PERSONAL HISTORY STATEMENT

I decided that I was going to become a scientist when I was ten years old. I was going to complete my schooling, go straight into
studying biology, do my internships at some big fancy lab, then study some more, get a doctorate, become a scientist, invent a cure
for a disease and save a lot of lives.
If only life were that simple, what fun would it be? Who knew it would take an immense amount of determination, courage from
not only myself but also my family, flying across half the world and a lot of money to get to half of what the ten-year-old version
of me had planned.
Now when I reflect back as to why I wanted to be a scientist, I believe my family had everything to do with it. I come from a
family that puts education first. My penchant for science came from listening to stories about my late grandfather, who went to
Cambridge to study and work as a microbiologist in the 1900s. Fascinating childhood stories about him have always made me want
to become a scientist. My mother too is an endless source of inspiration. She started her doctoral studies in literature when I was
born. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for her to juggle between academics and being a mother. Merely being
around her as a child taught me the most important lessons in my life - perseverance and tenacity.
If I am being honest, I was one of the best in my school. I worked hard and tried to excel in almost everything my school had to
offer, both academic and extra curricular. I came out of my school with a scholarship and the All rounder award. My teachers
and parents were my source of encouragement to set very high standards for myself. My high school however was a different story.
I found the tests in my high school very difficult and struggled through it but I never gave up. My father had been my biggest
support throughout and helping me fight my testing anxiety. After my High School, I got an admit into a good university, where I
completed my Bachelors in Biotechnology.
I enjoyed my Undergraduate years. I was learning more and discovering new information. I spent a lot of time and effort in
securing two internships during my bachelors. I had always been a keen observer. I used it to the best of my abilities to learn as
much as I could from the state of the art facilities at Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Indian Institute of
Chemical Technology (IICT). I was recognized for my critical thinking and logical reasoning. By the end of my bachelors, I felt
much more confident about my scientific abilities.
After my bachelors, I decided to take a break and contemplate my strengths and weaknesses. I wanted to try my hand at teaching.
I was indebted to the work my teachers had put in me and I wanted repay my debt to the society in a small way. I joined as a
project coordinator in a charitable organization called Adhya Educational Society. My work here was different from conventional
teaching. I worked as an adaptable teacher for the educational play activity in a hospital environment. I engaged underprivileged
children aged 4 to 17 and saw that some of them had never had the opportunity to study due to debilitating diseases. I designed my
whole curriculum to spiral with arts and crafts to teach basic science to kids with reference to their own lives. Being a teacher to
those kids taught me about leadership, responsibility, and patience, but above all strengthened my determination towards doing my
bit to decrease pain and suffering in this world.
After my stint at Adhya, I mailed a professor at the University of Florida about being his research student. I got a positive reply
and after getting an admit, I packed my bags to come to the University of Florida, thinking I was going to work with him. Only to
my dismay, I found out that he had taken a sabbatical, which coincided with my period of study. I felt disheartened. Despite that, I
found an area that was interesting and I got my Masters degree.
It was during this period, that Dr. McKenna, my professor for Structural Biology, introduced me to the world of AAV. His course
made me understand the implications of using an AAV as a vector in gene therapy. The more I learnt about gene therapy, the more
I was intrigued with it. I realized I wanted to do something that directly benefited the society; probably strengthened by memories
of my work at Adhya. An opportunity to work at Brammer Bio increased my interest in pursuing my research career in the field of
gene therapy. Working for over a year in a company manufacturing gene therapy vectors has made me want to know more about
vector development. The more I dealt with the actual vectors, the more I wanted to understand the biology of the virus, which in
turn will help improve the design of vectors.

My early childhood influences and my research experiences have finally made me realize what I am best suited for, and where my
heart lies in. I now know that my research interest lies in engineering of AAV to improve vector performance in gene therapy. I
believe my work and research experience so far have inculcated the values of perseverance, patience, and leadership, which I
believe, will take me a long distance in my research at the University of California Berkeley, if given the opportunity.