Prabuddha Ghosh Dastidar was born in India and moved to California at a couple of months old. His family remained in Irvine, CA for a few years before finally settling in Waxhaw, outside of Charlotte, during his pre-school years. They remained in Charlotte where Prabuddha grew up and eventually attended Metrolina Scholars Academy.
Prabuddha has a passion for soccer, which he has been playing since 10 years old- inspired by watching the world cup with his grandfather. Recently he picked up road and trail biking, calling it a “quarantine hobby”. He jokes that this new hobby led to a lot of weight loss, as it increased his quarantine activity significantly. He also describes himself as very extroverted. Outside of soccer and biking Prabuddha loves to spend time with his friends.
He feels that this interest was definitely cultivated through his time at Metrolina and his AP coursework later. In 8th grade he took Biology honors at Metrolina where he learned about cell membranes and oxidation. In his day to day reading he saw something about oxidation of cancer cell membranes through anti-cancer drugs and how it can be reversed with antioxidants. He was fascinated with the idea of detoxifying cancer drugs in order to administer them in greater quantities and thus make them more efficient. This piqued his interests enough that he cold emailed several research labs to inquire about learning more. Dr. Chakabarti, a researcher at UNC-Charlotte and Principal Investigator at Chakrabarti Lab, responded and welcomed his curiosity, supporting him to do his first research project from scratch.
Research driven by something Prabuddha came across in his reading was a recurring motivator. When he noticed a researcher at Rutgers doing research that discovered the overexpression of a certain gene can lead to schizophrenic brain anatomy. This drove him to want to know whether he could use his knowledge of gene editing gained in the Chakrabarti Lab and use gene silencing to inhibit schizophrenic brain anatomy. His next research project focused on pancreatic cancer. This research project identified previously unknown vulnerabilities in pancreatic cancer cells that can be used to target cancer treatment. He manipulated a step in the central dogma process (the biological process by which genes are expressed to synthesize proteins). This causes pancreatic cancer cells to express versions of genes (isoforms) that weaken the cells. Thinking back on this project he comments, “I remember a lot of late evenings at the lab during the holiday season.”
In addition to his own exploration, Prabuddha also credits some of his teachers for inspiring him to pursue his interest in STEM, noting that his AP Biology class had a major impact on him. He extends his appreciation for Mr. Steven Wilson at Marvin Ridge high school, noting that, “Both the class and the teacher were inspiring.” He loved the way that Mr. Wilson approached the subject, using a storytelling approach. He recalls a specific moment in the class learning about the splitting of water in photosynthesis and how they discovered the process. He felt that the experiment with the biomarkers was cool and the innovation was inspiring. He often finds himself blown away by the genetics research and major experiments that led to the understanding of today and feels that biology really captures that experimental part early.
As a sophomore he decided to apply to NCSSM because of his love for STEM. He chose NCSSM because he had been watching the announcements of their ISEF winners for years and was seeking additional research opportunities. At NCSSM he encountered another inspiring teacher, Dr. Avineri who taught him multivariate calculus. When asked about how she inspired him he replied, “ Dr. Tamar Avineri, definitely ignited my passion for STEM. She was never just about learning the concept and solving the problem. She always pushed us to find deeper meanings and to understand the proof and thinking behind it. When I was working on the programming and theorizing the project I drew parallels between the work and multivariable calculus.”
As a student Prabuddha has been able to participate in Science and Engineering Fairs since 5th grade. He was an ISEF finalist in 2020 and in 2021 and has been doing research in a University setting (at UNC-C) since grade 8. This year’s project was the first he was able to share at ISEF, as the competition portion was cancelled due to the 2020 COVID19 shutdown. His research this year came about as he was spending time with friends from NCSSM. During a game of pool he was sharing ideas and his friend Connor brought up an idea about the R-theta motion system for 3D printers. As it had little to do with Prabuddha’s interest in biomedical sciences he did not make a connection immediately, but by the next day he was pitching a team project idea to Connor about using 3D printing for stents for medical research. Combining their ideas and passions, they embarked on a new research project and a deeper friendship.
Their project ARTHETA-0: An Innovative, Affordable Approach to the Onsite, Rapid 3D Printing of Artery Stents, Parameterized to Fit Individual Patients’ Needs led them from their regional competition to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). At ISEF Praduddha and his research partner Connor Mitchell won the following awards:
Biomedical Engineering - Second Award of $2,000ENBM001T — ARTHETA-0: An Innovative, Affordable Approach to the Onsite, Rapid 3D Printing of Artery Stents, Parameterized to Fit Individual Patients’ Needs
Connor Mitchell, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Raleigh, NC; United States of America
Prabuddha Ghosh Dastidar, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Waxhaw, NC; United States of America
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society
Second Physical Science Award of $1,000
ENBM001T — ARTHETA-0: An Innovative, Affordable Approach to the Onsite, Rapid 3D Printing of Artery Stents, Parameterized to Fit Individual Patients’ Needs
Connor Brannon Mitchell, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Raleigh, NC; United States of America
Prabuddha Ghosh Dastidar, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Waxhaw, NC; United States of America
Prabuddha was able to experience ISEF as a researcher in 2021 and thought that it was great. Noting that the Society for Science and the Public did an excellent job transitioning it to virtual. Commenting that, “Even though we were far apart, we were so connected.” He mentioned the interchanges via email where he got notifications like, “this person from China commented on your projects”. He also found himself just jumping on at random times because of the 24 hour access. He especially liked spending time on the avatar portal, which allowed researchers to walk around a virtual world and interact with other researchers from around the world. He and Connor would jump on and meet people to talk about their projects. He even wondered whether the 24 hour access might have provided the opportunity for more communication than in prior years.
He also noted that it was nice to have the judging done in advance, but the waiting for the awards ceremony was difficult. As his research was done with a teammate from Raleigh, he made the trip to Connor’s for the awards ceremonies and they were able to watch together.
One benefit he noticed about the virtual year was that his school split students into small cohorts which allowed him to get to know others very well. In addition, he felt more comfortable presenting using the virtual format and truly enjoyed having access to school and research 24 hours.
This summer Prabuddha is a rising senior at NCSSM and is enrolled in the mentorship research program. He focuses a lot of his electives in biology but not all, noting that his favorite courses this year include Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Genetics, and Multivariable Calculus.
In the future he hopes to work in Academia or Medicine/Clinical Practice as a working physician or surgeon. He would also be interested in a role that teaches. He is sure that he wants to continue to do STEM research in his career, even if he does not end up practicing medicine.
When we asked Prabuddha if he had one piece of advice for a young person who is interested in Science or Engineering he said, “Everyone has a spirit of innovation, but many times we see that spirit put aside when we are outside of the lab or classroom. I encourage everyone to carry it with them everywhere they go, because that is how great ideas come about.”