Charukesi Rajulu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology & Bioinformatics at the JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research (JSS AHER), Mysuru. In this fourth article of the Journey Of Young Investigator (JOYI) 2024 series, she shares her journey, from an orthodox background to defying societal norms to make space for herself in plant science in Indian academia.

Dhanawantari L. Singha is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Botany at the Rabindranath Tagore University, Hojai, Assam. In this third article of the Journey Of Young Investigator (JOYI) 2024 series, she shares her journey from a small village in Assam, her career aspirations, and the challenges and realities of being a mother in science academia.

Shruthi Vembar is an Assistant Professor at Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), Bengaluru. In this second article of the JOYI 2024 series, she chronicles the challenging transition journey to India, facing dilemmas of networking, acceptance of short-term offers, and unanswered questions about the academic hiring process.

Bhuvan Pathak is an Assistant Professor at Biological and Life Sciences department of the Ahmedabad University, Gujarat. In the tenth article of our JOYI series, she shares her journey as a plant biologist returning back to her roots in India for contributing to biotechnology-based research in crop improvement.

Nisha Singh is an Assistant Professor at Department of Bioinformatics of the Gujarat Biotechnology University, Gandhinagar. In the eighth article of our JOYI series, she shares her inspiring journey of transitioning from wet lab to bioinformatics as a young investigator in India.