Abhinav Bagchi is a postdoctoral researcher in Ratna Ray’s research group at Saint Louis University. In this Postdoc Portrait, he shares his passion for research and his drive to advance understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer.
Q | What’s your research background?
I received my PhD in Biology from the University of Houston and am currently appointed as a postdoctoral fellow at Saint Louis University. I received my graduate training in cancer and molecular biology. Currently, I am investigating the role of long non-coding RNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma and the anti-tumor properties of Momordicin I in pre-clinical models of head and neck cancer.
Q | How did you first get interested in science and your field of research?
My journey in science began in high school, when we learned about human anatomy and physiology. As a kid growing up in India, diabetes was a very common ailment that people were suffering from in every household. My grandparents would take medicines and insulin shots every day. When we learned about the pancreas and glucose metabolism, I started connecting the dots. That got me hooked on disease biology, and I decided to pursue this as a career, solely driven by curiosity.
In college, immunology caught my interest. The interplay among various immune cells, their ability to form memory, and the processes of antigen identification blew my mind. I was inspired by the scientists who made these discoveries and wanted to get a PhD to become one of them. During my master's, I got introduced to the world of cancer biology and cancer immunology. Soon enough, I realized my passion for the subject and decided to immerse myself in this world of cells and molecules and whatnot. I am eternally grateful to the University of Houston for helping me get my PhD I consider myself very fortunate to have received this fellowship in Ratna Ray’s lab, which enables me to continue my research in cancer biology.
Q | Tell us about your favorite research project you’re working on.
My favorite research project is investigating the role of non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We have observed that liver cancer or inflammatory liver diseases are often associated with an increase in lncRNAs. This is particularly interesting to me because the lncRNAs make up much of the human genome, and they were traditionally considered junk. Recently, several researchers have reported that many of these RNAs play a key role in disease biology, especially in cancers. They regulate transcription and transcript levels in the cell by interacting with proteins.
In cancers, lncRNAs are being tested for therapeutics and have also been approved as biomarkers in some cancers. Hence, I feel that their role is not only widespread but heavily underexplored. The lncRNA that we are interested in has been associated with hematopoiesis and the regulation of inflammatory genes. However, its role in the progression of HCC is unclear. Previous research has revealed that promoting the expression of this lncRNA enhances tumor growth in animal models. Currently, we are trying to dissect the molecular mechanisms involved and possibly develop a better understanding of such molecules in cancers.
Q | What has been the most exciting part of your scientific journey so far?
I do not know if I can use the superlative–most but several aspects of this journey have and continue to excite me. As a scientist, the process of finding gaps in knowledge, developing a rationale and hypothesis based on the existing work, and performing experiments to answer those questions is the primary source of satisfaction. However, I find immense pleasure in other aspects of the research world too. For example, I enjoy sitting in seminars, especially the early morning ones, with a cup of coffee and listening to a fellow researcher explaining their findings. Similarly, I love attending research meetings and sharing my work with my peers. Some of the most stimulating conversations that I have been a part of, often took place in hallways and break rooms. In addition to that, I enjoy a good pipetting session with good music in my ears. Reading good research papers and learning new skills for research are up there as well. Overall, I enjoy living the life of a researcher. It is more than just a day job for me.
Q | If you could be a laboratory instrument, which one would you be and why?
I would be a well-calibrated pipette. They are simple yet fundamental to the lab. They are present everywhere, they participate in all experiments, and everyone loves them because of how reliable they are.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
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