Who am I when I am not a researcher?

The world is not linear. It never was. But it took me a long time to understand that. But it is fun trying to evolve around this non-linear world, especially now that I am determined…

I am a researcher in the field of biology. Specifically, I have worked in the areas of soil microbiology, industrial water-disinfectant testing, cosmetic and food testing, as well as reproductive biology.

At the beginning of my research career, I took up writing for short-term projects alongside my full-time research work – mostly technical documents such as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Eventually, technical writing converged with non-scientific technical writing such as translating speeches, writing web content etc.

After my last research project, which lasted six and a half years, I started considering science communication as one of my career options. Since research was out of my life, I started exploring opportunities for creative writing, and continue to do so even today.

For about a year and a half, I was part of a creative writing forum, which gave me the opportunity to polish my skills in this domain and helped me gain confidence that I was moving in the right direction. Creative writing is an integral part of my life now. As I was writing about different topics and keeping myself updated about the science going around me, I also developed an interest in streams of science other than biology and then realized that the boundaries within me were collapsing! I was a happier person wanting to know more about things and people and the world at large. I was finally out of the ivory tower created by someone else for me and, for the first time, driven by genuine curiosity.

As researchers we are required to focus on one particular problem for a prolonged period of time and I know that I am always going to love doing that. Yet, this time away from research that I have substantially invested in creative writing has yielded much more for me than any research project I had worked on. I have been nominated as best author of the week for more than twelve times now and that is something I am yet to get a grasp of!

After having identified as only a researcher all these years, it was a welcome change to be able to discover my love not only for writing but also for traveling, understanding philosophy, discussing socio-political issues, painting, photography and exploring different cuisines. It reawakened the objective scientist in me who has always made a conscious choice of accepting research projects in different areas of science only to keep the objectivity thriving. When I look back upon my life today, I realize that I never made those choices for securing credit. I have always believed in doing the right thing and my choices reflect who I am as a person. I am an explorer, an objective one at that. I like understanding new things and concepts and probably that is one of the reasons why in the past two years I have been drawn to areas of technology that have never before been my forte per say. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of them.

As my journey in scientific communication continues, I will try to keep that explorer in me alive. Whether it be non-scientific writing, technical writing or research, the only constant is me. Yet another thing I know for sure is that I cannot be far from research for long. So maybe I might get back someday. Who knows what life throws at you next? Maybe there are many happy surprises down the line… There is no harm in being hopeful.