Mathiang Ghai

Current City: London, Ontario

Year arrived in Canada: 2010

School: University of Windsor (BSc., MSc.) & University of Western Ontario (PhD)

Academic Programs: Behaviour, Cognition & Neuroscience (BSc.). Neuroscience & Behavior (MSc). Anatomy & Cell Biology (PhD)

1.    What inspired you to pursue postgrad studies in neuroscience of all the academic programs that were available to you?  

I have always enjoyed studying science, especially biology. In my first year of university, I set out to go to medical school and study surgery. When that plan did not work out, I pursued my plan B which was to go to grad school and do research in Neuroscience.

2.      Would you say personal discipline and motivation were the main factors in your academic success or would you credit strong family support? Inherent intellectual aptitude goes without saying.

There is no magic wand for success in these parts of the world. Personal discipline and decisiveness are key. You have to have a plan from the start. Know what you want, but be realistic in your pursuit. If you find yourself unmotivated at school and not sure about what you want out of your academic career, then take a break. Get out there and experience the workforce. Once you’ve made up your mind about what you want out of life, you can go back to school with a strategic roadmap of how to achieve your goals.

3.      Can you tell me a bit about your career path and what led you to the role you are in today?

I was passionate about Biology in high school. My career path hasn’t deviated from what I aspired to do since. In my second year, I realized I was more comfortable doing research in a lab than being in a hospital dealing with patients. I am currently pursuing my PhD in cell biology and intend to have a career in research or academia. If my dreams of becoming a doctor would have materialized, it would have been in experiential medicine. This would have involved collecting and analyzing human samples, for example, studying tissues from samples of patients who died from brain tumors to understand neurological diseases at the cellular level.

4.      What are some of the biggest challenges you faced getting to where you are today, if any?

The main challenge was insufficient preparation and lack of mentorship. When I got to university, I realized students who grew up locally were well mentored, specialized and knew exactly what they were doing from the start. There were kids who had experience shadowing real doctors and knew what to expect in their desired careers. I played catch-up in my first year, balancing realities on the ground with my idealized passions.

5. What is an example of a current day-to-day professional challenge for you?

Research is hard. Research needs long term commitment. You can spend years and years investigating a specific hypothesis and fail. Success does not happen overnight. You can do your best work and it will be torn down by your peers or supervisor. You have to be humble and be open to new approaches around a problem. If you are sensitive about criticism and uncomfortable with negative feedback, then research is not for you. It takes years of diligent hard work to do any meaningful work that can make it into a credible journal.

6.      What does a workday look like for you and what’s something that would surprise ordinary people about your day-to-day work?

I normally wake up around 6am and start my experiments. I then take a break and resume from 1pm to 3pm. The following day I analyze the results. This process continues weekly until I have some credible results that I can submit for peer review. After that, I have to address any questions and Once my paper survives peer review, I send it off for publication.

7.      Do you have a mentor? If so, how have they helped you in your career?

I had a mentor in undergrad. She drew me towards neuroscience. My current supervisor is a great mentor as well. He guides me and gives me clues on what to reflect on when trying to solve a problem.

8.      What does it take to be a good researcher?

Humility and patience are important. One needs not assume anything. To do quality research, pretend you don’t know anything about the outcome and let the results speak for themselves. Keep an open mind. If you receive input or data from someone else, make sure their work makes sense, question their approach and methodology. Science requires that you prove everything regardless of the credentials of whoever did the work.

9.      What’s your favorite thing about your job or industry? In other words, what fuels your enthusiasm and helps you get out of bed on a Monday morning?

Solving a problem I did not finish the day before drives my passion each morning. I am motivated by the need to conquer new challenges or learn something new each day.

10.      Is your racial profile helping or hindering your professional growth? That is, if race is a factor at all.

In North America, how you look like will be a factor in what you do and how people interact with you before you utter a word. Do not focus too much on what is against you. Do your best work and let your work speak for itself. Sometimes you get lucky and find people that trust your work and give you the benefit of the doubt. But for the most part, you will need to earn everything you get.

11. Looking back, did you envision this is where you would be when you were in high school? What do you know now that you wished you had known before you started your career?

High school dreams and ambitions are always fantasy. Although I had an idea about what I wanted to do, I didn’t know anything about the realities in Canada. If I were to go back, I would end up where I am now.

12. Do you have any advice to new WUSC students?

Don’t burry yourself in your own room, be flexible and look around you. Notice what other students are doing. Learn from your classmates who know the system better. Know what they prioritize and how they study. Ask how they approach their assignments if you are taking the same course. You will be surprised to find out that your friends have access to the test bank from which your midterms will be lifted from. Be open minded and you will have a steeper learning curve. By working smart, you will not be too disadvantaged as is the case for those who stick to themselves.