Being a quintessential Indian kid, I collected degrees in math and computer science. A desire for a pure math PhD was serendipitously transformed into a PhD in computer vision. The search for new scientific pastures led me to the INRIA, Sophia-Antipolis, in the French Alps for a postdoc in face detection. It was an introduction to a refreshing style of research, as well as to wine and chocolate. Since the move to the US was unplanned, instead of the easy option of a job in face detection and post 9/11 security fascination, I chose a second postdoc in medical imaging. What was supposed to be a year long experiment has become a job I am deeply passionate about.

A tenured professorship and multiple NIH grants later, it is the notion that the research I do has the potential to change the life of a patient for the better, the meaningfulness of it, that keeps me going despite the stressors of academia. I am foremost a researcher, with my area of expertise being diffusion imaging and connectomics, with a desire to elucidate the mechanisms of disease. But I find myself continuously juggling many hats of lab director, collaborator, manager, glorified grant writer, and a course director.

When I need a break, I travel, go salsa dancing, find new cocktail bars where I can read my book, or just cook.