When you pursue a PhD, you would come across several inhibitions, and many a time you need to counter them with will and passion.
The first, please don’t you worry what of your PhD but consider thinking how this career will reach you address the goals. Please keep away some inhibitions like, eligibility criterion and thoughts like whether or not this degree in certain specific subject would have been yielded more results. Just keep positives and ensure your goals are reached.
Second, you are not a master. Please keep down-to-earthness always. Ask for inquisitiveness, yearn for understanding, be passionate about what you do.
Third, never look down your peers. The other way round is respect your peers, criticise constructively and importantly take home and give back to the world what you have learnt!
Best
Prash
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Enabling the disability
The last six weeks, I have been limping like a small frog. The reason: I skid and fell down and had a major ligament (type 3) sprain in my right leg. While I was there in the hospital for couple of days, I put positive frame of mind in attending my lab/office after five days, of course, then still limping. I have indeed become paraplegic!
Then came the thoughts on how a couple of my mentors and good well-wishers who are a reputed scientists in the field could overcome these barriers in life. My sincere appreciations for their cause of ‘doing science and research’ that they have been making for years. Truly applaudable! While sparing thoughts for such scientists, I asked if it were a hindrance for doing science. It was, to me at least certainly both physically and emotional pain that I have gone through (and still going through) for weeks now. I don’t think I have overcome this but I can sense what it takes for such people to overcome:
- Science is the only word they are passionate about. They keep scientific and societal challenges as one.
- They consider themselves like “regulons” and so they are not worried about what suppresses or activates them.
- They are willing to help, spend time and most importantly do NOT worry about their disability.
- To them, there is only one entity: The goal of serving the cause: Be it science or society!
Let us proudly present the people whom we know are doing science, research and help us get inspired and motivated. Let us be selfish for the reason being we are all humans.
I have two eminent scientists to mention:
Dr. G Bhanuprakash Reddy, Senior Scientist at National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad who is also my mentor
Dr. Sivaramaiah Nallapeta, a good friend of mine and who works as a Senior Scientist for Nanotemper technologies, Bangalore.
They are well known. A simple google search takes them everywhere.
My sincere salutations Bhanu and Sheev!
Prash for Bioclues.org
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I love sharing news with my colleagues, friends and well-wishers. I have been an e mail maniac. After all, I am a computational biologist and I work with computers. Shouldn’t I take some time to relax? Yes I am a human: So what could I do to take some time off? I take small intermittent breaks and post the scientific news in the blogs, groups that I am associated with. I would do it often rather keeping it at bay. I get motivated with small-time e mails that others do send, ensure I read them ,get back to work while I share them again with friends whom I feel that it ought to be shared. Now comes the problem. People call(ed) me a s-p-a-m-m-e-r 😦 and wondering how I react(ed)?
1. The first thing, of course a jovial thing to start with, I would say is that I am not a S-C-A-M-M-E-R:-). See it isn’t ‘C.’
2. I begin using a virtual alias and interestingly when the mails come from an alias (anonymous), there aren’t any complaints! They happily receive it; enjoy reading the mails and the science behind it. Hmmm… Isn’t it something to do with human psyche?
3. I often don’t get replies or appreciation (No self-propaganda or self-appraisal please!). Would I be miffed? After all, it is I who did spend some minutes in sending an e mail to many. Initially I did feel bad, but now I have become a commoner. The least I could feel good is that I am not called as a s-p-a-m-m-e-r :-)
Take home message: Be what you are
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I am sure everyone would have had a career break during one’s lifetime. So do I. I have always wondered how best we could cope up so as to bridge ourselves during the time where you try to build your career. Here are my takes:
1. Keep your morale high. That always helps.
2. You would for sure get different thoughts. Invite them, discuss with your peers and friends.
3. Spend as much time you could with your friends.
4. Start writing a review on your subject that has caught an interest. This would be my best take as it would help you move forward. What more! a publication is no different in taking you setup some goals 🙂
5. Subscribe to different journals, have a bird’s eye view of different new words you come across.
6. Setup some coffee meetings with your peers, ex colleagues or perhaps future lab mates/colleagues?
7. Update your Linkedin and Research Gate profiles whilst taking premium account that is offered to you 🙂
8. Participate, discuss in forums and prepare for some questions that you might expect in the future.
9. Save some energies even as you start reading journals, newspapers, watch movies etc.
10. And …why not blog so as to help people like me read such stories :-))
All the best
Prash
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I have been taken aback when I was told by one of my mentees that a CSIR qualified student need to write an examination again in order to qualify for registering PhD in participating organizations. I fail to understand what and how such competency is assessed. Why double participation and assessment? I think it is waste of man hours and unnecessarily creating extraneous competence in assessing genuine candidates. Furthermore, I feel lots of time can be saved if this can be avoided. Let the student be asked to write a project proposal and present on the topic instead. Shouldn’t this work better?
Is someone listening please?
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I hail from a small order named Passeriformes, with genus Passer domesticus. I was well-known and commonly regarded as House Sparrow and I’m not sure how many of my genre do put up their living in your households. At least in a city life, my kith and kin alike are not found. Kindly spare a thought on our bird family. We are in the greatest threat of being endangered. And sorry, I mean to say that You are the culprit. May I ask you to put the following iota of thoughts as a new year resolution, should you spare time?
*Please avoid mobiles that cause radiation. Kindly ensure to ask the shopkeeper the radiation index of the instrument you purchase.
*These days, there are walkies which work on landlines rather mobile signals. Would you mind purchasing the one? They are less costly and would prove to be a classy gadget than the pocket-size instrument.
*I recently heard that Skype is doing an amazing thing wherein you could use it for Androids and other lappy/notebooks. Could you please use it for your long talks?
*Could someone study the reason of genetic differentiability in our sedentary birds?
*Use hand-held walky instruments which can be connected to mobiles whence at home.
Kindly spare a thought on the aforementioned as I fly back to put a word to my friends, saying: “yes, there are still good listeners in India.”
Yours, once passionate bird,
Passer domesticus
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Whither contribution?
I have a great respect for authors who publish very nice articles which allows me to get inspired. But sometimes I wonder how good is the girth of the manuscript with respect to the number of authors? I mean, would the content of the manuscript fit into precisely the “number of authors” have worked for the manuscript? Is it worth to have “those number of authors” for a manuscript? With due respect to my fellow scientists, I feel sometimes it is overwhelming to mention this. I suggest the journals to incorporate the following measures for this:
1. Before the manuscript is to be written or the work is to be carried, let the authors realize what and the how of contribution for the work. If someone feels that an iota of work is being done/reviewed by so many authors, perhaps a possible explanation be given in the covering letter to the editor.
2. Let there be a three-way test before one sums up the contribution:
Am I involved?
Is my contribution worthwhile?
Am I concerned in lieu of the girth of the manuscript?
I get reminded of the following quotes by Samuel Johnson:
Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good.
Just my two cents
Prash
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Indian research especially in Biology has gained momentum in recent years. Young researchers and graduate students have acquired interest in science through extra mural funding they receive. While there are well-to-do laboratories that have substantial funding, often the funding leads them to get published in reputed journals. In contrast, there are not so well furnished laboratories who may or may not be deprived of publications. Let’s consider these two parlance as the haves and the havenots respectively. Oftentimes, it is observed that the laboratories with good funding tend to publish good research articles in contrast to mediocre publications by the ones who have limited or no funding. I have an intuition that publishing through open access would bridge these two things. In developing nations like India where open access is a leeway for scientists to publish research, it is rather difficult for the havenots to get their research published in open access and reputed journals. There are quite good number of so-called havenots – young scientists and graduate students, not-for-profit organizations who have been doing noble research but often do not have the capital necessary to take forward the research to a next level or get their research published in open access journals. Although many journals provide access to scholarly literature, and waivers for little or no cost, there is no backing from government agencies for havenots.
So is it like the one who publish in reputed and high impact factor journals oft hail from well-to-do laboratories? Whilst the havenots end up publishing the spiffing research through waivereds or remain as just havenots if their research is not acceptable. The food for thought here is to raise the standards of havenots in research especially in developing countries like India. This can certainly be done if the funding organizations start a seed funding initiative like Nature Innocentive for innovative ideas keeping in mind the graduate students and researchers. This will carve out a niche for those laboratories to cover the cost for General Laboratory Practices besides seeking waivers for publishing in open access journals.
In doing so, we could produce two things in science and academia:
1. A creative output to financially compensate the research thus innovating ideas.
2. Creating science writers with passion for research and open access.
This I believe will hold relevance to Indian science especially when an estimated 50% of Indian graduates think to settle abroad. Otherwise, I’m afraid that the research investigations would just be amusing leaving the knowledge behind. Let there be no debate again on Publish or Perish.
“Creative thinking ability facilitates the ability to realize innovations.” ~ Emem Ite
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I have been often asked by my European friends, what makes me feel an Indian and how would many a Indian live together with moribund poverty around? I patiently reply them about the rich culture and unity in diversity that India abores. We have had several problems compounding Indian ethos, but the one I would like to stress today is the noesis to compete especially in a region.
Having been born, raised and brought-up in Telangana, I find it amusing when people discuss the need for Telangana, simply the T-factor. At a time when Indian think-tank are settling abroad, and when intelligentsia of the Indian elite discuss development in and for India, the contrasting picture Indian mendicant-thoughts arise make me sick. Recently, one of my graduate classmate-turned-friends and I had a short debate on this. Whilst I raised an eyebrow on the discussion, I urged him not to bring disparities. He also came to an inertial extent that just because the state is NOT separated, he has been deprived of a good job. To my friends who are good listeners, I end my year 2010 note on a high with following questions in mind, it’s you who need to think wherewithal of truth, tryst and tyrrany. BTW, Start 2011, I would keep these discussions at http://www.abctales.com/user/prashbio while keeping my wordpress speak Biology. Happy New Year.
How much money would go on a waste if we are to construct the legislatures, courts and many a government office in the region?
Wouldn’t Telanganga, if formed be the whipping boy without water?
What would be the fate of Hyderabad, the city of pearls-turned-the second capital of modern India?
What best the governments has done so far in the interest of Telangana region?
Is just Telangana alone a backward? What about other regions? What guarantees the T -factor?
Would there be a promise that there wouldn’t be another sub regional mass movements?
Even should the need arise of a so-called T-factor,
Aren’t we the H-U-M-A-N-S first sitting in a cloud of the most intelligent animals on the earth? (What would the Chimp have done, if this were the case?)
Should we express disparity among the neighborhood?
How many a career have been lost by students who involved in the protests?
Importantly, shouldn’t we strive for development, while staying united?
Finally, have we forgotten the quotes of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation?
“Unity to be real must stand the severest strain without breaking”
Jai Hind
Prash
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Miles to go before we sleep…!
Miles to go before we sleep…!
There were lots of things happening in India and abroad the last few weeks. While it was the commonwealth games that ushered a new era in Indian sports, it was also the Nobel week. I have had no time to opine on many a thing that happened the last few days. But few thoughts, here I’m again…
India has done it..! True, we have successfully organized commonwealth games (CWG). Thanks to the volunteers, organizers and the participants who witnessed the spectacular event. It was a huge success. But at what cost? Whopping 16000 crores ..! One of my ex-neighbors skewed … “Damn it! my tax money is otiose with the corruption charges… shame India!” A politician lambasted: “I’m never going to watch the games, I’m out of country and will be back only after the games are over..” The media furor before the games that started was a bad sign for Indian games. But everything happened as it has to happen and it was a success story that India could finally make it. I have two points to discuss, one on the role of the participants and the media and the other completely contrasting side on the what India should do at the helm.
There’s an intuition that India cannot organize the games. Doubts were raised about how of organization when some photographs depicting filthy games village were shown by the media. Comments of a few athletes popped up showcasing their absence and their ‘inability” to attend games on the grounds that they might fall “sick” while some raised concerns about security. Everyone had their say… Millions spent on the games… The media over reacted. It seems they had no other news than to tinker-bell CWG Delhi. Some might argue that just because the media reacted, the games went on well with the organizers making up 100 % . I wouldn’t think so. Every organizer would work for pride, for their country and for their appraisal and so are the organizers of CWG Delhi. We need to accept the fact that the organizers did splendid job. Let someone complain that the games were bad and then there could be an inkling of thought. But the games haven’t then started, the complaints rolled, I would call it shrewd non sense. Media must learn to stop over reacting. I could give you another example on how of media-hyping : “Intelligence warns terrorists attack might be in Europe.” so what would one come out of this statement? What’s the take home message? By now the terrorists might have gone through this news and for sure might go for Plan B. Completely non sense! Isn’t the media and sometimes the Government undoing secrecy?
My another point is can we take up this story to eradicate poverty in India? Yes we could and let’s not make it lackadaisical. To me 16000 crore INR would for sure make India a developed country. Do you think how? I would say why not? It is in our hands to elect leaders who work for the country. Let’s discuss the development. Shall we?
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