Building my own multidisciplinary research nest
Indumathi Sathisaran
Indumathi Sathisaran is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioscience and Engineering at National Institute of Technology Calicut. In this final article of the Journey Of Young Investigator (JOYI) 2024 series, she shares her journey of doing science in India and her inclination towards multidisciplinary research.
Growing up in an agricultural family, my interest in biology began during my school years. I pursued my Bachelors and Master’s degrees in Biotechnology from Bannari Amman Institute of Technology and K. S. Rangasamy college of Technology, Tamil Nadu. The encouragement I received from my grandparents and parents, especially my mother, instilled in me a passion to achieve what they could not, by leveraging my education. I was determined to pursue a career in research, though I did not have a full understanding of my strengths and weakness at the time.
The first step in my research journey was qualifying the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2013 Biotechnology. Then, I joined the PhD programme in Biological Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) in July 2014.
The initial days of my PhD were tough as I struggled to adapt to the IIT system, manage course work, and navigate the different kinds of people and the culture shifts.
However, over time, with the support and guidance of my PhD supervisor, Sameer V. Dalvi, I was able to overcome these challenges. I am deeply indebted to him for his precious advice and mentoring during those difficult times.
My PhD journey and future aspirations
My PhD dissertation diverged significantly from the foundational academic preparation I received during my Bachelor’s and Master’s programs. Through my doctoral research, I came to appreciate the importance of interdisciplinarity in scientific inquiry. My research focused on the formulation of multicomponent solids of poorly water-soluble drugs using crystal engineering approach to enhance bioavailability. This work bridged two key areas — formulation science and cell biology — on the path toward pharmaceutical development.
While working on the formulation part of my doctoral research, I secured various opportunities to broaden my skill sets, such as crystal engineering, pre-formulation development, and the independent handling of analytical and solid-state characterisation equipment, all within a single facility. After synthesising multicomponent solids by crystal engineering, we collaborated with Dhiraj Bhatia from the Biological Sciences and Engineering discipline, IITGN to investigate the efficacy of some of the synthesised curcumin multicomponent solids against the 3D tumour spheroids of triple negative breast cancer cells. The consistent support from Dalvi and Bhatia enabled me to learn 3D mammalian cell culture from scratch within a short period between 2019 and 2020. This collaborative research yielded promising results, particularly in controlling tumour growth.
Inclination towards multidisciplinary research
Although I was admitted to the PhD programme in Biological Engineering at IITGN, my PhD mentor, Dalvi belongs to Chemical Engineering discipline. Despite his specialisation, I have always admired his openness to multidisciplinary research. While some research labs focus solely on the research topics that overlaps with the mentor’s interests, I have seen that Dalvi’s research lab embraces a wide range of research areas, including gas hydrates, liquid marbles, and biological applications — many of which extend beyond his primary expertise. This inclusive work culture motivated me to think independently and develop skills across multiple research domains.
Following my PhD, I embarked on my first postdoctoral training from October 2021 to February 2023 as a part of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) — Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) sponsored research project. This research focused on the development of personalised medication system for deep space missions at the Molecular Science Research Center (MSRC). Once again, this project was interdisciplinary and I believe that it was an excellent opportunity for me to collaborate with researchers from different research backgrounds, notably green synthesis, pharmacogenomics and industrial crystallisation.
After gaining valuable experience in personalised drug formulations, I joined Kaushik Chatterjee’s research lab at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, as a DBT-Research Associate in February 2023. Here, I was eager to expand my knowledge by working on the development of scaffold-based 3D disease models by extrusion-based 3D bioprinting. I once again experienced the profound impact of multidisciplinary science at IISc! While learning 3D bioprinting technology, I was amazed by how 3D printing and bio-printing technologies are revolutionising biomedical, pharmaceutical, and healthcare sectors. It was astonishing to witness the vast array of research dimensions within a single umbrella of biomaterials and tissue engineering.
My research journey at NIT Calicut
Since July 2023, I have been working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioscience and Engineering at National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut. I am certain of that the multidisciplinary research training I have received, starting from my PhD, has been instrumental in helping me prepare and submit project proposals as an independent researcher. This experience has also led to the honor of being selected for the prestigious Indian National Science Academy (INSA) visiting scientist award 2024 – 2025 and Researcher Collaborations Grant 2024 from Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). Drawing from the diverse research experiences I have gained in various research labs, I strongly believe that incorporating interdisciplinarity in research essential for students to secure a job in academia or industry. I would say that collaborative multidisciplinary research requires the following:
- Identification of a good collaborator and consistent co-ordination among the teams.
- Valuing and utilising the time and efforts of each member of the team.
My present research team, who are the main pillars of my research journey, comprise two doctoral students and six undergraduate students. My team works on the research domains of co-precipitation and crystallisation of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), protein nanofibrils, hydrogel-based drug delivery systems and drug formulations.
Currently, I do not have a dedicated research lab exclusively for my research work, but I am in the process of establishing one. In the meantime, I have been utilising workbench space generously shared by a few colleagues, to whom I am deeply grateful. Although building a research foundation from the ground up in India can be time-consuming and challenging due to factors like limited funding and space constraints, I am confident that with consistent hard work and perseverance, I will achieve it soon.
I would like to sincerely thank NIT Calicut and its administration for providing me with the golden opportunity to serve in Indian academia — a long-held dream of mine.
Finally, I am immensely grateful to my grandparents and parents, whose unwavering support and selfless sacrifices have guided me to where I am today.
Posted on in Other, Science, Networking, Women in Science, Personal Experience, Young Investigators
