Hyderabad Calling...

I'm posting after a pretty long hiatus and once again from the cozy confines of my bedroom in Hyderabad. My trip to India happened all too quickly and suddenly and what brings me back home this time around is strictly academic pursuits. Or is it? I will be interning with Dr Reddy's at their Biologics Development Center and the fact that it happens to be in Hyderabad is merely coincidental. Ever since I got off the conference call with the VP and the Director all I wanted to do was come back to my family, my home, my city, my friends and above all, India. I did not for a second think about all the lost opportunities, the chance to earn a few dollars, the so-called “US experience”. It was a fairly easy decision to make! Don’t you think?

Opportunities come when you least expect them and this was no different and sometimes you can’t help but go with the flow. After all it's just a matter of three months. Only time will tell what long-term ramifications will it have on your career or more importantly how you want your career to progress. How many of you really think a 10-12 week internship will dictate or shape your career?

I have been blessed in the sense that I always get what I want, when I want it. I got to intern in New York straight out of college and now I get a chance to go back and intern in Hyderabad after a grueling first year in grad school. It is ironic in a way, but I am not complaining, in fact I couldn’t be happier. I have a long list of to do things and hopefully I will knock some of them off my list before I head back! Before I sign off, here’s something I read today that I thought I should post.

“He slept beneath the moon,
He basked beneath the sun.
He lived a life of going-to-do
And died with nothing done”

The above message was written on someone’s epitaph and I don’t want it to be on mine and here goes my motto for my three months stay at home, the famous IBM punch line “Stop talking, start doing!”

Personalized Medicine: A Reality?

The seeds for the biggest scientific event or breakthrough that will impact human health in the next 10 years have been sown a decade ago. The Human Genome Project that successfully mapped approximately 20,000 genes will usher in a new era of scientific discovery. The HGP has equipped the scientific community with invaluable genomic data needed to unlock the genetic basis behind many a disease including Cancer, Diabetes and Alzheimer's. Armed with a thorough understanding of the molecular mechanisms that cause these diseases, researchers will go a long way in delivering what is known as personalized medicine. The present "One drug fits all" theory will soon be redundant and medicine will become individualized and hence more effective.

Since the successful completion of the HGP, massively Parallel sequencing has been at the forefront of technology with throughputs going through the roof. The last ten years has seen a 1,000 fold increase. The inception of the Archon X prize which aims to bring down the cost of sequencing of an entire person’s genome to less than $1000 has funneled some brilliant chemists, molecular and computational biologists, physicists and engineers into this cutting edge area. The race has already started reaping benefits with Life technologies (formerly Applied Biosystems) claiming that they have sequenced an entire genome in less than $60,000 using their latest SOLiD® platform of sequencing. Illumina, 454/Roche, Helicos, Pacific Biosystems and Oxford Nanopore are some of the companies trying to develop the next generation of sequencing tools. This reminds me of a famous story during the gold rush days in California. The people who made a fortune were the ones selling shovels and picks! The analogy to the life sciences industry is striking in more than one way! First, both of them happen in California..duh! But on a deeper level these companies are providing the tools to mine for genetic data, which happens to be gold!

I have personally worked in a company, which for all practical reasons would not have existed if not for the sequencing revolution. The sheer number of samples that can be analyzed using these instruments is mind boggling! One of you may ask, what do you do with all the data? Well, that’s another story all together, a brilliant case study in operations and IT management. What I’m trying to say is that the possibilities are infinite! The days where a newborn is screened for his genetic predisposition to certain diseases, thereby creating a genetic blueprint for future health management are not far off. Developing innovative management and technology solutions that are capable of handling such humongous data can never be undermined. The storage, transfer and retrieval of this genetic data will be of paramount importance. With the world more or less becoming a global village owing to faster communication channels and greater delivery systems, this kind of health care can be delivered to the remotest places across the world thereby seamlessly creating a global network of hospitals, research institutes, universities and government agencies.

Although there is a great push towards personalized medicine, it brings with it its own set of problems ad roadblocks. How will personalized medicine alter the drug discovery process? What implications does it have for the pharma/biotech industry? Pharma companies might be able to fundamentally alter the way they design their clinical trials. But this means additional investment in terms of time, money and resources, which will be a tricky trade off. Perhaps the biggest question to be asked here is, Are we ready for personalized medicine yet? Will it be affordable? The anticipation is that it will fundamentally alter the way we practice medicine. Resources will shift in a way we can manage risk in order to delay or prevent disease rather than trying to cure the disease. It also raises a more deeper and greater ethical question. Can we beat natural selection? Can we play God? Can we design our own babies? As we motor along this path, we might want to think about some of these issues. As of now, I’m intoxicated by the possibilities!

Pushups, Anyone?

I just returned from the gym and I cant help but think about how hard it is to motivate people to move their lazy ass for a while!How many of you have worked out/exercised/played a sport/ in the last one month? I bet, there's not too many people out there and it's a disturbing trend. Why is it that people find it so hard to believe the scientific evidence suggesting that physical exercise in fact goes a long way in helping one live longer and better? I too, at one point of my life was one of those who gave lame reasons like I don't have time, I am fit, do I need to exercise? I'll exercise when am 30. Well, guess what? by the time you make/don't make a decision am sure you'll weigh well over 250 pounds!I'm sure you've been making those new year resolutions over the past god knows how many years and come february it's back to square one. This probably explains why fitness centers have the highest enrollment in January and they gradually begin to wean off as the year progresses and come March/April there's hardly anyone. Trust me! I know this for a fact because I was one of them. So, this year I tried a slightly different approach I did not hit the gym till late January and this gave more freedom, space and time to explore all the equipment on my own and also be myself since there are not too many people watching what you do. There is no fear of being embarassed or ridiculed. You also meet the true fitness freak who is always willing to lend you a helping hand and give some neat advice. This has worked wonderfully well for me and I believe I have successfully crossed the chasm and am loving every bit of it. I must admit, it's beginning to get a little addictive! I've made it a part of my weekly routine and hope to do so and I urge everyone out there to take the initiative and join a well equipped gym, even a crappy one will do! As Robin Williams once famously said, "Go pump some neurons! Expand your craniums!"

What If?

There are a few instances in life, where you cant help but think about the “what if's”

Here are some of them in my life in no particular order

What if I never landed that internship to go to New York?

What if I dint drop my dual degree?

What if I had better grades?

What if I told that someone special how I felt?

What if I got a mark or two less back in 12th grade?

What if I said “lets just be friends”

The lessons life teaches you are mostly the what ifs. As you grow older you tend to recognize these what ifs more quickly and act upon them.

Or is it the other way around?

The more I think, the more confused I get!

So, I just buried one of my what ifs for ever!! Did you?