'The old Pueblo' trail!

From http://insightiitb.org/internships/ Check it out for more stories by interns from IITB!

I am doing my research internship at The University of Arizona, commonly referred as UoA. Since this blog has to serve as a guideline to prospective students, let me describe the logistics involved.

I have a particular interest in Medicinal Chemistry even before I came to IITB. So I started applying for research internships during my second year for the following summer, and that is when I contacted this Prof. here at UoA. I should throw this out right now: Current state of research funding in the states is horrible. Universities are closing down departments and cutting on graduate intakes rapidly, so be prepared if you receive a lot of negative replies. So I got a similar reply ( this was in Nov,2007), but the Prof. encouraged me to apply next year and if he had funding he would take me in. Finally, I ended up joining the Nucleic Acid Chemistry research group at IITB last summer, which turned out to be the best decision I ever made. This is my advice to anyone who is serious about going into research, join groups here and try to gain some experience. The internship should serve the purpose of consolidation, ultimately leading to a graduate school where you will have an advantage of knowing the field well and coming up with interesting projects. Back to the discussion, so I applied again last December and this time luck favored me. I was accepted with full funding and a variety of projects to choose from.

I was basically accepted into a big collaboration, which spanned from UoA to Moffitt research center in Florida and has some 6 investigators working on it. The field is called ‘Peptidomimetics’ which is essentially synthetic peptides mimicking the function of naturally occurring proteins. These can be used as drugs to target a variety of ailments, in my case the group works on Cancer as the target. The current work proposes a new route to target a variety of cancer receptors in tumor cells and the grant is around $800,000. Medicinal chemistry is definitely a growing field and provides attractive career options both in India and abroad. If you have an understanding of biomolecules, this may very well be what you are looking for.

The biggest hurdle I faced was time, I had to be here on May 18 and my papers arrived from US on May 6. It was due to a variety of factors: you are asked to submit a number of documents to the host in order to process the DS-2019 application and in my case, the final acceptance came in April. I had a backup option in Bremen,Germany in case this hadn’t worked out, so keep applying because you never know when things go wrong. Also, keep soft copies of your passport, proof of parental income, transcript and medical insurance ready so that you can cut down the delays. Getting a US visa is time-consuming but not hard, you should be prepared to answer any questions the interviewer may have and you’ll be set. I got my Visa on May 14, and four days later landed in the land of opportunity:USA.

The A-mountain in Tucson. This is also the official logo of UoA.

Tucson is the second largest city in Arizona after Phoenix, which is of course a mammoth in comparison. The Us-Mexican border is 100 km away, so the area has a pronounced hispanic population and culture, which is actually good for Indians as the Mexican culture is quite similar to ours, whether it’s family dynamics or culinary experiences. Only exception, they put beef in everything, so be prepared to spend a bit more on food if you respect the cow like me! Other than that, you have a chance to experience the excellent work the Indian exports are doing here. I am working with an Indian post-doc here and have seen countless Indians handling some of the most sophisticated projects. It is indeed inspirational to see the amount of success Indians have achieved through hard work and dedication and the world salutes us for it. Everyone here is aware of the IITs and the grindstone we call ‘JEE’. I am reaching towards the conclusion of my project and my internship, but this experience has all but re-assured me that I stand to learn and enjoy as a researcher in the future. If you are uncertain about how you’ll end up after doing a Ph.D., it will be a very full-filling experience from what I have seen. Hope this has been an interesting read and do post comments if you wish to.

Later!