Your Perseverance and Resilience Will Build the Real You

Most important part is, dream and dare. Stop caring about people might think and say. We all are limitless, do not allow this society to put impractical restrictions on your mind. Your perseverance and resilience will build the real you.

1. Tell us about your background and journey?

I am a microbiologist and an entrepreneur. I grew in Dungarpur district of Rajasthan, India. My scientific journey started in high school when I have developed a formula for liquid manure. After a summer training from National Brain Research Centre, I gravitated towards understanding new aspects of diseases and this redirected me to understand the most challenging diseases of the world – tuberculosis (TB) – formy Ph.D.

My Ph.D. was jointly from the National Institute of Immunology (Nii, New Delhi) and BITS-Pilani Hyderabad. I worked on a very important gene (glmU) of TB bacteria and deciphered its crystal structure, detailed biology, and finally a novel inhibitor (Oxazolidine 33) capable of killing the TB bug.

This work was recognized by the National Academy of Science India for the NASI-and I was awarded the Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award in 2017 and the Inspiring Science Award 2017 by TNQ-Cell Pressand the BioAsia Innovation award 2016 by Global BioBusiness Forum; and Global Health Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Soon after Ph.D.,I joined Weill Cornell Medicine at New York for as a postdoctoral researcher. Here I am working on metabolomics (a mass spectrometry-based molecule identification approach) and the development of better treatmentstrategies against TB.

Metabolomics can be compared with a very high-resolution microscopy which allows us to directly look into diverse metabolic pathways inside a living cell.

During this tenure, I also got engaged with entrepreneurship and started my first company “Scipreneur®Private Limited” (based in New Delhi, India). Various entrepreneurship classes (by Cornell), and a vast network of researchers and business enthusiaststronglydrove me to establish and expand the horizons of Scipreneur®.

2. What is Scipreneur®all about?

“Scipreneur®” is a combination of two words; “Science and Entrepreneur”. The painful fact is that out of all possible research and technology developments, less than 5-7% can be translated into a useful product.

This is mainly due to the lack of entrepreneurship knowledge and training in scientists. Similarly, many companies stop growing after a certain point because novel ideas are required for the growth and expansion of a company they could not get innovative and different ways or ideas to propagate.

Therefore, at ‘Scipreneur®’ we are solving this problem by connecting, educating, and helping both innovators and entrepreneurs. We are also helpinglaboratories and businesses by collaborations, technologies transfers, business and scientific consultation, and by providing news feeds.

All our efforts are geared towards providing the best information, guidance, and exposure, so the scheme they choose is the perfect fit. We are serving mainly in the USA, India, Canada, and a few other companies in Europe.

3. What are the areas you specialize in & why did you choose to work in the US over India?

I am a Scipreneur®. Which means I am both a scientist and an entrepreneur. With many years of experience and rigorous training ,I can comfortably say that I am quite proficient in multiple disciplines of sciences including microbiology, drug discovery, metabolomics, molecular biology, genetic engineering, and biochemistry.

While as an entrepreneur I am proficient in the development of scientific products and businesses, establishing go to market strategy for medical products (therapies, instruments, and diagnostics), and digital health.

After Ph.D. I was interested in studying the metabolism (metabolomics) of pathogens and antibiotic development and only a few laboratories were working in this area. I was also looking for a place where I can expand my business network and knowledge, and I found New York as the best fit for all of these.

4. What makes failure stories inspire people since this is what 'FailWise' is all about?

We all experience “Failure” right from our childhood. Society has taught us to attach connotations to words. We have been conditioned to believe that all success is positive and all failure negative. However, experiences are never black and white. It is a color palette, the full rainbow, some might say. Each color is an experience that experience must be enjoyed, lived, and felt.

Till now there is no platform where we can share it and help each other to learn from those experiences. This motivated me to start “FailWise®”. Brandon Mull represents a clear philosophy of FailWise®, “Smart people learn from their mistakes.

But the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes of others.”FailWise® is a social blogging platform where one can create an account and share their part of the story, opinion, articles, wisdom or learnings from their journeys unheard and unsung.

We are also organizing “TUF Talks TM” (Tell You Fail) where selected people will be invited to talk on stage or online. As Heath says “The quickest road to success is to possess an attitude toward failure of ‘no fear’. At FailWise®, we aspire to spread that attitude. So that our readers will never look at “failure” as a bad end, but a beautiful starting. You can find us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

5. Your advice for aspiring scientists and entrepreneurs and how they can challenge their creativity?

Abhay Ashtekar from Penn State University says that “Good Scientists Solve Problems, but Great Scientists Know What's Worth Solving”. Most of the time we are more biased towards the answers that we may found, but if you wanted to be a great scientist or an entrepreneur, learn to ask great questions, and solve them with your creativity. ‘e keyObservation is the that stimulates imagination and innovations.’ We hardly teach our students to ask questions.

My suggestion to all creative minds is to learn to look deep into nature and surroundings with an inquisitive mind. No question is a stupid question, don’t be afraid of asking. Read the literature or do a proper analysis, and analyse the written word critically Keep handwritten notes of everything, it will help you to connect the dots when you look at them later.

And the most important part is, dream and dare. Stop caring about people might think and say. We all are limitless, do not allow this society to put impractical restrictions on your mind. Your perseverance and resilience will build the real you. Finally, you also need to restrict your negative inner voice and for this, you should start reading good books, biographies and listen more podcasts and talks.

6. Which is your favorite book and why?

My favorite book is “Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam” written by Dr. Kalam and Arun Tiwari. Dr. Kalam was my childhood hero. His autobiography build myfaith in science and scientific discoveries, the power of thinking, and on top of it, self-belief.

It’s very inspiring to read his story where he describes his personal and professional struggles as well as the story of various missiles programs that have raised India to the level of a missile power of international reckoning.

Reading the saga of independent India’s struggle for technological and scientific independence always inspires me to do more and more for India. Simplicity, preparation, courage, thinking out of the box, having great goals, and networking with people are the key takeaways from his biography.