Every Wednesday, our ‘Away from home’ blog series features one Indian postdoc working in a foreign lab recounting his/her experience of working there, the triumphs and challenges, the cultural differences, what they miss about India, as well as some top tips for postdocs headed abroad. You can join in the online conversation using the #postdochat hashtag.
Today’s blogger is from New South Wales, our second in this series from Australia. Here’s featuring Amita Limaye, who worked at the National Centre for Cell Science in Pune, India before moving in as a postdoc to the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst. Amita loves the multiculutral city she lives in, though getting used to the famous Aussie twang remains a challenge for her! Her dream is to bridge the gap between epigenetics and translational research.
Amita Limaye
Spirit of inquiry
I always loved science. I was amazed at the fact that although the basic composition of human beings remains the same, each one of us is different. I think this spirit of inquiry was the driving force for me to choose science as a career.
Epigenentics, my calling
My interest in epigenetics and immunology blossomed at the National Centre for Cell Science in Pune where I worked with Dr. Sanjeev Galande. I moved to the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in New South Wales, Asutralia to understand the role of epigenetics in heart development and diseases. My interest led me to Prof. Susan Clark’s group at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia.
Right now, I focus my interest in unraveling the multiple layers of epigenetics and the effect they have in cancer progression. I work as a post –doctoral researcher with Prof. Clark, primarily on teasing out the different layers of epigenetic regulation that govern prostate cancer etiology.
In the long term, I want to make my research beneficial to the medical sector. There is a big rift between epigenetics research and translational research. I would like to be able to bridge this gap so that epigenetic information aids in understanding prognosis and hence diagnosis of disease and its state.
Coping with the Aussie twang
Although it is sometimes difficult to follow their accent (called strine), Australians are pretty helpful people. Australia is a very good place to live in. My lab mates are very helpful and jovial. For me, the move from India to this country was smoother than expected.
I find the cultural mix of this place quite interesting — there’s no single dominant culture, it’s a mix of all cultures that imparts a unique flavour.
Competitive funding
Postdocs are treated as employees in my lab. Garvan cares for its postdocs and we get treated well.
A word for postdocs looking at this country: Australia has a relatively small pool of funding as compared to the US. The funding here is similar to some European countries. Therefore, getting funds here is pretty competitive.
Miss Pune traffic
Apart from friends and family, I miss the city of Pune and its chaotic traffic! I would definitely love to come back to India soon.
Amita Limaye joins Mugdha Joglekar, featured earlier in this blog, to become the second postdoc from Australia in this series. Find her and 17 other Indian postdocs from around the world in our interactive Away from home map. We gleefully update our map every Wednesday (a snapshot showing the duo from Australia below). Please feel free to suggest names of postdocs from countries and disciplines we haven’t covered yet.
