Gadchiroli Tribal Lad Becomes American Scientist
Update: 2022-11-14 20:15 IST
Bhaskar Halami, senior scientist in the research and development section of Sirnaomics Inc, a biopharmaceutical company in Maryland, USA (Photo | LinkedIn)
Bhaskar Halami's life serves as an example of what can be accomplished by sheer hard work and perseverance, having gone from fighting to receive one square meal as a boy in a remote town in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli to becoming a senior scientist in the United States.
Halami, who was raised in a tribal tribe in the Kurkheda tehsil's Chirchadi village, is currently a senior scientist with the Maryland, USA-based biopharmaceutical business Sirnaomics Inc.
Halami overcame several challenges on his way to becoming a successful scientist, and he has a long list of firsts to his credit. He was the first person from the community to receive a Master's and a PhD, as well as the first Chirchadi graduate in science. Halami manages RNA synthesis and manufacturing while the company focuses on genetic medicine research.
Halami's parents were house helpers in the village because the family's needs couldn't be met by the food from their little farm. Things improved when Halami's father, who had completed his education through Class 7, learned about a job opening at a school in the Kasansur tehsil, more than 100 kilometres distant, and travelled there using every mode of transportation possible.