Isha Parlikar is a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology postgraduate from the University of Bremen in Germany, and has graduated in Biotechnology from Modern College at Pune University. For expanding her professional horizons, Isha has worked in the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research, and Education in Cancer (ATREC) at the Tata Memorial Centre and HiMedia, a leading bioSciences company. Her work in academia and industry has boosted her confidence as a researcher and as an artist in science. Currently, she is contributing to a private waste management consultancy with Mr. Ulhas Parlikar. Before the COVID lockdown, she was planning on participating in projects at CESE IIT Bombay related to waste water treatment.
She has also been training in Indian classical Kathak dance for approximately 8 years and is a disciple of Guru Shama Bhate and Prerna Deshpande. She has also signed up for a diploma course in teaching Yoga, with the hope to boost up health awareness with yoga health.
Isha admires the arts in every walk of life, absorbing various art skills that has developed her into a passionate knowhow multimedia artist. Her goal is to contribute to public awareness of establishing an artistic connection to science.
Contraction and Relaxation at Cosmic and Micro levels by Isha Parlikar
What is your story in pursuing biotechnology?
As a kid, I was always fascinated with how Indian mythological stories have a connection to today’s modern science. I grew up listening to the stories of scientists and their interdisciplinary approach to solve problems (credits to my parents). This has sparked an interest in interdisciplinary science and eventually, I chose to explore Biotechnology, which is an emerging field and has vast topics for basic and applied research.
What are some major obstacles you have encountered pursuing STEM? How did you maintain your motivation?
The major obstacle for pursuing STEM was language barrier. My first language is Marathi. I remember as a school kid I was trying to learn the same content from both languages, Marathi and English. I was fluent in Marathi but struggled a bit with learning complex concepts in English.
That being said, I believed in skill transfers. I believed if I could write in Marathi well, I would also do the same in English, which kept me motivated for crossing obstacles. I kept practicing my writing, and today, I am a blogger for both languages. I do have a personal blog called ‘Ishapniti’ hosted on isha.parlikar.com where I used to write for my art inspiration stories in English and Marathi. After the pandemic, I started writing and contributing for public awareness.
I choose language depending on the most probable audience for my content; I use the same skillset for contributing in media articles, brochure, and technical datasheets in my industrial experience.
The slogan for your website says, “heart, brain, and art reunite for science illustrations”. What do you mean by that?
This is an interesting question.
We all know that Human beings are able to communicate with five senses. The transactions we make in the outer world are through our thinking, speaking, writing, and creating, and is what I considered as karma; I consider these to be active contributions by anybody in the world.
An art piece receives meaning when it is done for a purpose. And to make this happen, there should be collaboration with the teammates. Team members are living inside you! So, it is the heart who focuses on the cause will motivate the brain. It is the brain who takes up the subject and does research to bring justice to the scientific facts.
Once the story is cooked in the left brain, the right brain takes a way and makes a transaction with the world. The art which has been a muscle memory of a trained artist brings the artwork to life.
Well-researched science illustrations, graphical summaries, and science comics have been part of my hobbies for a long time. I am now presenting this digitally.
What is the best/coolest/most inspirational fact you learned in biology? Why?
The molecular mechanism for DNA replication and transcription and translation is most inspiring to me. What is fascinating is their application and commercialization for the use of medical science and as well as other disciplines. PCR is one of the products of understanding this basic science, which has a range of applications in discovering the facts of biology. We also know that PCR is being used as a conformational tool for checking the Coronavirus infection.
Apart from this Immunofluorescence microscopy to stain for cellular structure, the distributional and dynamic properties of cells were also really interesting to study, and I loved watching those visually pleasing events happening inside the cells.
How did your love for art initiate?
This is purely credit to my mother who is also a multi-talented artist. Her self-motivated art projects and her being divinely happy at the end of creation was inspiring; I think it has transferred to me. Doing small activities for anything, the motto, ‘pouring heart into it’ has become part of my personality. I was also encouraged by my peers, colleagues, and family every time I undertook any art or SciArt project, which helped me quite a bit.
I highly believed skill transfer: that skill from one corner of life can be applied to other parts of life. I’ve heard that Steve Jobs brought his calligraphy skill to the table when founding Apple, and that had a large share in its early success!
The Vaccination Process by Isha Parlikar
Describe the brainstorming process for creating an illustration. How long does it take for you to transform an idea into an illustration?
My Procedure:
-Select the idea
-Select the audience
-Select format (illustration, infographic, sci-comic or just as image)
-Do the research for presenting the facts
-Sketch with pen
- Make drafts: all drafts are useful in different contexts. Although everybody shall have a different approach mine is this.
Yes, like written projects, art also comes in drafts. Revising the versions for the best looking one is always the process. For few, the process is faster, but others may take longer. It also depends if the art is being reviewed by someone for fact checking.
The time required to complete depends on the complexity of the idea. A piece-by-piece composite would take longer. Time varies from a few minutes to 7 days, and if it's being reviewed then someone, additional time has to be considered. I welcome both appreciating and critical feedback which helps me bring our best. I consider expertise feedback as well as feedback from other pairs of eyes.
How has your science-illustration passion project benefited your life?
Transferring artistic skills in professional life while making Powerpoints, project designs, model designs, graphical summaries, brochures, and TDs, gave me ‘stand out' factor experiencse. To be able to present my work in a creative, perfect way has cached a professional interest in my work.
Art has benefited my personal and professional life both:
I value arts as it has the power of mediation. Personally, I am into performing and visual arts;
I just forget who I am when I partake in these activities, and this gives me the feeling of ‘being one with the universe'. Art opens minds, heals, and thins out the feeling of self. It builds confidence and personality and develops inner-beauty, and you start shining after pouring your heart into soulful art.
A science-illustration project is sure to help its audience in quick understating of matter. The feeling is great when you are able to do something that benefits society. Society has given me so much, now it’s my pleasure to contribute back. Science Illustration is my transaction in this beautiful and brilliant world of science. Karma come back as happiness 😊
What advice would you give to any STEM student?
A STEM student should:
Indulge in self-study around the subjects and seek guidance whenever it is required.
Carve their path in the profession by themselves and shape their future.
Upgrade themselves periodically. They should be able to find a niche area in which they really enjoy and explore diverse fields with a constant urge to learn.
Value the skills they are trained for and transfer the skill to others in need. Believe in skill transfer
They nurture their liking and grasp the beauty of life and science.
Consider the “create-correct-present-update” approach.
They should also not be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes or loopholes can be identified and corrected.
So, do you remember Stephan Hawking contradicting his own theory? Do you observe how computers, software, and android systems keep updating and keep removing bugs identified from end-users?
Why not we learn from them?
So, extrapolating these facts to our lives, I believe changes and updates are constants of life and we shall celebrate them together.
Interviewer's Takeaway:
I really love how Mrs. Parlikar was able to take both a diplomatic and spiritual approach towards her interest in science. I believe having both is incredibly important when going into the professional field; STEM is a demanding career and requires discipline, but at the same time, it also asks for spirituality to create passion for the subject.
As Mrs. Parlikar connected her soul and mind into her works, she feels elated to have her passionate skill-transfer delivered to the public. That's why passion is so important in this field: one most likely wouldn't get far if they viewed something merely as a chore.
Thank you Mrs. Isha Parlikar for this soulful, inspiring interview.
Please come check out her:
Happy studying everyone!!
Comentarios