Let’s paint Science

“My interest in science stemmed from the moment I visualized DNA on an agarose gel for the first time, during a school visit to the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal. The fact that scientists could see bio-molecules like DNA and proteins, which I perceived to be invisible and are sort of privy to others, sounded too enticing to ignore. I decided I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up right at that instance. Everything that followed after was a conventional path until after my PhD.

Before I started my journey, I had a very glorified view of how science progressed and what scientists did. It was only after I joined IISc, that I realized that the environment did not fit that perception. I had my fair share of failures with regards to my experiments and project, something that I didn’t assume would be often out of control. But I believed that it was only in the face of adversity that you understand yourself better.

Despite all setbacks, I learnt a lot, not just in terms of science but also about my own shortcomings and strengths. I was fortunate to have an amazing group of friends who I could rely on. I did not let the anxiety of PhD isolate me. I also tried therapy, but due to lack of therapists around, it did not help much. In spite of my experience, in situations of distress, I would advocate for getting professional help from good therapists because sanity, safety and…