PhD graduate left India for UMMC to advance her research goals

PhD graduate left India for UMMC to advance her research goals

After traveling nearly 9,000 miles from India to the University of Mississippi Medical Center to study ways to combat obesity, Sheetal Chowdhury, in the School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences, is preparing to earn her PhD and begin the next chapter of her career as a clinical research associate in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

For Chowdhury, this academic milestone represents the realization of a dream that began in Kolkata, India, and was shaped by family support, mentorship and a welcoming community at UMMC. Soon to receive her doctorate in biomedical materials science, she reflects on a journey driven by perseverance and a commitment to improving human health.

"This is the biggest milestone for me," she said.

Chowdhury grew up in Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal, where her academic interests first began to take shape. Encouraged by her parents, Rakesh and Suman Chowdhury, she pursued engineering studies and discovered a passion for scientific research.

Her decision to come to the U.S. was fully supported by her family, even though it meant their only child moving thousands of miles away from home.

"For them, me coming to the U.S. was a big deal," she said. "They were proud that I could achieve something they never imagined. They always told me, 'Just pursue your dreams - we're here to support you.' "

After pandemic-related delays, Chowdhury arrived at UMMC in 2021 and quickly found herself embraced by a supportive academic environment that felt like a second home.

She credits much of her success to the encouragement she received from faculty, fellow students and her adviser, Dr. Amol Janorkar, professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Materials Science in the School of Dentistry.

"He never questioned me when things didn't work," she said. "He would say, 'Let's sit down and figure it out.' That support meant a lot."

Janorkar said Chowdhury set an "accomplished example" during her PhD journey.

"She received the highly competitive predoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association. She was inducted into the Sigma Xi and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. She earned the STAR award from the Society for Biomaterials. Her research was featured on the cover of the journal Bioengineering. However, what sets Sheetal apart is her collaborative spirit and steadfast dedication to scientific research. I wish her the best in all of her future endeavors," Janorkar said.

During her PhD journey, Chowdhury focused her research on developing advanced cell culture models that mimic human disease, particularly obesity. Her work centered on creating three-dimensional "in vitro" adipose, or fat tissue, models designed to replicate how the body behaves under disease conditions.

While she is proud of her accomplishments in the laboratory, Chowdhury is also eager to expand her experience in clinical research. Following graduation, she will join orthopaedics, where she will work on clinical trials, patient enrollment and research data analysis.

Although the position differs from her doctoral research, it aligns closely with her long-term career goals in clinical and regulatory research within the biomedical industry.

She said the research community at UMMC played a key role in shaping her future.