From Dentist to Passionate Researcher: Satvik Mareedu's Inspiring Journey
Career Story
There is a curious researcher in all of us
As I completed my 12th grade, I was fascinated by Mendelian genetics and considered taking a Bachelor’s degree in Genetics/Biotechnology. However, securing a merit rank in the entrance examination secured me admission to a prestigious Dental Institute in my state to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in dental surgery. The two main reasons for going to a dental school were lack of proper guidance and glorification of health care and engineering streams by the Indian education system as the only prestigious profession’s in science.
Even though I started my career in dentistry with little interest, I slowly loved the noble profession. I bagged multiple opportunities to attend various conferences, which broadened my views on the research. One meeting bolstered my internal urge for research. The guest speaker signified the importance of research in medicine and stated that less than 0.5% of health care students engage in research. During my final year, I came across stem cell research and regenerative dentistry and was amazed by their potentiality to recreate things.
Since then, I started reviewing a lot of literature and was determined to pursue a career in research. Moreover, my research interest never hindered my dental career. I was able to get immense satisfaction from the clinics serving the needy in pain. My dad, my well-wisher, believed that I should be a successful dentist after post-graduation in dentistry. However, the graduation day had a different call on my dad’s belief. When he interacted with my dean and a few other heads of the departments, they pointed out that I had a strong research interest. Things slowly started changing from then and my dad finally supported my decision to pursue higher studies in research.
I challenged myself to do an internship for three months at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB, India), one of the premier institutes in the country. At CCMB, I learned how to hold a pipette, like learning the alphabet in research. I was anxious and, at times, depressed, having a question in mind “will I be able to survive in the field?” At this point, I was motivated by Professor Dr. K. Ranganathan. He is a fantastic individual with extensive knowledge and one of the pillars during my tough times. He believes research in health sciences is necessary and very satisfying as it has the potential for rapid clinical translation. He recently observed an increasing trend in dental students opting for a research career in dental and basic sciences in India. Since dentistry has traditionally focused heavily on patient care, he finds this to be a positive development.
After my internship, I started applying for a Ph.D. abroad while all my applications were rejected. It was not until a couple of years later that I joined Rutgers University to pursue a Master’s in Biomedical Sciences to gain more experience. From day one, I was voraciously gaining experience in wet-lab experiments and my interest in stem cells allowed me to work on iPSCs (induced Pluripotent Stem Cells). I was able to do three lab rotations before landing in a master’s thesis lab.
My Master’s thesis taught me research requires a lot of patience. We must prove every positive/negative outcome multiple times before concluding. In addition, my Master’s thesis advisor taught me that to become a successful scientist, one should have the ability to present their idea well to secure funding apart from the technical expertise. My Master’s thesis strengthened my ability to see stem cell research as an application/advancement of basic science. Therefore, understanding traditional research prospects is vital before jumping into advanced research.
As a dental graduate, I believed pursuing a Ph.D. degree would be easier as I have already attained patience dealing with patients clinically and learned differential diagnosis considering it similar to troubleshooting. But over time, I now relate pursuing a Ph.D. is like doing the same degree multiple times. Ph.D. is the only degree where the student performs rigorous research to generate a new set of knowledge for the world, which is acknowledged by providing a Doctorate.
“Dr. APJ Kalam sir famously said, “If you fail, never give up because F.A.I.L. means, “First Attempt In Learning, End is not the end, in fact E.N.D. means Effort Never Dies and If you get No as an answer, remember N.O. means “Next Opportunity.“
Being a clinician and having the passion for bridging the preclinical gap, I reinforced myself to develop as a multi-disciplinary scientist at the end of the day. Having this in mind, I planned to get training in cardiovascular research so that I can apply similar expertise in oral biology later in life, which could lead to the development of potential therapeutic strategies. When I got my Ph.D. admission to the same institute, my undergraduate friends started their careers for DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) training at various institutes in the US. This depressed me as I missed the satisfaction I got from clinics and the prestigious white coat ceremony. However, I motivated myself, stating that I am trying to pave a new path that might be helpful for someone having a similar passion for research.
As I was from a slightly different background, I presumed I would require more guidance, interaction, and training from the mentor. This led me to do my doctoral thesis under Dr. Gopal J Babu, my current mentor, under whom I am fortunate enough to gain diverse experience. Our lab currently explores Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Myocardial Infarction and Cardiac Aging. I believe a mentor-mentee relationship is very important for a Ph.D. and I was able to discuss various things with my mentor freely. I was encouraged when things did not work and supported by him mentally and morally when grants and publications were rejected. My mentor trained me rigorously in attaining the skills essential for an independent researcher. I am currently in my 6th year and planning to graduate soon.
Understanding the importance of research, I constantly nudge many of my juniors to join the research. However, the answer I received was “not interested.” But that did not deter me from advocating research as I understood that it might be due to financial constraints and as research is slightly underpaid, career progress is slow and requires a lot of patience. In 2018, things changed when I met my best half, a Doctor of Pharmacy graduate and a clinical pharmacist. Shortly after our wedding, we returned to the US and, I suggested that she volunteer in a research lab at my school. And over time, she started enjoying the research and learned the number of years of hard work/hardships behind translating preclinical research to the drugs used in the clinical setup. Later she even decided to continue in research till the end.
Now I was able to successfully motivate a person to pursue research, which will encourage me further. In spite of the career gaps I came across, I am proud of myself for transforming from a 1st generation dentist to a 1st generation Ph.D. candidate in my family. Moreover, I can confidentially say that I rebuilt myself from handling patients and dental instruments to handling mice and performing a diverse set of cardiovascular experiments. As an example, I would like to say that having career gaps for years does not mean failure when you are working hard for something you are passionate about.
I intend to do a few years of post-doctoral training under a renowned scientist to catapult myself as a successful independent researcher. I want to establish my lab back home, performing wet-lab research and training more scientists for the field. Besides this, I want to work in oral biology, specifically on Oral Sub-Mucous Fibrosis (OSMF), a pre-cancerous condition having a higher incidence in the Indian population.
Life can be unpredictable, uncertain and may look directionless. However, that didn’t stop me from finding my passion along the way. Like Dr. APJ Kalam sir famously said, “If you fail, never give up because F.A.I.L. means, “First Attempt In Learning, End is not the end, in fact E.N.D. means Effort Never Dies and If you get No as an answer, remember N.O. means “Next Opportunity.” Although my dental career started foggily, it undoubtedly led me to the passionate researcher I am today. I learned that it is okay if our paths are foggy now and take longer than expected. We have to keep moving slowly until life clarifies and we will surely reach the destination.
I am grateful to everyone who played a crucial role in building my career: mentors, teachers, parents, friends, and my best half. I would thank the Biopatrika platform for such a great initiative and for providing chance to share my story. Just as your phone requires a regular software update for better performance, medicine needs to be updated with science now and then for the human race’s survival. I believe COVID – 19 has taught the world the significance of scientific research.
It is high time for scientists, doctors and health professionals to get their deserved recognition.
Edited by: Nivedita Kamath
Biopatrika: Bringing Science to Society
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