This time Scientific Bangladesh interviewed Dr. Biplab Paul. He has experience of higher study in both Canada and the USA. Here is what he shares
1.Scientific Bangladesh: Tell us about your education- from primary to PhD. Don’t miss this opportunity to express gratitude for your great supports in this journey.
Dr. Biplab Paul: I have done my secondary and higher secondary education from Sherpur Government Victoria Academy and Sherpur Government College respectively. Then I went to Khulna University to pursue BSc in Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering. In 2009, I moved to Canada for MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Regina and PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Alberta. In the fourth year of my PhD, my supervisor moved his lab from the University of Alberta to the University of California, Davis, USA, so I moved to the USA with my PhD supervisor and finished the last part of my PhD thesis there.
2.Scientific Bangladesh: What was your PhD research area? What are the results of your vigorous research, including publications, patents, awards?
Dr. Biplab Paul: The focus of my PhD research was RNA biology, more specifically the how disruption of RNA processing and export affect global gene expression in budding yeast. I found that the disruption of the processing of non-coding RNA and the nuclear RNA decay leads to the accumulation of mRNA in the nucleus and downregulation of highly expressed genes. The result from my PhD research was published in the journal Molecular Biology of The Cell and Nucleic Acid Research.
3.Scientific Bangladesh: What was your motivation to go for PhD? What do you think about your decision to go for PhD?
Dr. Biplab Paul: As an undergraduate in Biotechnology, I learnt a lot of theories about molecular biology and genetic engineering but never got a chance to do those in our hands, so my main motivation was to get hands-on training on those techniques that I learnt in our undergraduate classes. Another motivation was to become a university teacher after finishing PhD and establish my own lab in Bangladesh.
4.Scientific Bangladesh: Why should someone pursue a PhD? Should anyone go for PhD as friends are going for it, parents, parents-in-law want it?
Dr. Biplab Paul: I think, there are two reasons why someone should do a PhD. The first one is someone cannot imagine doing anything else other than research for earning their living. 2. Someone would like to build such a career that requires a PhD.
Before starting a PhD everyone should think deeply about whether he/she really need a PhD or how much fascinated by the research field he/she going to do a PhD on. Do not go for PhD or any career because friends are doing it or someone else wants it.
5.Scientific Bangladesh: How would you like to describe your PhD life?
Dr. Biplab Paul: Although I enjoy research and learning new things, I struggled a lot in every step of my PhD life. I started in PhD in Canada, where I had to take only two courses that were easy to finish. The most difficult part of my PhD was the qualifying exam where I had to write and defend a research proposal on a topic that is different from my own research. I learnt a lot through the process but it was very stressful. I had to adopt new techniques in the lab, which took a long time to optimize, In the middle of my PhD my supervisor moved the University of Alberta to the University of California, Davis, which added extra stress to my PhD life. Overall it was challenging but I also enjoyed life outside the lab a lot during my PhD.
6.Scientific Bangladesh: PhD is stressful – how did you manage stress?
Dr. Biplab Paul: I have a lot of friends in Canada and the USA who were also doing PhD, who are my source of energy to keeping going. I meet my friends every day shared my day to day failure and success and listen to their failures and success as well. This gave me a feeling that I am not alone, everyone struggles during PhD.
7.Scientific Bangladesh: Looking back to your PhD life, what mistakes you would advise future PhD students to avoid?
Dr. Biplab Paul: You should be in charge of your own career and training. Claim ownership of your PhD project.
8.Scientific Bangladesh: How did you manage relationships with your i) supervisor(s) and ii) labmates? How important to maintain a good relationship with them?
Dr. Biplab Paul: My PhD supervisor’s office door was always open; I could easily talk with him. I tried to be clear in communicating my needs either by email or in-person meeting. I tried to be very friendly with my labmates, we used to have coffee together and discuss science and career. We were very supportive of each other. It is very important to maintain relationships with PhD supervisors and labmates, everyone should try to keep a good relationship with the supervisor and labmates. However, students should also raise their voices if anything unfair happens. Clear and concise communication is the key to maintain a good relationship with the supervisor and labmate.
9.Scientific Bangladesh: Did you change supervisor? If yes, when and why? What are your suggestions if a PhD student needs to change supervisor?
Dr. Biplab Paul: No, I have not changed my supervisor. My advice is if you need to change supervisor then do it early in your PhD.
10.Scientific Bangladesh: What are your overall suggestions for future PhD students from your PhD life experiences?
Dr. Biplab Paul: My suggestion to future PhD students are: 1 Before starting your PhD think about why you would like to do PhD? What is the use of the PhD in your proposed career? 2. Choose the field that you like and take charge of your own training. 3. Choose a supervisor carefully, talk to the alumni of the lab to get information about the culture of the lab. Think of the lab culture and work habits appropriate for you.
11. Scientific Bangladesh: What are your suggestions for those who are about to finish PhD and entering to Post-doctoral phase?
Dr. Biplab Paul: Number one suggestion, do not go for a postdoc if you would like to build a career in the industry. If you like to do a post-doc then do it in a different institution and change the field to some extent.
12.Scientific Bangladesh: What is your Postdoctoral research area? Is it the same or different from PhD? If different, then why?
Dr. Biplab Paul: My postdoctoral research focuses on building a spatial map of human liver tissue. I am using an image-based spatial transcriptomics technique to map different cell types in healthy human liver tissue. It is different from PhD research because in my PhD I worked on RNA processing and in my postdoc I am working on spatial biology of liver tissue. In my PhD I used yeast as a model organism to study RNA processing, here I am working with the patient samples which is a very big jump for me.
13.Scientific Bangladesh: Scientific Bangladesh: What is your future destination? Academia or Industry or Entrepreneurship? Why?
Dr. Biplab Paul: It is too early to say where I ended up.
14.Scientific Bangladesh: Did you have family (husband/wife and children) with you during your PhD? Do you see any advantages and/or disadvantages of having a family during a PhD?
Dr. Biplab Paul: Yes, I had my wife during my PhD life. I see a lot of advantages of having a family during your PhD. The most important one for me was that I had someone who will support me whether I fail or succeed in my PhD.
15Scientific Bangladesh: Would you like to share your knowledge and experiences with the readers of Scientific Bangladesh by writing a regular column in Scientific Bangladesh. You can register for authorship https://scientificbangladesh.com/registration-2/
Dr. Biplab Paul: Yes
Scientific Bangladesh: Thank you for considering writing regularly, Readers will be waiting for your writing. Please register as an author with the link above.