scientist profile
“ My move back to UAB has been extraordinary and has afforded me opportunities that I couldn’ t have foreseen.”
I grew up in Bombay, India. I was always interested in biology and the functioning of the human body and knew that I wanted to have a career in this area. Cancer caught my attention when I was an undergraduate. I read an article in Scientific American, which puts most of these concepts in lay language. The more I read, the more I wanted to know about cancer – what causes it and how can we best treat it. Ironically, I lost my father to cancer around that time. That’ s when I made a commitment to cancer research and pursued a Ph. D. in cancer. For my Ph. D. I trained in the area of cancer immunology, specifically in innate immunity in breast cancer. When I decided to do a post-doctoral fellowship, I wanted to broaden my horizons but still stay in the general area of breast cancer. With a Ph. D. in cancer immunology, I knew the very important role our immune system plays in cancer development, progression and metastasis. What I didn’ t have was a“ know-how” of the tumor cell biology per se.
I did my post-doc training at the Hershey Medical Center at Penn State University. Coming to Hershey was interesting because it was a very small town, with only around 5,000 people. I got off the plane expecting to see a vibrant downtown and tall buildings, and there were none in Hershey. I think the tallest building was seven stories. I still have wonderful memories of Hershey, because I lived not too far from the college of medicine and the Hershey chocolate factory. I’ d walk to work daily, and depending on which way the wind was blowing, I could smell chocolate or roasted almonds or peanuts.
Coming to UAB
I moved to UAB for the first time in 2002 as a junior faculty member with my mentor Danny Welch, Ph. D. Of course, I had my doubts about moving from Pennsylvania to Birmingham, and I was quite vocal about those concerns. I arranged to come down to UAB and check it out. In Pennsylvania, the notion was that there are no highways in Alabama and people have no teeth here. I asked myself,“ Is this going to be a smart move?” I knew UAB had a comprehensive cancer center, as well as a top-ranked pathology department. I interviewed with the chair of the Department of Pathology and met with several of the faculty and was convinced that this was going to be a good move.
While at UAB, I was fortunate to receive pilot funding through an American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant and the Cancer Center’ s Breast SPORE( Specialized Program of Research Excellence). Those were extremely instrumental in allowing me to start and grow an independent line of research.
Around 2004, I had the opportunity to contribute to the building and growth of a new cancer institute at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. This was a fantastic opportunity that allowed me to get my independent research program up and running, and I was able to actively contribute to the structure of the building that is now the Mitchell Cancer Institute. During this time, I was successful in securing extramural funding through multiple sources, and my research program began to evolve. With that, I realized I needed to go to a more evolved environment. I always carried those fantastic memories of my two years at UAB. When I was thinking of an evolved environment, the first place I thought of was of course UAB! So, I returned in 2012.
My move back to UAB has been extraordinary and has afforded me opportunities that I couldn’ t have foreseen. I knew it would be a good environment, but I didn’ t know just how good it would be. UAB is so friendly and collaborative. I have yet to find a door that I’ ve knocked upon that has not been answered. I feel very fortunate to be here.
Being back at UAB allowed me to continue a great collaborative relationship with my husband and colleague, Rajeev Samant, Ph. D., also a faculty member in the Department of Pathology
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