Meet Jannarthan: Breaking Boundaries in Gene Editing and Batting Technique

Lets meet Janaarthan! This episode was created for the purpose of the Haapaniemi lab website (https://haapaniemilab.org/). Kick back, relax, and let the waves of wisdom wash over you in this podcast episode – where learning meets laughter, and knowledge is served with a side of chill vibes. 

What keeps the mind sharp and the spirit light when one is ensconced in the demanding world of academic research away from home? Cricket! Janaarthan's love for the sport is a testament to staying rooted in one's heritage while embracing the new. Hear how he strikes a balance between the intensity of his master's thesis working on prime editing and the camaraderie of the cricket field, even under Norway's snowy cloak. Whether reflecting on the bustling streets of Oslo or unwinding with a bit of Netflix, Janaarthan's tale is a reminder of the beauty in persistence, the strength found in community, and the endless possibilities when one follows their calling with heart and hustle.

All music clips were used from the song "Jukka Tukka" after agreement with amazing band and friends 2+1 Jam band.
This podcast episode was created under the technical and official support of University of Oslo, Norway.

Transcript

Janaarthan: 0:30

Hello, I am Janaarthan Ganeshan. I am from Sri Lanka. I did my bachelor's in Sri Lanka. If you want me to say about Sri Lanka, it's a tiny island in Indian Ocean, it's in India. I am from there.

Janaarthan: 0:46

I did my bachelor's in biotechnology, where basic concept of each and every component of biotechnology, like microbiology, molecular biology, genetics, etc. Once I completed my biotechnology degree, I joined NTNU for my masters. Their masters are also from the same stream. It's biotechnology. Once I came to Norway, I spent one year in NTNU and then I Emma`s group a . Now I am here. I like Oslo because I've been in Trondheim for one year. When compared to Trondheim, it's very active. Something is always happening in Oslo, so I like these interactions.

Janaarthan: 1:31

I worked after obtaining my bachelor's degree. I worked in a hospital in the molecular biology department where we perform this vira extraction and RT-PCR and sometimes qPCR. That's all related to what I'm doing right now. I can relate my previous experience in the W lab. I can use some of the protocols or maybe learn from the protocols After the hospital I joined a clinical trial group where people perform this data migration of these clinical trials. That type of industry was quite new to Sri Lanka when I joined that company because we did not know that much of data manipulation or data production in the clinical trial industry. But it was a good experience to learn how the data has been analyzed and what type of results we should give to FDA, for example, to approve a drug. Those type of combined experience with lab and data analysis has been very helpful for my master thesis. I hope. I'm working with the Prime Editing System. It's a different version of CRISPR. My thesis focuses on screening the pegRNA platform so that we can optimize this entire pipeline for particular diseases like autoimmune disease. I'm working with ADA2 gene. My project basically involves how we can optimize this pegRNA and figure out what is the most promising and safety way of transferring this pegRNA into patient cells.

Janaarthan: 3:22

I like playing cricket. Not only from people in Sri Lanka, but in Southeast Asia Cricket is a popular sport. I do continue playing cricket and watching cricket in Norway. In NTNU we had a cricket team so that gave me a chance to go to the field and hang out with friends and it's like have a good balance for studying or staying alone in another country. Most of the time I like doing that, and during winter time or the times where we can't play, I used to watch Netflix.