This exciting Journey started with a
simple motivation that I had towards research and the desire to do something in
the field of life science. So, first of all I started to search for the
opportunities abroad through internet, and discussion with my friends who also
were interested like me. Then I shortlisted the labs which were working on the
areas of life-science that suites my interest and started to apply them. After
a while I started to receive replies, but I have to say that theywerenot that
positive initially. But I didn’t lose the interest, I kept analyzing mistakes
that I was doing in the application process and tried to rectify them in
further applications.
After a very long period, one fine day
I started to get positives replies from Labs that I applied.
This was the moment in which I had the
element of choice and I am pretty sure that this was the toughest part. I
discussed with lots of elders and friends for their opinions, but at last I
thought to haveconversations with the respective Heads of the research group
regarding the type of research that I will be doing over there, the kind of
atmosphere in the lab and future endeavors etc.
After considering various criteria, I
took the opportunity of working with Dr. Alexis Gautreau, headof the “Cytoskeleton
and cell morphogenesis” group at the
“Laboratoired'EnzymologieetBiochimieStructurales” (LEBS), C.N.R.S.
The
day I received the official invitation letter was a happy moment for me and I
couldn’t wait to sharemy happiness. When I went to meet with Dr. M. Parani, the
pride that was reflected in his eyes as hecongratulated me was truly the icing
on the cake!Parani sir, were been so
supportive and helpful in making this opportunity
possible for me.
After completing the official paperwork, I boarded the flight to
Paris. That moment was like a dream cometrue for me.When I landed, I was
received by my head of the Lab, Dr.Alexis
Gautreau which made me wonder how much down to earth person he is.My Guide made
sure that I feel at ease and settle down. On my first day of my lab, I was
introduced to the lab mates and my project was explained clearly to me.It was
explained in a very friendly way, by just penning down the main idea on a sheet
of paper and explaining my role. By this type of approach, I was flattered and
actually was able to understand the project easier.
My project is about – “Validation of novel protein partners of WASH
and WAVE complex, key regulators of the actin cytoskeleton.” In this project I
am studying the protein-Protein interaction among the sub-units of WAVE and
WASH, the key regulators of the actin cytoskeleton. This project gives me a
scope to learn the various techniques to analyze the interaction among the
various protein Sub-units and analyze the dependence of each sub units with one
another. The homology among the WAVE and WASH complex is also studied.
I spent the first week to get used
to the lab itself and in the first month I was trained to do basicexperiments.
It started out being tough but with the support and encouragement from my lab
matesand Dr. Gautreau, I got a grip on the experiments. My guide always said
that “Doing Science is all aboutlearning and proceeding with confidence, step
by step towards the goal “. With his motivation and beliefin me, I am now fully
autonomous in the lab. At the weekly Bibliography meeting, every researcher in
thelab takes turns in presenting a paper and the audiences are involved in
analyzing the figures and results ofthe presentation. This exercise is very
useful for my career as I get to read research papers every week andthis gives
me an opportunity to stay in touch with the latest updates in the field.
The multi-cultural atmosphere of
my lab makes for mealtime discussions that are as vivid in its nature asthe
people, which makes my experience here culturally rich. I get to learn many
things each day apart fromscience. People here are so patient and down to earth
clarifying every doubt I have, helping and supportingme in every way possible.
This internship is undoubtedly a
milestone in my career. The most important thing I learned after comingto
France is, the opportunities available are endless. To go after them, the only
necessity is strongmotivation and persistence.
I would like to thank SRM
university, enabling the students to have an experience like this by creatinga
“Semester Abroad Program” and special thanks to Dr.M.Parani , for being very
supportive in each andevery official steps. I am indeed very thankful to my
guide Dr. Alexis Gautreau for giving this wonderfulchance to work in his lab.
IV Year Genetic Engineering
Sai Prasanna