In this chapter of Career Stories, we bring you the story of Shramana Guchhait who is a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University, passionate about research in cancer immunology and has a strong interest in science outside of the lab. In this candid chat, she talks about her unique career journey so far, the milestones achieved and the chellanges she faced, as a young undergrad student, while taking steps towards her dream career.
What sparked your interest in cancer immunology and life sciences in general?
Since the inception of my time as an undergrad, I was pretty sure that I was interested in cancer because of my family history of cancer. I had really close relatives who were suffering from cancer, and I have been through that experience in my early teens and was very moved and motivated to work in this field. So, I was exploring a lot of options, but honestly, I was not sure if I wanted to do cancer immunology right at the start of my undergrad. So, I did some internships where the projects revolved around repurposing cancer drugs, and I also worked on drug resistance. It was this work and the internships that prompted me to study cancer immunology. I came across an interesting concept in cancer immunology while I was working on my application for the Rhodes Scholarship, and I came across this professor who works on cancer vaccines, and that topic got me very excited. As I read more about it, my interest grew, and now there is no turning back! I want to work in cancer immunology or cancer vaccines as part of my post-graduation studies.
You are a recipient of the Quad Fellowship by Schmidt Futures. Could you tell us a bit about the fellowship and how you got to know about it?
I was part of the Kalpana fellowship, an initiative of Vigyan Shala International, in my first year of undergraduation. While I was a part of the cohort, the CEO and the founder, Dr.Darshana Joshi, posted about the Quad fellowship in the group, and that’s how I came across it. After an initial fear and apprehension, I applied for the scholarship and was happy to be a recipient. I have been part of the residential program in Australia since early June. Even though Quad is a scholarship program and definitely helps you with your monetary problems to pursue your post-graduation abroad in the US, it gives you a robust networking opportunity beyond your imagination. When I talk to other recipients of the scholarship or discuss ideas with them, I feel that it is a place that can spark a lot of initiatives and where people can team up together to address a lot of social issues. Even though we are a group of 100 people, from different backgrounds, we all have a similar line of interest – in converging policy and science.
What were the procedures involved with respect to the fellowship, and how did you go through it?
Like every other fellowship, there is an application process – but it is quite extensive for the Quad Fellowship. While I was applying, I realized that more than the academic journey, they were really interested in how you are as an individual, how you think and perceive the society around you, the world as a whole and whether you can think beyond yourself and understand the problems that are affecting the world. It is a robust screening process, and only a small percentage of the candidates get selected for the interview rounds. There are two interview rounds. The first one is academic, where they are more interested in your achievements, your SOP and whether you understand all the nuances of the topic that you are proposing in your post-graduation. The second interview round is unique, where they try to understand your ethics, how you are as an individual and the way you think. I honestly feel that this is a good way of assessing a candidate, and I really enjoyed my second round of interviews.
What were the challenges and the obstacles you had to overcome while you were applying for the fellowship?
There was only one challenge while I was applying to a lot of fellowships and other scholarships as well- and that was self-doubt. The imposter syndrome kicks in and tells you that you are not good enough. When you proceed with the application, you also see that they ask you for a lot of essays and other details. That’s the time when you begin to judge yourself and your capability- question whether you are cut to make the mark among a lot of applicants and be among the top 25 Indians to get selected. You may have these thoughts and doubts before the interview, after the interview and even while you are excelling in the field that you are in. What I feel after going through all these experiences is that I have grown as a person since last year when I applied, and I really think it’s important to feel that you are worthy when you apply because no one else can infuse that trust and self-confidence into you- it is you who has to build up on that.
You are also one of the co-founders of the Stemm Factor. Could you tell us what the Stemm Factor is all about and how did the idea of starting the Stemm Factor come into picture?
The idea of starting the Stemm Factor was a result of a conversation that I was having with my close friends at college. We were a bunch of undergraduates studying in online mode during the pandemic, and the only interactions we had were through Zoom calls or Google Meet. After one online class, four of us got into talking about what affected our journey in science, what were the constraints that we faced while choosing science as a career and whether we had the support of our family. Our family backgrounds were never really in science, so they could not guide us that much, and there was a constant pull between our wishes and those of our parents. Coming from very different parts of India and sharing the same classroom at Delhi University, we realised that we had similar constraints and somewhere we could resonate with each other. We really did not want our juniors to face the same problems that we have faced. We were not really sure about how much impact we could make, but we were sure that if we could inspire somebody or a couple of students to take up science in tier 2 or tier 3 cities where the exposure is not really outstanding, our goal would be achieved. Our motto was to bridge the gap of opportunities and to provide the students in tier 2 or tier 3 cities with resources to pursue their dreams, and that was how Stemm Factor was born.
Being an undergrad student and starting an initiative like the Stemm factor wouldn’t have been easy. What were the challenges involved and how did you go through it?
As an undergraduate student, you cannot know everything. I didn’t know anything about designs or how to work with digital stuff. We were a bunch of science nerds who were very invested in our studies. The biggest challenge that we came across was the realization that there is a lot of work between planning and execution. What goes in between those two words, to plan and to execute or to have an idea and to make it happen, or to think of a session and to actually conduct a session, there is a lot of work involved in between. We were learning new things every day. Throughout the process, I learnt how to manage my internship positions with the work I do in STEMM-factor. However, I understood that- one has to take time out for what they are passionate about, and that’s how you have to keep going. It’s okay to not know everything, but it’s not okay to stop your growth. You have to keep moving, and that’s the force that you have to build within yourself. One more constraint that no one talks about is that when you discuss your ideas like these with older and experienced people, it’s hard to convince them that you are really serious about the cause because they see you as some undergrads trying to add something to their CV. It takes a lot of willpower to stick to your idea and put it out in a way so that it does not look like an extracurricular activity because it is a cause that you believe in and it’s something that you are passionately working towards. We were privileged to get the support of Vigyanshaala during our first few months, where they mentored us on how to start an organization.
Is there any memorable moment you cherish with respect to the work you have done with the Stemm Factor?
There were two moments where I felt that we were on the right track. We used to conduct sessions for the students in Stemm Factor, and one of the sessions was called- Let’s Talk STEM, where we would invite people at an early stage in their professional journey. The session was more like an informal conversation, than an interview. After one of these sessions, which was a live session, I happened to read feedback from a girl- she wrote that she was not sure if she could do her PhD and whether she was confident to do it right after her undergraduate degree. Although it was a very common thing in Western countries, she was not sure if she had it in her. But after listening to our conversation where the speaker herself was going for a PhD right after her undergraduate, she could build up that courage to apply and at least try for it. So, I was very moved to see that. The other was when one of the volunteers at STEMM_Factor came up to me and told me that she joined this initiative because she just wanted to volunteer for a non-profit, but now she felt like she was also a part of the cause. It felt like an achievement. I was a little proud and very motivated to ignite that spark in not just one but a lot of other people who will carry this spark along their journey and will radiate it to somebody else so that they can, in turn, motivate a lot of other people.
If you had to give a piece of advice to graduate students going for fellowships like Quad and starting an initiative for change, what would it be?
There is one important quality that I believe in, and I think this is the best quality you can imbibe as a student- and that is persistence. You have to keep going. This wasn’t the first idea or scholarship that I started or applied for. The STEMM-Factor itself took months to come to fruition. Within those months, while you are investing in your ideas, you will come across a lot of challenges. You will feel that this is not my piece of cake. You have to climb the ladder of failure. It is hard, but you have to face it, you have to digest it, you have to get up again, and you have to go for it. Your 30th attempt might end in failure, a crushing defeat that tests your resolve to the core. But remember this: if you halt your journey now, you’ll forever wonder whether that 31st attempt, just around the corner, could be the one to unlock the door to your dreams. Therefore, you just cannot stop. Because it’s your narrative, it’s your story, and you just cannot give up. I feel there’s one thing that you can do, and that is to compete with yourself. Every day, you have to be a better version of yourself. You have to learn from your previous mistakes and experiences and keep the trajectory going upward. But you have to keep going. You need to keep trying until you get your happy ending.
