Breaking the age barrier: Reconsidered

“I grew up in a family surrounded by academicians, particularly my maternal grandfather who was a renowned professor at Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad and served as a visiting professor at prestigious universities of the US like University of Wisconsin-Madison and Penn State. I had a rank of 84 in WBJEE medical entrance exam but fear of blood led me away from pursuing a medical career. Instead, I enrolled at NIT Durgapur, which was closer to home, for a BTech in Electronics and Communication Engineering. Though engineers those days weren’t encouraged from reading scientific journals like Nature and Science, I often indulged in them, having an ardent passion in scientific breakthroughs and foreseeing their relevance for my future.

After completing my engineering, I worked in various roles in the industry for over 4 years at companies such as WIPRO, Infosys in India and Airbus, British Telecom in the UK. My interest in further education was piqued during a stint in Belfast, Northern Ireland where I observed friends preparing for the GRE.

I quit my job and went on to pursue a Master’s in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Iowa State. But I found myself gravitating more towards courses on basic sciences, taught by distinguished professors and Nobel Laureates, than on engineering. The Department Chair did raise slight concerns about it but by then I had already started working on structural biology in Robert Jernigan’s laboratory as a summer intern. I continued working there for my Master’s dissertation as well. I switched back to industry after my Master’s working in a Silicon Valley based Bioinformatics startup company where I was exposed to cutting edge technologies in the field.

I then went to pursue a PhD at University of Georgia in Bioinformatics, with a focus on plant genomics. However, personal tragedy struck when my father fell seriously ill, necessitating frequent trips to India. The trips were not only expensive but also mentally taxing. Sadly, he passed away just before the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, which extended my stay in India. His passing coupled with the loss of family and friends to the virus, and frequent lockdowns virtually killed my dreams of PhD in the States, despite university extensions.

I found solace and purpose as an Assistant Professor at a local college, Dr. B. C. Roy Engineering College, Durgapur, where I taught for a few years before reconsidering the decision to pursue a PhD. Eventually, I joined IIT Kanpur, drawn by the interdisciplinary prospects of computational biology under a supportive supervisor. Adjusting to the rigorous academic environment and harsh weather in Kanpur was challenging initially. But I am learning to adapt here and currently working on multi-modal integration in single cells to understand their functionality at the tissue level.

Reflecting on my journey, I’ve come to believe that age should never limit one’s pursuit of knowledge and passion. My experiences, including interactions with peers particularly in the US like a 60-year-old veteran who had fought in the Vietnam War, beginning a PhD in theoretical math and a grandmother starting her doctoral journey, tend to reinforce this belief. They’ve shown me that it’s never too late to start anew and follow one’s dreams.”

-Debkanta Chakraborty, PhD in Computer Science, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

Interviewed and written by Payel Das