Following my own path

In India, we have a popular saying: “India is a country where people first become engineers and then decide what they want to do in their lives.”

The source is unknown, but these words are relevant to my journey.  Due to societal norms and pressures, I became a chemical engineer and then a software engineer. I had no passion for either of these subjects. I had always wanted to study life sciences and English literature.

As an undergrad, while waiting for a Ph.D. offer from the United States, I tried to gain experience in biochemical research at a renowned government institution in India. I was turned down. “You do not have a relevant degree or experience,” I heard from almost every scientist I approached.

Even after coming to the U.S., choosing a suitable lab and mentor was a big challenge. In pursuing a doctoral degree, I knew it was important to choose research that motivated me and a supportive environment. I did not fit into my first lab, so I had to leave and start afresh in my third year. As an international student, I had limited time allocated to finish my degree.

Krishnakoli Adhikary

Members and alumni of Sebastien Poget’s research group gather for a lab barbeque in 2022.

Eventually, I found a supportive mentor and helpful peers. My advisor is an immigrant scientist whose lab is filled with researchers from diverse backgrounds. The supportive atmosphere in our lab helps each of us work in peace, despite the ups and downs we face in our daily lives.

When I met my Ph.D. advisor, Sebastien Poget at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York, I explained that I was interested in his research but did not have a background in biochemistry.

Krishnakoli Adhikary

Krishnakoli Adhikary (left) stands with Elshaimaa Ali, a friend from Egypt, in front of a fountain in Central Park in 2019.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “Even I didn’t have one.”

On my first day in the lab, I learned from another graduate student how to transform E. coli cells. That is the level at which I started my doctoral research journey.

In our lab, we probe voltage-gated ion channels and their interactions with animal toxins, mainly, tarantula toxins, using nuclear magnetic resonance. We have seven tarantulas in our lab right now. They look scary, but they generally don’t harm anyone. I even had the privilege of holding one of them in my hand, with the help of the expert who handles them.

A lab transition in grad school is always difficult. Things went well in the beginning, but the pandemic and associated shutdowns did not help me as an experimental researcher in a new field. Our field is very slow-moving, and it takes a long time to publish our research. This has been a big challenge as a researcher with limited time in the U.S. Did I overcome it yet? No, but we as a team, are getting there, and we will, very soon.

Krishnakoli Adhikary

One of the tarantulas in  Sebastien Poget’s lab at the College of Staten Island, where studies of interactions of ion channels and animal peptide toxins are among the current projects.

The chance to start from scratch doing something I’ve always been passionate about is the perk I associate with interdisciplinary research in the U.S. — something I will always be grateful to this country for. And I will always be grateful to my advisor and friends in my lab who helped me start this journey from scratch.

I have also had fascinating experiences outside my lab in New York City. I am a curious person, in general — both in and out of the lab. I always believed that having the opportunity to live in a cosmopolitan city like New York, I should explore different cultures firsthand.

Through graduate school, I was introduced to “One to World,” an organization that connects international students from around the globe. Through this organization, I got the chance to spend Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania with an American family in 2018, participate in and win a scavenger hunt in the city, go on hikes, participate in painting sessions and have many more experiences. I’ve had the opportunity to meet, interact, and hang out with international students from over 50 nations. We have explored the city and tried out different cuisines. We have talked in detail about our countries and realized our similarities despite our differences — finding unity in diversity.

I have kept in touch with some of the friends I have made over the years. These relationships have made my journey as a scientific researcher in the U.S. fulfilling and given me a strong footing in a place I now can call my second home.

Krishnakoli Adhikary

Krishnakoli Adhikary, right, and a group of One To World friends celebrate July 4, 2019, at the Brooklyn Bridge.