Dr. Ashish Dwivedi, Scientist at Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, shares his journey

CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research ( CSIR- IITR ), Lucknow, a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, ( Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India)  was established in 1965. It is the only institute of toxicology in India contributing towards cutting edge research and innovation in the subject. It has successfully made a positive impact in addressing problems critical to human health, environment and safety of chemicals / products over the years.

Dr. Ashish Dwivedi, scientist at CSIR-IITR and international publisher shared his journey recently via a telephonic interview. A small extract of which is given below:

Interviewer: Tell us something about your academic journey

Dr. Dwivedi : I am an alumnus of Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Varanasi, UP. I was a curious student and while growing up, science subjects were my favorite, especially biology. The world of living systems and organisms really fascinated me. Thus after completing my schooling, I did my graduation in BSc Biotechnology  from Bundelkhand University Jhansi (2005), MSc from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Central University Lucknow (2007) and Phd from Indian Institute of Toxicology research.

Interviewer: How did you become a scientist? and what are your other passions?

Dr. Dwivedi :  After completing my studies I worked as an Assistant Professor in Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Central University for six months. From there I went on to work as a Postdoctoral scientist (2015-2017)  at Varanasi Hindu University in Uttar Pradesh.

Two of my life’s biggest turning points came when I got selected as a Postdoctoral fellow in USA (2017-2018) and Postdoctoral fellow in Israel (2018-2019). Presently I am working as a scientist at CSIR-IITR in Lucknow.

Along with my career as a scientist, I like to write and my work has been published in several national and international journals. I have also published a book titled ‘Photocarcinogenesis and Photoprotection’, among others. 

Interviewer: What impact did your school have towards shaping your life?

Dr. Dwivedi : My school has had several positive impact towards shaping my personality.  I feel that the qualities of discipline and  punctuality are crucial to gain professional and personal success and I have learnt their importance from my teachers. My school has also made me more aware regarding the Indian culture which helped me to connect with my roots. 

Interviewer: Who is your role model?

Dr. Dwivedi : My father, Mr Vidya Sankar Dwivedi, who is the general manager in paper mill at Pune, is my role model. He has helped me in every stage of my life and is one of the biggest reasons behind my success.

Interviewer: Do you have any message for the Vidya Bharati students?

Dr. Dwivedi : I feel that it is very important to be a good human being with developed social and moral consciousness. We always speak about our rights, but it is more important to be aware of our fundamental duties. 

Vidya Bharati Purav Chatra Parishad thanks Dr. Dwivedi for taking out time from his busy schedule and sharing his thoughts with the community.

Few of his works are as follows: 

• MicroRNA: a new and promising potential biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of ovarian cancer  (Cancer Biology & Medicine)

• UVB-induced apoptosis and DNA damaging potential of chrysene via reactive oxygen species in human keratinocytes  (ScienceDirect)

• Skin Aging & Cancer: Ambient UV-R Exposure  (Book)

• Advancement in the Pathophysiology of Cerebral Stroke (Book)

If you are an Vidya Bharati alumni and want to share your experiences with the community, kindly email us at info@vidyabharatialumni.org 

We would love to hear from you.