Tell me about yourself.

I am a medical graduate from India. My passion is to be a neuroscientist and disseminate my knowledge to the world. I have several hobbies such as exploring places, rafting, numismatics, philately, notaphily, reading transcendental philosophy and biographical accounts.

What is your hometown? 

I hail from the “City of Joy,” Kolkata, which is a metropolitan city in eastern India.

Why did you choose UT Health San Antonio?

There are several reasons why I chose UT Health San Antonio. Firstly, my recommenders suggested this university. Secondly, I was drawn by the several neuroscience research projects done here by established faculty members who are pioneers in their fields such as pain, TBI, stroke, addiction, aging, Alzheimer’s disease, pediatric brain cancers and more. Thirdly, because of the good acculturation practices, which I understood from the diversity in the student and faculty population from all over the globe. Last but not the least, I received feedback from several of my friends and seniors that San Antonio is an incredible city with good subtropical climate, and lovely people, so I am looking forward to exploring more.

What drew you to your program?

I am in the IBMS program which is a multidisciplinary integrated program involving seven disciplines. Thus, the collaborative environment of this program, the diversity of research projects and the wide array of techniques and technologies used by researchers in various disciplines drew me to the program. I was sure that getting exposed to multiple disciplines will increase my outlook and perspective of dealing with research problems and questions in various ways.  Moreover, I will be learning the art of collaborative research which in future will lend credence to my work by helping me understand the scope of my work, gaining knowledge, and building network. All these tools in the program looked like a complete package for me to evolve as a translational researcher.

What are your career goals? 

My career goal is to share knowledge into the disease process of neurological disorders which is still esoteric in many ways due to the complexity in the diseases, and to find a suitable remedy for the same. To fulfill this quest, I need to be an independent translational researcher in neuroscience.