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 we get to hear from Biswapriya Biswavas Misra, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and currently a postdoctoral researcher at Chen Laboratory, Department of Biology in University of Florida, Gainesville, USA. Biswapriya says his passion for plant biology surpasses everything else in his life and offers a golden tip — that postdoc is just the beginning of a researcher’s life.
Curious kid, encouraging elders
My mother says when I was a kid, I used to make mixtures of things like honey, toothpaste, soap, shampoo and oil and burn them. I observed how the cats rejected their differently coloured kittens (say a black one in a white litter). In playgrounds, I uprooted the grass to look at them. Later during my college days, my father’s friend, a Professor in Botany, influenced me to choose plant science over zoology setting me to score well in biology. The constant encouragement and praise I received from my biology teachers paved way for a Masters and a PhD. That was the matrix of events that led me into science.
After a masters degree from Utkal University, Orissa (now Odisha) with a gold medal, I joined the department of biotechnology at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur for a degree in plant biotechnology. My supervisor exposed me to the field of non-model plants, small molecules, hyphenated instrumentation, bioactive phytoconstituents and plant biotechnology in a holistic manner through the Indian sandalwood tree. After a short postdoc in Malaysia on rubber tree genomics (again on a non-model tree) , the natural progression for me was to look for a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded postdoctoral position. I found that in plant metabolomics and proteomics and landed in the department of biology of University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.
Passion for plants
Our research group focuses on understanding the single-cell metabolomics and proteomics of plant guard cells (the two cells surrounding the stomatal aperture on leaves) which regulate plant-environment water balance and hence affect crop productivity. Hyphenated mass spectroscopy, transcriptomics and proteomics approaches help us understand the intricate regulation of this vital phenomenon.
I cherish the amazing companionship with my Principal Investigator, the expertise that he is conferring on me and the training and enthusiasm that he has extended to me. In terms of laboratory, it is a medium sized group with a big resourceful department providing services in genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics.
In USA, I did learn a professional approach to work. You are appreciated for your work quality. There is equality, resource and the facility to exercise your imagination and passion!
Settling in with patience
The acclimatisation can never be smooth when you come from such a different cultural background. Recognising currency, finding acceptable food, bus routes, independence, housing, security, cash-less systems, professional colleagues, distance from home — all of this had to be dealt with patience.
There have been some hilarious moments while trying to fit in here. For example, when a lab mate says something like ‘finding an apartment with 1.5 toilet!’, you are stumped. Back home we have either 1 or 2 toilets but not this arithmetic! Stranger still is when the PI asks you for a beer or a drink or two! Back home it would be considered outrageous. Accents are an issue always and can cause real good confusion leading to lengthy conversations!
One thing that makes you feel ‘away from home’ is the professional approach that extends beyond the lab to life! For instance, if you ask someone on the road for directions, you are helped with the route but back home the person would actually walk or drive you to the place.
No alternative to hard work
Postdoc is a lot about whom you get to work with and how the position aligns with not just your professional but also your personal life. Self-evaluation is necessary while applying for a position to define one’s career objectives (for me it was staying with plants). Also, being open to the diverse opportunities in research (biotechnology to genomics to metabolomics/ proteomics).
There is no alternative or short cut to hard work, learning and skills. One has to be most passionate for science than for anything else to be able to excel. Otherwise you just thrive or survive in research.
Miss places, people, pointless fun
I miss the places that matter: where I was born, grew up, studied and got trained. I miss my parents, my mentors, friends, food, the air, the land, news channels, and almost everything (it’s a huge list)! Movies at cine-complexes, festivities, home, picnics with big groups of friends and addeybaji (light-hearted discussions on absolutely nothing!)
Postdoc is just the beginning
I would love to come back to India at the first opportunity. Shelf lives of postdocs are limited. There has been a huge increase in offers from funding bodies like DBT, INSA, CSIR and DST. I would like to pursue the newly established IITs, IISERs and some great initiatives like NABI, Mohali; ICGEB, New Delhi, NCBS, Plant Biology Division (upcoming) and so on.
At the end of the day, one wishes to utilise the training received to become an accomplished scientist in one’s own land. That’s the ultimate dream of all researchers ‘away from home’.
Academic life is a complex matrix. Most people fail to strike the proper balance between professional and personal lives, which is a pity. One should stop evaluating ‘potential’ from just impact factors, number of publications, first authors — it should rather be based on their contribution and impact in the area of research [the DORA Agreement reflects this nicely!].
At the end I must say, life is not limited to being a postdoc! It’s just the beginning.
Biswapriya Biswavas Misra is one of the first postdocs from the South of USA featured in this blog. He is the 28th postdoc on our interactive Away from home world map pictured below and updated every Wednesday. Please feel free to suggest names of postdocs from countries and disciplines we haven’t covered yet.
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