13 April,2010 07:20 AM IST | | Soma Das
Active chats with research scholar Dr Antima Gupta, who won the UNESCO-L'Oreal Fellowship 2010 for her research on antibiotic resistant tuberculosis. She tells us how to make it to the top and why women make better researchers than men
What does the award mean to you?
It's a great honour to be recognised and I hope it inspires young women to pursue research as a career. I have been granted a one-year post-doctoral fellowship at Birbeck College in the UK and hope to further my research on Tuberculosis, which afflicts 1.7 million people worldwide with more than 20% of the world's cases coming from India.
Dr Antima Gupta
How difficult is it for a woman to pursue a career in research?
Culturally, women face the burden of balancing family with work life and as research can stretch on for years and the pay scale is considered low, it can deter women from taking it up as a profession. As an emerging field, Biotech has a lot of potential, providing lucrative opportunities and the opportunity to help people worldwide. Besides, women make better researchers as they are patient, creative, have great networking skills, and can adjust to any situation.
What are your future plans?
I am working with a pathogen called Mycobacterium aurum, similar to the TB pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Typically, by the time the research bears fruit, the bacteria has already developed resistance to it. So, my goal is to devise a treatment that is one step ahead of the bacteria, in order to beat it.
So what do scientists do to unwind?
(Laughs) People think we are crazy, aloof and workaholics but that's not necessarily true. We do work hard, but are still very normal. I enjoy my weekends; I do fabric painting, listen to music, watch Bollywood movies and cook. I am also very interested in fashion. If I wasn't a researcher, I would have pursued interiors or
fashion design.
What's your formula for success?
Bring passion to your work, irrespective of the consequences or end result. I come from a small town but have never allowed it to hinder me. It helped that my parents never spoon-fed me, but were always there when I needed them. Research has taught me to cope with failure, as not every experiment can be successful. I cope by taking breaks and analysing what went wrong, which helps shed light on an alternate way to do things. If there isn't a way, make your own.
