On August 26th the CFAH graduate student unit met virtually with CFAH alumnus, Dr. Dipak Kathayat (Rajashekara lab). Students had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Kathayat on his research experiences, goals, and advice to those pursuing education and careers in research.
Dr. Dipak is a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Kelsi Sandoz at Cornell University. He received his PhD in Comparative Biomedical Sciences from The Ohio State University in 2021. His current research is focused on understanding the role of cell envelope remodeling in host and environmental persistence of bacterial pathogens, Legionella pneumophila and Coxiella burnetii. His lab is the first to report the ß-barrel tethering (BBT), a new mechanism of cell envelope stabilization in Gram-negative bacteria. His career goal is to become a principal investigator in academia and study bacterial cell envelope.
His advice to current graduate students:
"Do what you enjoy and enjoy what you do!"
"Plan the things and set short-term and long-term goals"
"Socialize and network as much as you can!"
"Science is all about curiosity, think from all aspects"