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Biswapriya Biswavas Misra

Profile

  • Time Zone
    Central

  • Organization
    Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist

  • Role
    Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  • Research Interests (300 words)
    I am interested in metabolites in organisms, and my area is called 'metabolomics'. Have expertise in 'genomics' and presently interested in integrating information from metabolomics, proteomics and genomics towards a systems biology understanding of organismal behavior, life, and biology. The aim is to understand the holistic overview and underlying machineries inherent to organismal function. The ultimate goal is to understand the molecules that make us (sugars, proteins), treat (drugs) us or improve (perfumes, chemicals) us. To strike that balance in understanding the gene function and relate it to the phenotypically closer smaller molecules of life- to decipher the interplay between small molecules (sugars) with the larger entities (proteins, DNA)- does size matter? What is important- the regulated or the regulator? Can we add a new layer of regulation to the existing central Dogma of life. Mass-spectrometers and sequencers are my tools. Can I devise ways to use these instruments in solving my hypothesis of addressing diseases? How to stitch these data sets together and generate valid information for an integrated view of the biochemistry of life ?

  • Which of the following best describes your career stage?
    Early Career

  • Profile Question 1
    What is best about being a scientist?

  • Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):
    First and foremost- being able to find answers for my inner questions! To be able to think, be logical, be rational, be judicious to resources, be planful, thoughtful, multi-tasking, learning new things everyday, loving data, loving challenges, strength and knowledge for going beyond taboos-myths-superstitions-religion-societal norms, being independent thinker, being a team player, being sharp yet kind and considerate, being able to communicate to public and scientists, ability to know the basis of most things around us- from spices in the kitchen when mom is cooking to the grease in the car! A complete life style that makes me feel confident, matured- emotionally and mentally, to tackle situations and handle people, get upbeat on doing new things everyday and over come frustrations in failing at things from new insights/ angles! To be able to think for society, mankind and kins- a desire to solve societal problems, a burning passion to solve issues- do something innovative in research and development or at least communicate findings to the tax payer. Override working schedules/ routines, freedom in working hours, valuing people and natural resources more than surrounding mundane environment and luxuries! A drive to give back Mother Nature. To make this Earth a safer place, a cause for people to remember you as someone who devoted his life in pursuit of knowledge, science and devotion!

  • Profile Question 2
    What is the coolest thing you have discovered or learned about plants?

  • Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):
    Resilience and homeostasis. Both are impeccable.
    The capability to avoid and endure stress, biotic and abiotic, respond to them in the time scale of nano or femto-seconds, making their inability to run away (lack of locomotion!) as their strength to pile up secondary metabolite mediated insults on their pests/ predators/ pathogens is impressive! The ability to balance everything, to bring back to normalcy in seconds, the "meristem" which can regenerate in hours/ days, the ability to emitt scents as attractants and obnoxious gases as repellents are both impressive behaviors to make them more resilient than any other biological systems. Sense everything chemically, they lack that typical central nervous system, they do not need a 'gut' when each cell is akin to gut- processing food day in and day out, no brains to coordinate yet volatiles and semiochemicals are much more potent, ability for bioremediation, heat and water homeostatsis, ability to imbine and transpire, ability to close and open stomata in response to a bacterial flagella- all indicate their sharp responsiveness to stress tolerance. Cyanates, to terpenoids, to phenolics to alkaloids, to isoprene......so many drugs and medicines from leaves and roots and fruits and flowers, protect them, anthocyanins to betacyanins to flavonoids color them.......chlorophylls and carotenoids for colors and basic food....nature's molecular wizardy interlaced with chemical intelligence..that is what plants are all about...chemicals....an amalgamation of C, H, N, O, P, S in right ratios and purposes.....still exploring their endless abilities to synthesize chemicals at will and quickly so...

  • Profile Question 3
    Can you share a funny/interesting lab or field story?

  • Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):
    First week and third day of the PhD (graduate studies) and had an access to the entire laboratory of my PI. I decided to stay back in the lab- to explore and learn. I was inquisitive. Came from a Master's program from traditional-classical-orthodox Botany, reading about taxonomy, and enriching herbaria, running in the fields to collect leaves and roots and floral samples. Never had a chance to see a spectrophotometer. Very underprivileged set up in Masters in India at my local state university, where the best experiments we had done was to do some biochemistry color tests- visually- say brown ring tests or carbohydrates with anthrone tests- visually, that too. Had the opportunity to see a Spectrophotomter (DOuble beam!) for the first time. Night 11.00 pm, saw the cuvettes. Had the theory in that grey matter to back up my naughty plans that night. Got to the manual. Calibrated the instrument. The very first curiousity was to measure something, but what ? Could not find any reagents as first week in the lab! Not sure to find anything anywhere. Already 1.00 am in the morning. Let me measure proteins, from where, but ? Saliva ? Spit in a test tube. Used water to dilute it. Knew that proteins would show scanning peaks at 280 nm, so did the same and measured H2O vs diluted saliva ! And tangooooooooooo! Yippiiieeee. So happy to see the bell shaped curve for the 280 nm salivary protein peak! Amazed with technology! Spell-bound and speechless at that hour in the night. Would have surely taken a snap if had an iPhone. No cell phone even. Still vivid images in my mind. Could not capture. Charmed with a spectrophotometer- and now handling mass spectrometers like GC XGC ToF EI-MS instruments! That experiment set me on track...

  • Availability
    I am NOT available, please temporarily remove me from the available mentor list

  • Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?
    3

Recent Posts

Saltty Prettzels Biswapriya Biswavas Misra

Hello Liv,

 

Good to rest and get sleep! : ) It rests body and relaxes from all stress and work load from all day's hard work! Do you think plants also sleep? When can they sleep?

 

Nice that you are learning about the…

more
Saltty Prettzels Biswapriya Biswavas Misra

Hello Liv,

 

Which seeds did you use? From which plant- do you have a name?

We all do need different amounts of water to drink, right? So, plant seeds would also need different amounts of water or same amounts?

Do we drink water…

more
Saltty Prettzels Biswapriya Biswavas Misra

Hi Liv,

 

Sure- good question!

 

 

 

 

What do you expect to see when a seed germinates? Leaves? Flowers? Fruits? I am wondering too!  : )

Thanks,

Biswa

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NSF_Logo.jpg This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant #2010556 and #1502892. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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