By Pujan Shiwakoti, BBA Student, King’s College
With the ongoing crisis and the lockdown implemented in the country, the bi-monthly initiative by the college – Insight: Story of Doers took a new turn and shifted virtually.
“We talk about luck and faith but we should always remember that luck favours the prepared mind, the working mind” said Dr. Mahat.
This session, Insight took a trip across seven seas to the United States of America with Dr. Digbijay Mahat. Dr. Mahat completed his PhD from Cornell University and currently is a postdoctoral fellow at MIT. Dr. Mahat shared his knowledge and experience in the medical research program in the united states and how Nepal could adapt to such medical research. Dr. Mahat shared how a 3 years long research had to be dropped down because of mistakes in the already existing theories. When we fail, we learn more. Working with the theory of fail quickly and fail early, Dr. Mahat shared that the lessons we get from failures are way underrated. On a similar note, he shared his works and how he is working towards one of the deadliest cancers known today – Pancreatic cancer. He shared with us how Immunotherapy could be used to help us increase our immune system which will help us fight different diseases such as cancer and in the recent light of the world, the coronavirus.
He shared with us how he wanted to go to the U.S. and become a Scientist because it sounded ‘cool’ as a child and saying that he wanted to become a doctor or engineer was too mainstream. He also shared with us how being a scientist, especially in the field of cancer research was greatly affected when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Dr. Mahat also shared the way medical research and medicines are commercialized and usually sold to hospitals either as drugs, prosthetics, or services. Dr. Mahat also shared how when we change our system from the policy level.
From a science student in Nepal and standing out in the field of medical research in the United States, it takes a lot of hard work, persistence, and lessons from our own failures. Dr. Digbijay Mahat in his concluding remarks reiterated that life and work are filled with failures and lessons from failures. We must be aware enough to understand the use of these lessons for our success.
