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.
In 2013’s first blog of the series, we hear from Amjad Husain. Amjad is a postdoc at Harvard Medical School in Boston prior to which he was a PhD student at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi. His heartfelt gratitude goes out to the excellent mentors who shaped his life and career and he dreams of spinning off his own venture sometime in the future.
Amjad Husain hopes to float his own research company in future.
Mentors matter a lot
I grew up in a village playing around my family farms in the northern part of India. I went to small public schools. I wasn’t very clear if I’d pursue science as a career but managed to gain an appreciation of biology and economics after I passed out from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. I was offered a few fellowships and started graduate studies in the laboratory of Dr. Shahid Jameel at ICGEB, New Delhi. My graduate supervisor was an excellent mentor as he encouraged both my cultural and scientific growth. He broadened my perspective of science and society by being an excellent mentor and an artistic and well-read person.
Learning at the best places
I have been fortunate to study at the best institutions so far — IIT Roorkee, ICGEB Delhi and a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard in Boston. At IIT it was more about “survival of the fittest”. I learned to survive in a competitive environment and have nice memories from campus. At ICGEB, my thesis dealt primarily with the studying role of accessory proteins of HIV. My attempts at experimental science were initially juvenile as it was my first hands-on experience with viruses and molecular biology. After graduating, I got a few offers for postdoc and decided to join Harvard Medical School.
Tumors need blood supply. Can we stop it?
As a postdoctoral fellow I learn to study tumor angiogenesis in Prof. Dvorak’s lab at Center for Vascular Biology (BIDMC). We study tumor blood vessel formation and cell signaling pathways that regulate angiogenesis. It is interesting to find out why anti-VEGF therapy doesn’t work all the time. My mentor, who is well known for the discovery of VPF/VEGF, has supported me in all aspects that helped my scientific career. He is an excellent scientist and great human being. My lab mates are very collaborative.
Boston full of energy, young people
In Boston, I entered a scientific community of extremely talented people who work in a very collaborative atmosphere. Boston is very rich in terms of intellectual density, especially in science and medicine. I enjoy the city, its changing weathers, the Charles river and drives around nearby towns. Winters are typically very cold and often with snow storms. An expensive place to live and one of the oldest cities of the United States, Boston shares many cultural roots with greater New England.
Good graduate training important
If you are trained well as a graduate student, it’s not difficult to adapt in any lab. Though working in the area of tumor angiogenesis was completely new to me, it was a smooth transition. The major part of my work involves in vivo experiments on mouse models and that’s very translational towards developing new therapeutics. My investigator often jokes and says “In vivo VERITAS”.
Get your work published, plan well
To get a postdoc in USA, the best way is to utilize the time between thesis submission and defense for applications. Also get your work published before applying to a lab. Going to conferences and networking with the right people help. Make sure that the lab you join has sufficient funds to support your work. These days academic research in the West has been severely impacted with large cuts in funding.
Going back would be fun
Learning and doing science have been amazing here so far but I miss my family members and the feel of home. Considering going back, I won’t have many questions about Indian culture being born and brought up there. The positives of life in India are many. No more visa hassles or worrying about being an alien in a foreign land. Then of course, there’s street food, festivals, local bazaars and honking on the road, I miss that so much. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, but only if expectations are set realistically.
Doing things I get excited about
Throughout the stay in Boston my surroundings have remained relatively constant, though changes have occurred. The new discoveries in tumor biology enlightened me but also complicated my work. Along with a few friends, I have plans to spin off a company sometime in the near future and that’s going to be exciting. Organisations I have worked with so far, including Harvard, my mentors and the friends who have supported me, will remain an important part of my life.
It’s nice to see our Away from home interactive map (pictured below) dotting up nicely with an entry every Wednesday. Stay tuned as we add more Indian postdocs from around the world. We are hoping to have a couple of entries from Australia soon. Please feel free to suggest names of postdocs from unusual countries we haven’t covered yet.
