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Membership Corner

Name: Rakesh Minocha
Title: Research biochemist
Place of work: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Durham, New Hampshire
Research area: Stress physiology of forest trees
Member since: 1990

1. Has being a member of ASPB helped you in your career? If so how?
Yes. It has been particularly important in my case. For my B.S. and M.S. degrees, I majored in zoology; for my Ph.D. I focused on biochemistry of cancer in animals. My very first job, however, involved studying stress physiology in forest trees. Being a member of ASPB helped me not only to get to know people in my area of research, but also filled in the gaps in my knowledge through annual, regional and national ASPB meetings. Although basic physiological processes are not too different between plants and animals, being a part of the network of active scientists in this new area of research was crucial to my career development, and ASPB membership really helped me in this regard.

2. Why has being a member of ASPB been important?
I have always enjoyed the small-sized Northeastern ASPB section meetings. One really gets to know everyone personally after attending these meetings for a few years. Also, the atmosphere is very informal and conducive to learning from each other.

3. Was someone instrumental in getting you to join ASPB?
My husband, Subhash Minocha, who is a professor of plant biology at the University of New Hampshire. Because he has always been in the plant field and has been an ASPB member for more than 20 years, I asked for his guidance regarding names of plant societies that would best serve my interests.

4. What would you tell nonmembers to encourage them to join?
I would especially encourage young graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and even undergraduate students to join ASPB for an early start in career development. This would provide them a way to interact with other ASPB members and a platform to not only present their work and get feedback but also to gain confidence in public speaking. “Networking with colleagues” would be the key words to encourage them to join. I would also tell them to look at the ASPB web page (http://www.aspb.org/membership) for additional member benefits.

5. Have you found a job using ASPB job postings or through networking at the annual meeting?
No. My current job is the only job that I ever applied for after I finished school, and I have been happily working in this same position for more than 15 years. However, meeting colleagues from other places has helped me find collaborators in the United States and abroad and decide the laboratories for sabbatical leaves in Norway, Japan, and New Zealand.

6. Have you hired anyone as a result of a job posting at the meeting or on our online Job Bank?
No, not yet.

7. Do you still read print journals? If so, where do you usually read them?
Yes, I read a combination of hard-copy and online journals. Depending on time availability, I end up reading them at home, in the office, or in the library.

8. What do you think is the next “big thing” in plant biology?
“Functional genomics,” I think, is the buzzword that is going to attract a lot of attention. It is important to understand the role of gene combinations in the entire metabolic pathway instead of one gene or enzyme in isolation. The most common approach to studying the effects of single-gene mutations and transformations on only its own product(s) will be replaced by its effects on the whole metabolic pathway of which a gene is a part, as well as the related pathways. Traditional biochemical approaches to delineate the functions of genes will become popular once again in the coming years.

9. What person, living or dead, do you most admire?
I have more that one person that I admire. My parents, who gave me the best of everything that they could afford, top this list. I always felt their unconditional love and support even when I thought I was not doing my best in life. They will always have a special place in my heart. I also admire my husband for always standing beside me in support of whatever I decide to do or not do. His endless patience, his stamina, and his ability to relax under any kind of circumstances are a few of the things I look up to. Also on this list are the exceptional technical staff at the Northeastern Research Station. The hard work and team effort of these wonderful colleagues, and their cooperation and confidence in me, have made my academic achievements possible. Outside the boundaries of personal connections, it is people like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Mother Teresa who attract my admiration.

10. What are you reading these days?
I am not much of a reader when it comes to pleasure reading because I am a slow reader and tend to read novels as seriously as research articles. When I do read, though, I like mystery. My favorite author is Mary Higgins Clark. I prefer to read short articles in magazines.

11. What are your hobbies?
Socializing, cooking, walking, and traveling.

12. What is your most treasured possession?
The memories of time spent with my husband and our children during holidays, family vacations, and visits to extended family members and all the photographs and movies of the family growing together.

13. What do you still have left to learn?
There is so much to learn. Everyday, new information is being published. I will be learning all my life, not only about scientific information for my own research area, but also about politics, world affairs, and environmental issues. I plan to keep learning from younger generations, especially my own kids and undergraduate students in my laboratory, about their way of looking at the world, thinking, and rationalizing. Hopefully, this will help me bridge or smooth out the phenomenon of the so-called generation gap.