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.
This week’s postdoc blogger is Puja Arora, who after completing her Ph.D from National institute of immunology in New delhi, India is now at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. She tells us why the “best thing about doing research as a job is that it’s not a job”.
Pooja Arora (extreme left) at a 'cultural crossroads for food' event held in her lab.
Yogurt drew me to science
I grew up in a small village and my family had cows. I used to wonder how milk turns into yogurt and how it sometimes doesn’t. I imagined it were superheroes in the starter that my grandma used to add to milk and it was their superpower that transformed milk to yogurt. In high school I understood that my imaginary superheroes were tiny bacteria invisible to the naked eye but seen with a microscope. College solved the mystery of fermentation and I got hooked to studying the chemistry of life.
Great teachers
I went to National institute of immunology in New Delhi, India for my PhD studies and trained with Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, one of the most successful scientists in India today. He taught me how exciting it is to work on seemingly intractable problems and solve them using innovative methods. I learnt everything about doing science from him. For my postdoc, I wanted to take a detour and decided to pursue immunology. I joined Prof. Steven Porcelli at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY and am working on the molecular control of glycolipid presentation. The connecting link between my research work are the lipids — I studied their biosynthetic pathways for my graduate studies and am now studying their immunogenicity.
I just want to paraphrase my friend Shajo: “The best thing about doing research as a job is that its not a job”. The best feature of my present lab is collegiality and the collaborative nature of my colleagues. I am also fortunate enough to have all the independence I want in my research, the ability to walk into Steve’s office anytime and discuss my problems.
A smooth transition
The transition from India to my US lab was very smooth and I think the academic culture is pretty much the same everywhere. Reagent wait times in the US are non-existent and there in no red tape to deal with for the routine orders — those were my major gripes during PhD.
Most of the acclimatization is needed when you step outside into the bounds of the unknown metropolis called NYC. The weather is really cold in winter and you have to dress in layers. I would recommend buying your winter stuff here, the Indian outerwear is not warm enough for the east coast cold.
I had my moments of cross cultural anxiety though. My first thanksgiving was a shock, I was assigned to carving the big 24 pound turkey my Italian landlady had cooked. My refusal to eat meat induced my landlady to offer me shrimp pasta — “‘coz it ain’t no meat.”
Miss my family
I miss my family, especially my mom. I visit them annually but its just too little and those family times are over too soon.
Doing a postdoc abroad gives you a good oppurtunity to broaden your horizons and interact with people from different countries. This transition can be very smooth if you are someone who enjoys change and is not scared of it. For people who prefer to be surrounded by their families and friends, staying in India maybe an equally good option.
I would get back to India if I get a really good job offer.
You can see where the postdocs featured in this series are based in the interactive Away from home map (pictured below) updated every Wednesday.
