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 guest blogger is Mugdha Joglekar, the first postdoc in this series from Australia. Mugdha is a postdoc fellow at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney and worked previously at the National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India. She gives us a lowdown of the Australian research scene and puts it in perspective by comparing it with that of America.
Mugdha Joglekar in her lab at the University of Sydney
Curiousity means science
I have always loved to explore biology and discover newer areas of science. I think this curiosity to understand, identify and investigate newer areas of research got me interested in pursuing science as a career.
The immunology of diabetes
I worked at the National Centre for Cell Science, Pune in the laboratory of Prof. Anand Hardikar. I moved to St Vincent’s Institute, Melbourne as I am interested in the immunology of diabetes. Another interest was the opportunity to be a part of the human islet isolation and transplantation team. I was involved in human cadaveric islet isolations, some of which were transplanted into diabetic individuals. Recently, I have moved to join the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Australia to continue my research in diabetes and also work with a team of researchers and clinicians that has great experience in conducting clinical studies and trials.
I have been fortunate to be selected for the JDRF post-doctoral award from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, USA, and am presently working as a JDRF Post-doctoral Fellow at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney. I am involved in various projects directed at different aspects of understanding pancreas development and treating diabetes. My JDRF funded project involves understanding the role of pro-apoptotic molecule-bid, in human pancreatic beta cell death.
Australia most livable
I find Australia as one of the most liveable places where I can have a good balance between work and personal life. Both Melbourne and Sydney are great places to live in and have some of the biggest research communities in Australia. Out on the road, these cities are very different. Driving in Sydney reminds me of Pune traffic sometimes, especially with drivers being less courteous than those in Melbourne.
My transition from India to Australia was smooth. However shifting the focus from stem cell biology to immunology was not as easy as I expected! People here are very nice and most of them have a typical Aussie accent, which initially was difficult for me. For those of you coming in from outside Australia, please don’t be startled if you hear a question “Are you here to-die (today!)?”
My lab is a great mix of different cultures and a fun place to work in!
What to look out for
Australia is a fantastic place to be in especially if you like to go places and be adventurous. Work-wise, early post-doctoral fellows in Australia are treated as employees (unlike in the USA) and receive all benefits. Although post-doctoral fellowships are higher in Australia than in the USA, cities like Sydney can cut down all differences due to high costs of living. The other thing to remember is that Australia has a smaller funding pool and smaller research community than in the USA. So it is more competitive to get into good places. Watch out for new positions especially around October-December (NHMRC announcements) and check out possibilities for travel/short term fellowships to visit labs in Australia before making a formal application.
Street shopping, I miss you!
I miss all the near and dear ones in India and, of course, the street shopping! I am not very sure when I’ll return to my country since there is a lot to learn and achieve before I can come back as an independent researcher.
Mugdha Joglekar puts our first flag post in Australia. Stay tuned as we add more Indian postdocs from around the world every Wednesday to the interactive Away from home map pictured below. Please feel free to suggest names of postdocs from unusual countries we haven’t covered yet.
