Embarking on an independent scientific journey as an academician heading an independent research group with teaching responsibilities comes with a set of unique challenges. Each person has a unique way of navigating this path. The background preparation and strategies one employs to get into an academia based position are also varied. As a part of SciSoup Blog Series, we have tried to collate a questionnaire that various young investigators and early career researchers have responded to and we hope that this brings in new perspectives, ideas and helps aspiring young researchers who are planning to take this path and embark on this exciting journey ahead.
SEP 30, 2022 | BY ROHAN J. KHADILKAR
In this mentoring Blog post, we would be sharing with you the views and experiences of Dr. Ashutosh Srivastava who is an Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of technology (IIT), Gandhinagar. He obtained his Ph.D. from CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) Hyderabad, and then moved to Japan to pursue his postdoctoral research at Nagoya University. Currently, as an independent PI at IIT Gandhinagar, his team uses diverse computational methods to explore mammalian and plant circadian biology.
1) How was the transition like from being a postdoctoral fellow to an independent investigator and leading a research group?
After completing a month as a faculty member at IIT Gandhinagar, I wrote about my experiences during this transition and I could not help but draw parallels between my ten months old son and myself. Using the same analogy, I would say the transition from postdoctoral life to an independent researcher is in many ways similar to what a child goes through when she is learning to stand on her own and walk. There is an initial phase of insecurity and fear of letting go of the support, followed by a growing confidence in one’s own strength and finally the first step. There are certainly bumps and bruises along the way but they teach valuable lessons on what not to do. For me the transition has been quite smooth, with little to no bumps or bruises and I would give full credit to IIT Gandhinagar for that. The first member of my group, a Ph.D student, joined the institute almost at the same time as me. So, the transition from a postdoctoral researcher to a mentor was pretty quick for me. Again, I got loads of help from my colleagues in this aspect as well. In terms of funding, I had already submitted my application for Ramalingaswami Fellowship before joining IITGN. After joining, I submitted the SERB Start-up Research Grant and also received an internal funding support from IITGN.
During my postdoc days in Japan, there was a lot of emphasis on understanding that most of the research that we were conducting was funded by public money and so there were very stringent rules in place to ensure that there was no wastage of public money. This helped me quite a bit during my transition to an independent investigator as I could understand the reasons behind the detailed procedures for procurement practices. Even here, I found the administrative staff at IITGN very efficient and always ready to help. Within a few days of joining the institute I became a tutor for undergraduate “Introduction to Life Sciences” course. This was quite a learning experience for me and made my transition to teaching a full course much easier. The toughest aspect of transition was the move from Japan to India during the pandemic. The pandemic created so many unforeseen obstacles which I hope will become irrelevant, as we go ahead.
2) What advice and tips you would provide to a person who is planning on transitioning to academia and is on the academic job market?
The first advice would be to remain positive, no matter what. The entire process of applying, giving job talks, interviewing, is gruelling, both physically and emotionally. It is not very different from getting your paper accepted in a reputed journal. Sometimes you face repeated rejections and sometimes it just clicks and your manuscript goes through smoothly. Just as we believe in our science while we go through criticisms of reviewers, we need to keep believing in ourselves in the face of rejection from institutes. The other very important aspect that I find many of us end up doing is comparing ourselves to others, to draw some kind of conclusions about strength and weaknesses of our application. One should focus on one’s own strengths and try to highlight those both in the written application as well as interviews.
Here, I would also like to emphasize the importance of the application form. The written word, whether it is research proposal or teaching statement, holds a lot of importance so the applications should be prepared with considerable attention and thought. Getting in touch with some of the people who have recently gone through the process of recruitment is very helpful. Reaching out to former mentors and collaborators and giving seminars at the potential institutes are some of the things that one can do to get people excited about your science. Finally and this is my personal opinion as it may differ for everyone, but it is not a good idea to restrict oneself to certain institutes, or geographical location, except when there are specific reasons related to family, health etc. I believe that there is very little downside to spending some extra time to apply to as many places as possible. Just as we expect each institute to evaluate our application independently and in an unprejudiced manner, we should also be ready to explore all the institutes relevant to our research areas without any prejudices.
3) What are some of the specific challenges you faced while setting up your own lab and starting a new research group?
Every day comes with a new challenge just as you come across challenges while performing your research. I feel as researchers one of the things that fascinates most of us and perhaps sets us apart is our ability to troubleshoot. Troubleshooting is a quintessential part of the research and similarly of starting a new research group. One specific challenge that I faced and I am sure most young PIs face is time management. Until November 2020, the highest priority, professionally, for me was to figure out why a particular code was not working or why a specific simulation was behaving in a weird manner. Suddenly in January 2020, I had a list of high priorities – submitting grant, hiring a postdoc, interviewing Ph.D candidates, designing my course and of course figuring out why a particular code was not working, all equally important and all requiring my full focus. Everyone tackles this in their own way. I found that talking to my peers was the best way to get through this challenge.
IITGN has a “faculty buddy” system where every new faculty chooses an existing faculty member as their faculty buddy whose role is to help the newly joined faculty member to get settled both professionally and personally. I took full advantage of this and fortunately my faculty buddy was always ready to help me out. Even if there isn’t such an official system in place, I would suggest all young PIs to interact and take advice from their colleagues because everyone has gone through similar if not same challenges that you will be facing as young PI. The other challenge that I faced was when I advertised for the position of postdoctoral researcher. It was quite difficult to attract candidates with the required research expertise and interest to apply for the position. A very important factor in this regard becomes the dissemination and reach of the advertisement. In this regard, it is always recommended to reach out to colleagues in various institutes in India and request them to forward the advertisement. I have personally not been very social media savvy but using it to disseminate information has certainly been quite helpful.
4) Which are some of the fellowships/grants that an early career researcher in India can apply for in order to kick start their career?
Some of the fellowships/grants that are available to early career researchers are- SERB Start up research grant, DST- Ramanujan Fellowship (Only for those who do not have a regular position), DBT- Ramalingaswami Fellowship, DBT- Hargobind Khorana Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award and DBT-Wellcome India Alliance Intermediate Grant. Apart from these there are special calls for funding that are regularly announced by DST, SERB, DBT, other Ministries within Govt of India. Certain state governments also announce project funding calls. Finally, the private funding from industry for very specific areas also get announced and can be targeted not only for additional funds for establishing lab but also to foster relationship with industry.
5) Your thoughts on teaching, mentorship and its role in shaping curious minds?
Teaching has attracted me since the very beginning of my scientific career and I always had an inclination towards joining an academic institution where I could get involved in teaching. I believe teaching is not just for the curiosity of the students but also for the curiosity and benefit of the teacher as well. I have been fortunate enough to be taught by some really good teachers as well as some not so good teachers. Both have helped me realise the importance of teaching in influencing the lives of students. This has led me to believe that teaching is one of the most important aspects of academic life and something to be taken very seriously. With limited experience as of now, I am still trying to figure out several aspects of teaching. But, one thing that I have experienced in this short stint is that it has certainly improved my understanding of several topics. I strongly believe teaching helps one to become better researcher and I hope as I get more and more involved in teaching it will get reflected in my research. I feel mentoring is very specific to each student or group member. Each member of the group is different and there is no general way to communicate to everyone. So, I have been trying to develop approach to communicate and interact with each member in a customized manner. I feel these are still early days and as the group grows and there are more members, hopefully from very diverse backgrounds, this strategy will evolve and take shape for everyone’s well-being. One of the several things that I greatly admired in my postdoc advisor was that she provided a kind of flexibility in work culture that made the group members extremely comfortable. As a mentor, it is extremely important for me that the group members develop into independent thinkers. I understand that it takes time and patience to inculcate this in a group but I am positively looking forward to it.
6) If you were to share your life philosophy or “mantra” that you believe in the most that also helps you in 'sciencing', what would it be?
I have been a big believer of the concept of “Karma” which I must clarify is slightly different from the popular notion of “Do unto others…”. I believe in doing whatever is possible for me, to bring any kind of positive change in the lives of people around me, without any expectations of return. This philosophy, that has now become part of my life by observing my parents, has always helped me while taking tough decisions. Science is often seen as detached and rational, but there is a crucial human or emotional aspect of doing science, which unfortunately gets lost in the data, figures and statistical significance. This has often helped me in clarifying my priorities which is quintessential while doing science. Having clear priorities also helps in defining one’s own measure of success independent of what is perceived as success by others. Ultimately, in terms of academics, what matters is the part of academic life that you find most fulfilling. It could be being a great researcher or a great teacher or someone who contributes to society in a tangible way or it could be all of it. Being clear of what I loved the most about the academic life has helped me not only in “Sciencing” but my personal life as well.
Edited by - Ratneshwar Thakur (Science Communicator and Writer) and Dr. Rohan J. Khadilkar (INSA & Har Gobind Khorana - IYBA Awardee, Ramalingaswami Re-entry fellow), Tata Memorial Centre - ACTREC, Navi Mumbai, India.
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