This time Scientific Bangladesh talked with Md Jahangir Alam, who is about to finish his PhD at Monash University, one of the top universities in the World and Australia.
Here are his experiences and insights that might be of help for the present and future PhD students.
Md Jahangir Alam: I am Md Jahangir Alam, a final year PhD student (expecting to be awarded by December 2022) in the Infection and Immunity Program at the Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Australia. My PhD research focuses on developing a therapeutic strategy for autoimmune skin diseases (i.e., Atopic dermatitis, Psoriasis, and Scleroderma) based on monoclonal antibody treatment against key pathogenic immune cells, followed by immune system modulation with short-chain fatty acids metabolite diet. Before starting my PhD, I obtained a B.Sc (Honors) and Master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. After receiving my master’s degree, I joined as a Research Officer at ICDDR, B (www.icddrb.org), a leading international health research organization based in Bangladesh. During my 5-years tenure at ICDDR, B, I was actively involved in several clinical trials related to maternal and infant nutrition interventions and vaccine-efficacy studies in Bangladesh, in collaboration with the University of California, Davis, USA, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), funded by the World Health Organization, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Thrasher Research Fund.
2. Scientific Bangladesh: What has made you have gone for PhD? In other words, why are you pursuing PhD?
Md Jahangir Alam: Simply say, I wanted to pursue my PhD to explore my curiosity in biological science, learn the scientific principle in practice, how to translate ideas into research and perform research independently and become an expert in my field of interest.
3. Scientific Bangladesh: How did you choose your i) PhD topic and ii) Institute?
Md Jahangir Alam: I have always been interested in nutritional immunology, particularly how nutrition shapes gut microbiota and thus influences immune responses. I was looking for an expert in this field and found that Professor Charles Mackay is one of the world leaders in this area. So, I emailed him, and after a short discussion, he agreed to supervise me. Then, I applied to Monash University for funding. I had a strong application with several publications, which helped me to get admission with a full-funded scholarship, and I started my PhD in March 2019.
4. Scientific Bangladesh: What is the minimum qualification in your university to get admission as PhD student, Bachelor or Master’s degree?
Md Jahangir Alam: A Four year Bachelor’s degree with a significant research component is the minimum qualification for a PhD in Australia. However, getting a scholarship in Australia’s ‘Group of Eight’ universities is very difficult without enough research experience and publications. Thus, a master’s degree with a thesis and at least one first-author publication is good enough to secure full-funding scholarships.
5. Scientific Bangladesh: If anyone wants to do PhD in your University/country, what are the steps one has to follow?
Md Jahangir Alam: The PhD journey in Australia starts with two phases. First, contact and manage a potential supervisor. The supervisor judges the applicant’s academic results, research experience, and publication records. If the supervisor is agreed to support the student, then the student can apply to university for admission and scholarship. In Australia, in rare cases, the supervisor provides funding for PhD students. So, if you are aiming to pursue a PhD from Australia, apart from an excellent academic result, try to gather good research experience and publish research articles in relatively quality journals.
6. Scientific Bangladesh: What mistakes should one avoid when contacting with University or Professor for PhD studentship?
Md Jahangir Alam: First of all, don’t send a wordy email to the professors. Professors are really busy and don’t have time to read long emails. Be concise and formal and try to avoid grammar/spelling errors. Don’t send an email with ambiguous research interests. Instead, show a genuine research interest relevant to your expertise and professor’s research area.
7. Scientific Bangladesh: How will you get PhD, by submitting a thesis or publishing a certain no of publications(journal articles)?
Md Jahangir Alam: I have already published two research articles and one review article in my PhD—another two manuscripts are in the late stages of drafting. So, I am planning to submit my thesis by publication.
8. Scientific Bangladesh: Did you deliberately choose your supervisor? What were your criteria for choosing PhD supervisor?
Md Jahangir Alam: Yes. As mentioned earlier, I searched for a leader in my research field. My current supervisor is a world leader in an exciting new concept that nutrition and the gut microbiome have profound influences on physiology, particularly immune responses. That’s why I joined his research group.
9. Scientific Bangladesh: What is your key to maintaining a good relationship with your supervisor?
Md Jahangir Alam: In my opinion, punctuality and hardworking are the main key. You have to be productive and proactive as well. Always be up to date in your research field and share new ideas with your supervisor.
10. Scientific Bangladesh: What principle do you follow to maintain a good relationship with your labmates?
Md Jahangir Alam: Be friendly with your lab mates. Be helpful and respectful. Share and discuss ideas with them. If possible, join them in activities outside the laboratory.
11. Scientific Bangladesh: Doing PhD is a stressful job? How do you manage or release stress?
Md Jahangir Alam: Without any doubt, it is. To manage stress, try to escape the lab on the weekend and go for outings/traveling with friends/families. Involvement with outreach activities which are really helpful to reduce stress and get out of a monotonous routine and repetitive lab activities.
12. Scientific Bangladesh: How many days in a week do you go to the lab? Should PhD students work 7 days/week?
Md Jahangir Alam: It depends on my experimental design. Usually, I go to the lab every weekday and sometimes also need to work over the weekends.
13. Scientific Bangladesh: PhD is considered as training for a career in Research. What 1. technical and 2. Soft skills you are focusing on developing or developed by this time?
Md Jahangir Alam: PhD is a learning process you go through and a primary training school to become an independent researcher. I am focusing on developing critical thinking, implementing new ideas to the experiments, how to lead a research project independently, presenting research outputs, writing, and most importantly, networking skills.
14. Scientific Bangladesh: What is your plan? Want to go back to Bangladesh or not?
Md Jahangir Alam: After successfully completing my doctoral degree, I will go for postdoctoral training for 2/3 years to gain further training in my research field. I plan to conduct research in the same area and utilize the skills to provide some ingenious research output to my current organization and to my country, Bangladesh, that will make a real impact on the optimum health and well-being of populations, both nationally and globally.
15. Scientific Bangladesh: What are your suggestions for prospective PhD students?
Md Jahangir Alam: Choose a research topic wisely that you are interested in. Be patient and stay focused on your research interest.
A PhD is a marathon, thus, selecting an appropriate lab is critical. Do your homework before joining a research team. A good PhD supervisor is, first of all, a caring mentor who contributes to the overall development of their students towards the finish line. So, pay attention to the research group and read current publications to identify the lab’s most recent research focus and collaborations. If possible, contact current and former lab members to ask about their research, lab culture, and the supervisor, as well as about upcoming projects to understand better the current research questions they are tackling.
16.Scientific Bangladesh: Would you like to share your weekly story with other Ph.D. students? If yes, register at www.scientificbangladesh.com
Md Jahangir Alam: Yes, I shall contribute to Scientific Bangladesh regularly.
Scientific Bangladesh: Thank you for your time, insights, and experiences shared. We look forward to your regular writings in Scientific Bangladesh.