“MIT? Wow!” a conference attendee said with excitement when I introduced myself years ago.
There was a brief flicker of pride, until I clarified, “It’s MIT-Pharmacy in Pune, not the one in Cambridge.” His expression changed. Slight disappointment, maybe unintended, but unmistakable. It stuck with me.
That moment became a turning point, not because I felt lesser, but because I realized something deeper: Where we start shouldn’t limit where we aim to go.
I was born and trained in India, working through a modest academic journey fueled by big dreams and bigger mentors. Through grit and guidance, I found myself stepping into the Kannan Lab at the Center for Nanomedicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, a place where vision isn’t just a word in a mission statement. It’s lived in every experiment, every hallway conversation, every bold research idea.
Coming to Johns Hopkins, I expected more sophisticated instruments and resources, and yes, they’re here. But the real difference wasn’t technology. It was how problems are framed. How curiosity is treated like a muscle. How impact is always the end goal.
In our lab, we don’t just ask whether a dendrimer can carry a drug. We ask whether it can cross the blood-brain barrier, target the right cell at the right time, and do it without harming anything else. I work on glucose dendrimers that deliver drugs to hyperactive neurons — work that could potentially change how we treat seizures, neurodegeneration or even genetic brain disorders in infants. It’s basic science with clinical urgency.
But research life here also taught me something more humbling: Bold science grows best in a bold community. At Johns Hopkins, I found mentors who listen, collaborators who elevate, and students who challenge assumptions. I’ve given oral talks at major conferences, filed patents and built research stories that felt impossible just a few years ago. And still, some of my proudest moments are not data-driven, they’re people-driven.
I’ve been the quiet, first-gen Ph.D. student from India, unsure if my background would be seen as “enough.” And I’ve been the scientist presenting new therapies for brain injury at an international meeting. Both versions of me matter, and both are why I believe stories like ours deserve space in science.
The Biomedical Odyssey blog offers that space, a place where voices from around the world, whether from a suburban city in India or the heart of Baltimore, can share the human side of science.
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