Best Place To BuildGrowing Organs in a Petri Dish and Starting Labs in IIT Madras | Dr Anubama Rajan
CHAPTERS
- 0:43 – 1:17
Show concept: meeting builders at IIT Madras
The host sets the context for the podcast series—spotlighting people who are building new ideas and institutions at IIT Madras. The episode frames IITM as a place where ambitious, interdisciplinary projects can be created from scratch.
- •Podcast mission: meet builders and understand what they’re building
- •Why IIT Madras is positioned as a top place for builders
- •Setup for an interdisciplinary science/technology conversation
- 1:17 – 1:58
Who is Dr. Anubama Rajan and what her labs focus on
Dr. Anubama Rajan is introduced as faculty in IIT Madras’ new Department of Medical Science and Technology and PI for two labs. The conversation tees up her Organ-on-Chip/OrgAMED work on growing mini-organs and its relevance to medicine.
- •Faculty role in the new MST department
- •Principal investigator responsibilities across two labs
- •Organ-on-chip / organoid platform as the episode’s technical anchor
- 1:58 – 5:01
Organoids explained: “mini organs” that mimic real physiology
Dr. Rajan explains organoids as 3D stem-cell-derived models that reproduce key functions of human organs in a dish. She contrasts organoids with traditional cell lines and describes why they matter for studying human biology outside the body.
- •Definition: organoids are 3D stem-cell models of organs
- •Origin story: breakthrough work around 2010 (Hans Clevers’ group)
- •Difference vs. cancer cell lines and simplified cell culture models
- •Why organ-like function (mucus, absorption, secretion) matters
- 5:01 – 7:23
How organoids are built: developmental signals, growth factors, and scale
The discussion dives into how organoids are created by recreating embryonic/developmental signaling cues in vitro. Dr. Rajan clarifies their size and complexity—micron-scale structures with huge numbers of cells that still perform organ-level functions.
- •Embryogenesis as the blueprint: signaling cues drive cell fate
- •Growth factors identified by developmental biologists enable organoid formation
- •Scale clarification: micron-level structures with ~million cells
- •Examples: gut and airway organoids with mucus/cilia-like behaviors
- 7:23 – 10:19
Why organoids are transforming drug discovery and regulation
Organoids are positioned as a practical tool to reduce the enormous failure rate of drugs in clinical trials. Dr. Rajan outlines how regulators and standards bodies (FDA, ISO/BIS) are moving toward standardized organoid protocols for translational testing.
- •Drug development is costly; >90% failure at clinical trial stage
- •Key gap: animal models/cancer lines often don’t translate to humans
- •Organoids as a human-relevant model to test efficacy and toxicity earlier
- •Regulatory momentum: FDA interest and protocol standardization efforts
- 10:19 – 12:31
Inside her research: patient-derived organoids to study respiratory disease
Dr. Rajan describes how her lab both builds organoids and uses them to model disease using patient samples and biobanking. She focuses on respiratory conditions—how viral infections can trigger or worsen asthma/COPD in Indian populations.
- •Lab does both: organoid generation + disease modeling
- •Patient-derived stem cells and biobanks for population-relevant research
- •Modeling asthma/COPD and adding viral infection to study exacerbations
- •India context: rising respiratory burden and pollution-linked symptoms
- 12:31 – 15:50
Academic origin story: from microbiology fascination to organoid PhD work
Dr. Rajan traces her interest back to a formative school experience that made microbiology “stick.” She then explains her move from early diabetes/animal-model work toward Baylor College of Medicine and gut organoids for diarrheal disease research relevant to India.
- •Turning point: inspiring biology teacher and early fascination with microbes
- •Graduate training path: biotechnology → research motivation around disease
- •Shift away from animal models toward alternative human-relevant systems
- •PhD work: gut organoids and bacterial diarrheal disease with Indian relevance
- 15:50 – 17:08
Choosing lung/airway organoids: returning to India with a “new-to-India” edge
She explains a deliberate career move: selecting an emerging area that India needed but lacked at the time. Lung/airway organoids aligned with India’s burden of TB and respiratory disease, shaping her postdoc in respiratory viruses and vaccine-related work.
- •Strategic positioning: bring something new when returning to Indian academia
- •Reasoning: respiratory disease burden and limited local research at the time
- •Postdoc focus: airway organoids for viral infection studies
- •Link to broader public-health and vaccine evaluation ecosystem
- 17:08 – 19:39
COVID research realities: BSL-3 work and rapid protocol-building
The pandemic transformed her lab’s intensity while much of the world paused. She explains why SARS-CoV-2 required Biosafety Level 3 facilities and how she led efforts to create organoid-based protocols for coronavirus study under strict containment.
- •Early awareness of Wuhan outbreak evolving into a pandemic
- •Why BSL-3 is required for high-risk pathogens without treatments
- •Operational constraints: negative pressure labs, permissions, surveillance
- •Leadership role in developing BSL-3 organoid protocols for coronavirus
- 19:39 – 23:24
Planning a research career: mentors, relevance, and India’s funding shift
Dr. Rajan discusses how academic careers require long-term planning across curiosity, societal relevance, and funding. Mentors encouraged her to focus on what she would “bring to the table” for India, and she highlights improving funding pathways like India Alliance/Wellcome-DBT.
- •Career planning depends on mentors beyond one’s advisor
- •Guiding principle: ask questions useful to the Indian community
- •Changing funding ecosystem: competitive fellowships and pathways
- •Personal motivations to return: family proximity + professional feasibility
- 23:24 – 27:07
Why IIT Madras built a Medical Sciences & Technology department
The episode tackles the apparent mismatch of medicine inside an engineering-heavy campus. Dr. Rajan argues it’s a global norm (MIT/Stanford-style integration) and that IITM formalized a collaboration that already existed, giving engineers and clinicians a shared home.
- •Engineering–medicine integration is standard globally, less formalized in India
- •Department as an “active space” to bring clinicians and engineers together
- •Institutional vision and leadership: director, senior faculty, advisors
- •Rationale: solve real clinical problems with engineering + biology
- 27:07 – 29:12
Joining a department with no labs yet: the ‘startup’ phase of academia
Dr. Rajan recounts the risk of joining a brand-new department—no facilities, signage, or ready floors—yet feeling a strong sense of belonging during the interview discussions with physicians. The chapter highlights the emotional and practical leap required to build from scratch.
- •Risk profile: new department, minimal infrastructure at the start
- •Interview experience: deep technical discussion and clinical engagement
- •Motivation: finally feeling heard and aligned with the mission
- •Building mindset: choosing the “light/path” despite uncertainty
- 29:12 – 36:05
What students study: BS curriculum, faculty mix, and hospital immersion
The department’s BS program is described as intentionally interdisciplinary—mathematics, biology, medicine, and engineering so graduates can “speak all the languages.” Faculty are organized across cellular physiologists, clinicians (including professors of practice), and engineering/AI groups, with structured hospital exposure and internships.
- •BS in Medical Sciences & Engineering; entry via IAT (IISER Aptitude Test)
- •Core coursework: anatomy/physiology + engineering/math + modern biology
- •Faculty structure: physiologists, clinicians, engineering, AI/ML, devices, imaging
- •Clinician engagement via professors of practice and hospital-based learning
- •Mandatory internships: AIIMS exposure + Chennai hospital problem-finding
- 36:05 – 38:49
Career pathways for graduates: research, industry, and medical-device startups
Dr. Rajan outlines where MST graduates might go—higher studies, healthcare/pharma/medical-device industry, unrelated fields, or entrepreneurship. A major theme is building indigenous medical equipment to reduce import dependence and costs.
- •Four buckets: higher studies, industry roles, alternate careers, entrepreneurship
- •Industry examples: equipment manufacturers, pharma/drug discovery, vaccines
- •Problem framing: India imports much of its medical equipment
- •Opportunity: lower costs and better access via locally built devices
- 38:49 – 41:36
MD-PhD and clinicians as researchers: training physician-scientists and builders
The department’s MD-PhD is positioned as a rare India-first model to create physician-scientists by combining an MD (via Sriher) with an IITM PhD. The program also enables physicians to take engineering courses and pursue PhDs, feeding into initiatives to design and build needed medical equipment with MSMEs and clinical partners.
- •MD-PhD pipeline to blend medicine with engineering-driven research
- •Partnership model: MD at Sriher + PhD at IIT Madras
- •Physicians as learners/researchers: doctors taking organoid/engineering courses
- •Equipment-building ecosystem: MSMEs + AIIMS as sounding board for needs
- 41:36 – 43:09
SCODER: a Centre of Excellence targeting diabetes with usable technology
Dr. Rajan explains SCODER as a diabetes research center designed to fund work that produces practical tools, not only “blue-sky” science. The initiative, supported by alumnus Shankar Subramaniam, requires scholars to develop technologies that address real diabetic-community needs.
- •Centre of Excellence for Diabetes Research (SCODER) with targeted fellowships
- •PhD work must yield a tool/technology to solve diabetes problems
- •Philanthropic/alumni-driven mission with clear translational expectations
- •Co-led with Prof. Bobby George, aligned with department priorities
- 43:09 – 48:26
Science communication and social media: ‘show up’ while building a lab
She discusses why she started sharing her journey online—rebuilding networks after returning to India and documenting what it takes to set up a new department and lab. Social media is framed as both responsibility and therapy, with an aim to guide young researchers navigating similar paths.
- •New era: “publish or perish” plus the need to “show up” publicly
- •MST Diaries: documenting building-from-scratch experiences at IITM
- •Time cost and responsibility: being careful about messaging and influence
- •Impact: mentoring-at-scale via stories that help early-career scientists
- 48:26 – 1:01:35
Being a woman in STEM: family load, mid-career attrition, and self-prioritization
The conversation turns to why women’s participation often drops mid-career, emphasizing cumulative pressures from family expectations, workplace judgment, and reduced opportunities. Dr. Rajan highlights the importance of asking for help, communicating needs, and prioritizing oneself without guilt.
- •Problem focus: mid-career is a major rate-limiting stage for women
- •Contributors: caregiving load, unfair judgment, politics, opportunity loss
- •Tactical advice: explicitly ask for help and communicate constraints
- •Mindset: prioritize yourself first and don’t feel guilty for ambition
