Know About This Woman Scientist Who Has Been Trying To Resolve Food Crisis One Microbe At A Time

For Meghana, her fascination with science goes back in time to when she was a child. Not deviating from her curiosity all throughout her school, college, and professional life, she built an illustrious profile that vouches for the science enthusiast in her. With a simple question about "What builds and sustains life?" she began her journey toward becoming a scientist and a woman contributing to the STEM field of the country.

Growing up in a country that is driven and reliant upon agriculture in multiple realms, she went into exploring the space of bioscience. Today her works continue to resolve the growing concern of food security and crisis through the study of microbiology.

Inspiration Lies Everywhere

One thing that gravitated Meghana toward microbiology is the fact that the study is applicable to every aspect of life, be it life sciences or civil engineering. Finding inspiration in every element, she believes that the subject always provides a fresh perspective that opens up several opportunities.

From reading the works of legends in the field of Microbiology, like Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, to implementing her understanding practically, she has been in the field of Agritech/ Biotech for over 12 years now.

Over this time, she has been changing one of the long-existing predictions that 'humankind is doomed to destroy themselves'. Meghana strongly believes that a good share of scientists, activists, inventors, and so on have been reversing the impact of consumption and exploitation and saving the dying planet one day at a time.

One such aspect that humans have been reckless with is soil and its microflora, according to Meghana. Simplifying it, she says, 'apart from sunlight, water, and soil, the microbial ecosystems that exist in the soil are critical to plant health.' With repeated cultivation, spraying in chemicals, and many such unhealthy practices, an imbalance sets upon the soil's microbial communities.

Meghana has been working over the years to restore this balance, and it's quite a challenge in a country like India, which has diversity even within its soils. She has been studying and experimenting with several soils to gain an understanding of them and has worked with more than 30,000 farmers from across the country in the process.

Coming From An Age When Women Were Expected To Stay Home

While speaking with The Logical Indian, Meghana said, "I belonged to a time and region where women were not encouraged to follow their dreams. Especially women who wanted to pursue careers in STEM." This, along with the lack of resources, poor accessibility, and the herculean amount of preconceived assumptions about lifestyles and goals, becomes hurdles in the way to exploring opportunities.

However, she was fortunate enough to have her family as her biggest support system. They have been hugely supportive of her ambitions and work, and that kept motivating her to do better despite the obstacles.

She says that even today, there are times when she happens to be the only woman in the boardroom discussions or product planning sessions. While she is grateful to be standing where she is right now, it makes her feel more responsible and accountable to work harder so as to inspire more women into the workplace.

Attributing her inspiration to Dr Kiran Mazumdar as well, she says her entrepreneurial journey is something she often takes lessons from. Her success and perseverance to grow as a woman leader in a male-dominated space has continued to inspire Meghana throughout her journey as a senior scientist at Absolute.

Fortunately for her, she was able to find an inclusive space where her views and opinions were heard and supported. Coming from a time that did not encourage many women scientists, such a workspace added to her motivation.

She also talks about how recent times witnessed an increasing trend in women's participation with growing interest in STEM fields. While talking to The Logical Indian, she says, "According to experts, societal stigma, prejudice, biases, social norms, and expectations have a profound impact on the calibre of education women receive, and this causes underrepresentation and discrepancy of women in STEM."

However, India is among those few nations that have created the greatest number of scientists and engineers, and it continues to show through the many progressive policies and reforms undertaken. A few such initiatives include the Department of Science & Technology's Vigyan Jyoti programme to level the playing field for deserving female students who want to major in STEM fields in college.

With the government and other regulatory organisations taking a step ahead, Meghana believes that it is time people also take up their individual responsibilities and encourage more women to break past the social barriers and pursue careers of their choice.

Also Read: My Story: 'Born And Raised In A Small-Town With No Women Role-Models To Look Up To, I Persevered And Became One'