The second copy
“The first time I saw chromosomes in the onion root cells, as a child, piqued my interest in biology. I particularly got interested in medical sciences after watching doctors in medical series diagnosing cases in the most unexpected way. However, I was unsuccessful in getting into any government medical colleges and the private medical schools were unaffordable. So I shifted my focus to other fields where I could still be close to biological sciences.
I eventually enrolled for a Bachelor’s in Microbiology at Delhi University followed by a Master’s. During my dissertation, months of failed experiments yielded little progress and finally in the last two months, I pivoted to studying Leishmania donovani, an organism causing kala-azar, to understand basic biology of the organism. This early experience taught me that research can involve sudden project shifts and starting everything from scratch.
Post graduation, I started exploring avenues to pursue research, but I didn’t have a fellowship back then. I landed a job offer at a startup, but the long working hours and a meagre salary led me to quit. Around the same time, I secured the DST-INSPIRE fellowship which proved to be a boon as it cleared my path for pursuing a PhD.
I worked in the same laboratory where I pursued my Master’s. It allowed me to stay at home, minimizing my personal expenses. Initially the fellowship salary of 32,000 INR/month, felt sufficient. But over the later years, I realized that financial stability was a significant concern, especially when I compared it to the earnings of my peers in other fields.
My PhD project was an extension of my Master’s dissertation project on Leishmania and although there was a sense of familiarity, there were setbacks. I faced a significant roadblock in 2017 while attempting to delete a gene from this organism. I repeatedly failed to delete the second copy of the gene. Seeing me struggle, my supervisor suggested I take a break from this difficult project and assist a senior in their work, for which I would be credited as a second author in the publication. What was meant to be a short break stretched into nearly one and half years as the work required more data, pushing my own research further back. Then the pandemic arrived, halting laboratory access entirely. I shifted to a mammalian cell line project to keep moving, only to be scooped when another group published similar findings. That disappointment stung; it underscored how relentless and competitive science can be.
After the lockdowns, I returned to my original project with quiet determination, still working with the same partial knockout cell line. In 2023, while I was drafting my thesis, the breakthrough finally came. I succeeded in knocking out that elusive second gene copy after years of effort. It was a moment of pure, hard-won triumph.
We submitted a paper soon after my thesis submission, only to face rejection from a prestigious journal. Yet the reviewers’ comments, calling for additional proteomics and genomics experiments, became a blessing in disguise. Though hesitant to prolong my work, I followed my supervisor’s lead and collaborated externally to complete the new studies. The revised manuscript was accepted by another respected journal with minimal changes, and I now see that initial rejection as a gift that improved the quality of my work.
But this entire journey was far from being a cakewalk. There were times I felt burned out and thought about quitting altogether. I struggled to say no to my supervisor’s requests, even when I questioned the relevance of certain experiments. My work consumed me, blurring the lines between personal life and professional life. Through it all, my family and close friends were my anchor, reminding me that I wasn’t alone. When I finally submitted my thesis, the relief was indescribable, a weight lifted off after years of carrying it!
This journey shaped not only my career but my perspective on academia. Our system must create spaces where PhD students can take guilt-free breaks to prevent burnout, and working over the weekends should be a choice, not an unspoken expectation. Financial stipends also need to keep pace with inflation so that students can focus on science without constant financial stress.
To anyone just beginning a PhD, I will advise you to be patient. Results have their own timing, no matter how hard you work. Protect your mental health, and don’t push so hard that you burn out. For those nearing the finish line, start networking early. Attend conferences, reach out to alumni, and connect with scientists even when it feels intimidating. Relationships built along the way can open doors to postdocs, industry roles, and unexpected opportunities.”
-Varshni Sharma, PhD in Microbiology, Delhi University
Interviewed by Aniruddha Mukherjee and written by Payel Das
