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.
FEB 01, 2022 | BY ROHAN J. KHADILKAR
In this mentoring Blog post, we would be sharing with you the views and experiences of Dr. Arjun Ramakrishnan who is a Scientist at the BSBE department at Indian Institute of Tehnology (IIT), Kanpur. He trained as a Research Associate in the Platt Lab at the department of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. Prior to this (2012-15), he was a postdoctoral associate in the Nicolelis Lab at Center for Neuroengineering, Duke University, USA. He holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon, India and a Bachelor of Engineering in Telecommunications from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore, India.
1) How was the transition like from being a postdoctoral fellow to an independent investigator and leading a research group?
Transition from postdoc life has been an interesting experience so far. Although I had thought about this stage of my life a bit, there have been several challenging situations on a regular basis. For me the transition involved coming back to India from the US after 8 years to set up my lab at IIT Kanpur. I’ve now been here for about two years. Majority of the time was spent in planning research projects and writing grant proposals, interviewing and recruiting students, building the team, setting up the lab and weathering pandemic-related lifestyle changes. However, going through it with my colleagues and my better half Sharika (also an independent investigator at IITK) has made it a team experience where everyone could learn from one another.
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?
If I were to travel this journey again, with the benefit of hindsight, I would definitely plan ahead to get grant support sooner, maybe well in advance of the move. I would assess the feasibility of ordering essential equipment before my move. Especially with the GEM regulations, those returning now need to be made aware of the rules and regulations for purchases and the timelines involved. I would try to get the lab space in shape and ready-to-go on arrival. I would recommend taking interested students early to get a headstart towards building a team to support the lab’s goals. I would discuss with as many future colleagues as possible to understand the ground realities and facilitate integration with the administrative set up at the institute. I would also highly recommend gaining as much mentorship experience as possible by working in teams, advising younger colleagues, etc. We are not trained for mentorship but that is perhaps one of the most important skills for a young independent investigator. Mentorship, in the broad sense, also involves teaching, determining work assignments keeping in mind one’s strengths and weaknesses, motivating the team through setbacks while enjoying the little victories with them, so on and so forth.
3) What are some of the specific challenges you faced while setting up your own lab and starting a new research group?
Ordering equipment, especially from abroad, takes a lot of time. So finding out the procedures, rules and regulations involved well ahead of time would be a good step forward. Severe delays due to Covid slowed down renovation efforts of my lab and students were confined to their homes. As a result, we spent time developing projects that could be initiated online, from home. Venkat (BITS Hyderabad) and I organized an e-conference during the lockdown which was intellectually stimulating and helped maintain connections with colleagues elsewhere in the country and abroad. Working with my team was a lot tougher than I imagined, during the pandemic. Staying confined without much interaction made it difficult to gauge what the students were going through. Frequent communication based on what worked best for them -- time wise and platform wise -- was the need of the hour. We organized several online group activities including lab meetings, journal clubs, book clubs, mental healthcare sessions, as well as b’day parties and e-chitchat sessions over tea.
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?
Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has the Ramalingaswami re-entry fellowship and Department of Science and Technology (DST) has the Ramanujan fellowship that combined with the institute’s start-up funds can help kickstart your research career. One can also apply to start up research grants from the Science and Engineering Research Board, other grants from DBT, DST and Indian council for medical research (ICMR). DBT in partnership with the Wellcome Trust also provides generous support through the India Alliance fellowships.
5) Your thoughts on teaching, mentorship and its role in shaping curious minds?
I ended up creating two new courses -- one on decision making and the brain and another on statistics for modern biology -- over the last year and have had the privilege of teaching them to a broad group of undergraduate and postgraduate students from many departments. I was lucky to work with fabulous TAs who helped with everything ranging from course structure and providing a better understanding of the student's mindset. For both courses the idea has been to provide a broad foundation, while going all the way from the historical perspectives to the cutting edge. The courses also included real life problems that bring to fore the applications. There were several team assignments where they were challenged with open questions and unsolved problems. The teams also got the opportunity to present their thoughts and received critical feedback to improve their work. It is hard but I think fostering an atmosphere where the fear of failure and shame are mitigated is crucial to allow the students (anyone really) to exercise their creative freedom.
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?
Not really sure of a mantra but this is the first thought that came to mind when I thought about sciencing: the importance of gaining an all-round view or actively seeking different perspectives: for example, while reading science articles, also reading the comments; while reading papers, also looking at the reviewer comments; while listening to talks, paying close attention to the discussions at the end; looking for panel discussions especially the ones that bring together scientists with opposing viewpoints. Often this approach has helped me gain a well-rounded view on many topics. And, more importantly, it has helped with calibration of the balance between trust and skepticism, which is crucial in this era of big data and propaganda.
Dr. Arjun Ramakrishnan was interviewed by Dr. Rohan J. Khadilkar (INSA & Har Gobind Khorana - IYBA Awardee, Ramalingaswami Re-entry fellow), Tata Memorial Centre - ACTREC, Navi Mumbai, India.
Edited by - Ratneshwar Thakur and Dr. Rohan J. Khadilkar
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