centre for Neurosciences within Kasturba Medical College (KMC). KMC built upon its strengths in patient care and medical education to promote research in basic & clinical biology.

I joined along with great colleagues, also starting their labs fresh out of their postdocs, with lots of energy and empty lab space to house us. I thought it would be the best place to start from scratch and grow. Little did I know that a rollercoaster of a journey awaited!

Revenge of the flies

In January 2020, I worked in my empty office: ordering supplies, writing grant applications and hiring the first Ph.D. candidate. One of the grant applications was provisionally accepted by DBT, leading to the Dean re-iterating his promise of lab renovation. Things looked upbeat & promising, but it was all about to change. Soon after the renovation began, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and the entire world started to shut down. My dream of kickstarting a career was replaced by health and safety concerns.

I have been studying the effects of social isolation on Drosophila epigenome and behaviour. I never imagined that humans across the globe would go through the experience of my lonely flies!

At times, I joked in online lab meetings that our lonely flies were exacting their revenge on us! I could see the mental health issues these lockdowns would cause globally and the support required for my own team. I also re-visited our published data with my collaborator in Canada, and we wrote a review on social isolation for the journal Molecular Neurobiology.

A million hopes a day

Meanwhile, academic Twitter and my email were abuzz with the unfolding of the pandemic. Several tweets reported that the Centre for Disease Control had confounded the early days of testing with suboptimal qPCR primers that were forming a hairpin!

During the lockdown, my Ph.D. mentor LS Shashidhara called me to join a national voluntary effort named Indian Scientists Response to CoVID (ISRC). This amazing group of scientists with their respective domain knowledge contributed to public awareness and hoax busting.

My contribution at ISRC included designing a testing kit, for which several of us poured over manuals from the CDC and WHO. While scouting, I realised that a large city like Bangalore was receiving only 5 viral RNA extraction kits per week! Raw materials including hydrolysis probes, good quality Taq polymerases, and dNTPs were outsourced due to supply chains moving offshore!

Corona test kits were being imported from the US in exchange for hydroxychloroquine and political goodwill! Due to the efforts of many unsung heroes, India reached the milestone of conducting a million COVID tests a day, close to the ones in the USA.

Surviving & thriving

Weeks turned into months, and the lockdown continued. I kept up the online lab meetings to sustain morale and discuss science.

Since my team was new, I took a few classes on fly genetics to show mutant fly phenotypes on screen. I reminisced about my training, learning the same while sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with my lab members. Nonetheless, my team loved the online classes.

I shared my frustration of not sharing the experience of seeing flies under a microscope with my students with SC Lakhotia at BHU. He suggested some small experiments that could be conducted once we rejoined our labs which calmed my nerves. SC Lakhotia along with Ranganath had taken up the Herculean task of editing a protocol book on using Drosophila for laboratory research for college students.

After about 3 months, the lockdown started lifting partially, and being a medical college, we were allowed to come back to 50% capacity. We started with some basic experiments to record aggression in flies with the supplies we could find/borrow from nearby labs. Since my lab was not operational, we did the first set of simple experiments on my office bench. This was an example of the ease and the beauty of handling flies with a rudimentary setup.

Discussions with Raghvendra Gadagkar on exploring animal behaviour in our backyard were an additional creative boost. We ended up publishing a protocol on assessing aggression in flies using this simple setup in the Drosophila protocol book published by the Indian Academy of Science for college students!

Although there were struggles due to COVID-led supply chain delays and bureaucracy, seeing students’ curious and enthusiastic eyes made it all worthwhile. Thanks to the administrative support from MAHE, my lab got refurbished and we became operational soon. We also received extramural funding from DBT. I was fortunate to have some very kindhearted friends and colleagues who went out of their way to help. I will forever remain grateful for them. I also learned the value of grit, compassion, and forgiveness that can set one free.

As a budding graduate in Biochemistry, I had the chance to pursue my doctorate at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in 2007, a lush green campus I had fallen in love with growing up in Bangalore. My Ph.D. question was distinct from most of the work done in the lab. It helped me realise that individual success depends on a network of science professionals. I attended diverse seminars not directly related to my work and fortunately had several discussions over random coffees and lunches that gave me ideas, protocols, and reagents which I implemented to complete a wonderful journey at IISc.

To further a career in academia, the logical transition after Ph.D. is a postdoctoral stint. I preferred Europe to experience a new research culture. Since my Ph.D. was mainly translational, involving generating and testing immunotoxins for targeted cancer therapy, I was interested in a lab working on fundamental cell biology with a specialisation in the use of transgenic mouse models. In April 2014, I joined Institut Curie in Paris. The lab I joined is a world leader in the science of post-translational modifications of tubulin, a cytoskeletal element. I spent 8 wonderful years learning the fascinating aspects of the tubulin code and its role in the structure and function of mammalian motile cilia and flagella.

I would be remiss if I do not mention the role of my doctoral and postdoctoral mentors. They maintained a great atmosphere and granted me the freedom to explore my scientific questions. This independence was pivotal for me to develop as an independent researcher. I learned to manage tricky situations in a lab, both scientific and non-scientific, from both my mentors. Both mentors were pivotal to my career development as they provided a platform for criticism and discussion. I learned a lot about man-management skills from my postdoc mentor, a crucial skill for a group leader.

My postdoctoral position allowed me the opportunity to attend at least one international meeting each year. The meetings fostered scientific development, networking, and new collaborations. Collaboration works in two ways – you get the expertise into the lab and the work takes half the time. Between 2016-2018, my main postdoctoral project hit a major roadblock with no solution. I discussed the issue in several meetings which led to individual collaborations with experts in cryoEM (Max Planck Institute for Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden), biophysical analysis of sperm beat patterns (University of Bonn, Germany), and spermatogenesis, sperm motility, and fertilisation (Institut Cochin, Paris). These collaborations came together to clear the roadblock I had hit. Despite the pandemic, we worked in unison to provide the first evidence of how glycylation controls motile cilia in mammals. The story made it to the cover of Science! This experience taught me to navigate research in different countries with scientists who work, think, and perceive differently. This feat was majorly possible due to the support of my postdoc mentor.

At this point, I was ready for the next step: setting up my independent research group. This required some introspection on the following lines:

1. Am I prepared to lead and train budding scientists?

2. Does my scientific question make any sense?

3. Where do I want to set up my lab?

4. How will I get funds for running the lab?

5. Will I be able to let go of the control I have over my project?

Here is where my collaborators, mentors, and the people I networked with came to my aid. A bit of advice to young researchers is to discuss all these questions within their network, as they give you a frank, honest opinion since they know you both as a person and a scientist. Once I got the clarity and felt ready, I sent out my applications.

Faculty applications and recruitment interviews are challenging, with a work presentation followed by a chalk talk. Postdoctoral fellows might be naive to this process and success requires proper planning. Fortunately, my peer network in Paris guided me. A panel of scientists from different walks of Biology conducted a couple of mock drills and also critically reviewed my research proposal. This preparation served me immensely in the application for faculty positions and grants like the DBT/Wellcome India Alliance Intermediate Fellowship. My peers who had availed of this fellowship also mentored me in this regard.

I also ensured the strength of my professional network in India. On every visit to India, I visited research institutes to discuss my current and future research. It helped me gauge where and how my research would fit. I also discussed my strengths and weaknesses as well as the funding opportunities and the available grants.

I was also fortunate to attend the Young Investigators’ Meeting in 2021 held online, where I networked with young investigators and learned about their experiences navigating the recruitment process, setting up their labs, and garnering funds. I also interacted with institutional representatives and presented my 5 year research plan to get an idea of who would be potentially interested in recruiting me. These discussions were crucial in fine-tuning my proposal, for the interview at DBT-inStem and the application for the India Alliance Fellowship.

The networking bore fruits and these efforts led me to secure the position at DBT-inStem. I started my lab in April 2022. I also successfully navigated the interviews of the India Alliance Intermediate Fellowship, which was awarded in June 2022 with a start date of January 2023, thus indeed making it a great Wellcome back to India!

My career as a researcher is based on the network I have built and on my mentors and collaborators. I am sure going forward, this network is only going to grow.

To all aspiring researchers, here are some words from my side:

1. Choose your labs carefully as it is not just about the research question, but also how your mentor, supervisor, and colleagues are. This goes a long way in shaping you as an independent researcher.

2. Anybody can be your mentor if they can guide you toward your goals. There are no specific criteria to define your mentor(s).

3. Build a strong scientific network, collaborate, and do not hesitate to ask for help. Do not be under the misconception that a researcher needs to be independent. Reach out to people in your lab, department, institute, city, country, or outside. It could be just for advice or materials, equipment, protocols, or grant review. Go solo but with a strong backbone of support!

A Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology piqued my interest in biomaterials and their applications. I specialised in Biomechanics and Tissue engineering for my Master's at IIT Kanpur. My stay at IIT Kanpur pivoted me toward research and made me realise the potential of a joint science and engineering foundation. The experience helped me choose a doctorate in mechanical engineering at IIT Bombay and Monash University, Melbourne.

I continued the multidisciplinary streak during my postdoctoral training (at IISc Bangalore) and job search. Quite early in my job search, I realised I needed expertise in life science, polymers, design, and engineering under a single roof. NIPER Ahmedabad provided this opportunity of a joint lab and I decided to join.

I appreciated the joint lab culture during my training at IIT and IISc. Most individual labs at IIT Bombay, Monash University, and IIT Kanpur worked on exclusive research problems based on the investigator's expertise. I observed that researchers working in these silos had limited appreciation for multidisciplinary research. However, labs sharing common facilities, for example, Prof. Chatterjee’s and Prof Bose's (division of materials engineering at IISc Bangalore), had higher productivity and team spirit. These two labs could bring the expertise of two fields (Biomaterials/tissue engineering and polymer materials) to solve unique research problems.

Upon joining, the three faculty at the Department of Medical Devices NIPER, including myself, shared common lab facilities. Although PIs had individual research groups, the director encouraged a joint lab system. Although I faced some well-reasoned hesitance from the faculty, they eventually opened up to the spirit of cooperation and collaboration. It has been a good idea for the faculty to share resources, space, and a value system. It led to the catalysis of new scientific ideas.

I helped the research groups feel comfortable in this new working setup and smoothened minor differences. I was able to put my leadership and team-building skills to good use!

Students were the primary beneficiaries of the collaborative approach. The culture paved the way for active discussions and collaborations among students belonging to various disciplines. For instance, one of my Ph.D. scholars working on tumouroid formation ideated a novel device for tumour cell growth and drug testing upon discussions with medicinal chemists. This joint work culture across principal investigators and students has shaped an environment for mutual support, benefitting science.

These collaborations have been extensively rewarding for all. I collaborated with the Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis to develop a blood micro sampler and dry eye curing device. The device won a list of innovations awards: Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Student Teams (ABLE-BEST, 2019), Gandhian Young Technology Innovation (GYTI, 2020), and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) grants.

I am carrying forward the experience of setting up a joint lab in my new position at NIT Rourkela. I have initiated a biodesign and medical device group focussing on interdisciplinary endeavours. We work at the cross-section of intelligent sensors, artificial intelligence, machine learning, Opto-microfluidics, and microelectromechanical Systems. Despite my lab being new, its productivity has accelerated due to its collaborative approach.

I have collaborated to develop a microneedle-based sensor patch and insulin delivery pump integrated with machine learning to act as an alternative artificial pancreas for diabetic management. My team is also developing a portable flow cytometer for cancer cell sorting and characterisation. Collaboration, open-mindedness, and creativity have been essential to my work on biomedical device development.

I started my journey as a young investigator (YI) with a DBT Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship. The journey took me through two labs to a place I call home.

First lab: language and culture are not barriers

With experience in transcription factors, cancer biology, sequencing technology, and small funding, I joined RGCB, Trivandrum in February 2018. It was relatively easier to plan things as a postdoctoral researcher; it was tough to implement them as a YI. I was burdened with significant paperwork to initiate the fellowship. This time required agility in decision-making while understanding the limitations of the host institution.

Initially, I lacked students, a laboratory, and office space. I utilised that time to write for DBT and DST grants and order consumables and equipment. I was able to set up a functional laboratory and hire two students by August 2018. In the next 6 months, I focused on student training and collaborations. I procured a DST-SERB ECR grant on a project and started building up a manuscript.

The central facility and colleagues were supportive when my lab did not have most of the equipment I needed. Even though I did not speak the native language, the care, love, and cooperation of the RGCB fraternity made me feel at home.

Second lab: working experience in a state university

In 2019, I transferred my fellowship to Kalyani University in my home State, West Bengal. The ignorance surprised me: the administration took me to be a postdoctoral student and fellow faculty were surprised at the recruitment of a Ramalingaswami fellow.

With limited knowledge of civil engineering, I converted an empty room at the university into a functional laboratory. I also contributed to setting up a central cell culture and instrumentation facility in the same building. The university Vice Chancellor encouraged my ideas and appointed me as the facility in charge.

In the meantime, I hired a junior research fellow and published my first paper as the corresponding author. I was hoping to secure a permanent position before the exhaustion of my fellowship and grants.

The onset of the pandemic wrenched these plans. Lab-based research work was rendered impossible due to lockdowns. My experience working without a lab helped me utilise the period effectively. I restructured pending manuscripts, organised online lab meetings, attended online seminars, and built a network with nearby hospitals and institutions.

By mid-2021, I was able to start a fully functional cell culture facility and a laboratory. I also communicated my work to a reputed journal. The manuscript was accepted in February 2022 which led to an extension of my DBT grant for another 2 years.

To minimise the uncertainty in funding, I continued to explore permanent positions. In 2022, I was offered an Assistant Professorship at Bose Institute. Here, I feel at home - I have a dedicated laboratory space, intramural funds, and PhD students to continue my research.

Take home messages to future young investigators (YIs):

1. Try to apply for permanent positions. Even if you come with fellowship grants, it will last you for 5-6 years. Pros of fellowship: i) They provide you with salary, startup funds, and possible opportunity to start your research immediately. ii) Prestigious awards boost your CV, iii) You have the flexibility of changing your institute. Cons: i) Time-limited and temporary with no promise of permanent positions, ii) Always abides by host institutional rules, where you may not have privileges of a permanent faculty.

2. Ask for intramural funds and apply for extramural funds. Have 1-2 projects ready for submission. The funding is very competitive, so don’t rely fully on your postdoctoral publications. Be realistic about the needs/science policies of the country while writing the project. If you are a basic researcher, provide translational/product-based benefits as outcomes. Also, since 35-36 is a cutoff for YIs, you may not be able to apply for early career grants/awards later.

3. Planning matters. Have a tentative laboratory plan, a list of reagents, and a list of equipment prepared before you join. Find out what things (machines/reagents) are available in the institute that you can’t buy immediately.

4. Spend your time effectively. Read and write tentative projects, review articles and restructure your manuscripts if you don’t have a functional lab. Once you have the lab, try to perform bench work if possible in your new lab, this will encourage young students and increase your workflow. Remember, you are the most efficient worker in your lab and it always feels good to do some interesting experiments.

5. If you want to change your workplace, figure out the logistics (both professional and personal life matters). Don’t take too long to decide. Ideally, you should target the first 1-2 years of the fellowship window/job window for changing institutions. Unless you get a permanent position, avoid changing host institutions in the last year of your fellowship.

6. Hire all kinds of manpower possible. You may not get a PhD student in the beginning. Hire research assistants, summer interns, and guest workers; they may be short time workers but will increase your productivity due to the division of labour.

7. Networking and collaboration are essential. You can work out of your collaborator’s laboratory, use their expertise, and send students to learn. Also, don’t forget your friends in research, ask them for help.

8. Take some time out for yourself. YIs are often overburdened with deadlines, work environment, and job insecurity. Give yourself some personal space, engage in scientific activity, read and write about tentative projects, avoid negative thoughts, and remind yourself of your dreams.