Genetic research focuses on the study of DNA, RNA, chromosomes or genomes. Analyzing at any level needs different setups, experimental needs and expert knowledge.
This makes genetic research a challenging task, in particular for research scholars. During our podcast with Dr. Tushar Chauhan, he mentioned two major challenges he faced.
And we thought, ‘Why not discuss some real-world challenges every research scholar is facing when they deal with genetic research?’ We talked with two more experts and PhD research fellows to provide depth to this topic.
Here are five major challenges that every genetic research scholar faces.
Key Topics:
Sample Acquisition- Collection, Storage and Transport
These are the exact words of Dr. Tushar Chauhan. He explained that collecting samples from eunuchs is emotionally, physically and mentally burnout for him. Collecting biological samples is challenging.
When you deal with mentally or physically challenged patients, when you deal with body fluid, rare plant species, bacteria or microbes, all these samples are difficult to collect, handle and store.
Ethical permissions, risk of infection, and dealing with emotions, traveling, and cost all these factors collectively make the sample collection process tedious.
Podcast deep dive: Dr. Tushar Chauhan shared his scientific journey and the challenges he faced collecting samples from the specific marginalized group. He also explained his experimental setup and outcomes.
Watch our full podcast episode here: Dr. Tushar Explains the Genetics of Eunuch.
Related article: How to Collect, Store and Handle a DNA Sample?
Multidomain complexity in experimental setup:
Experimental design and setup are a pivotal stage of research where you need your supervisor’s expertise. Genetic research is a multidomain research field. You need many simultaneous experimental setups for a single research experiment.
Hence, choosing and setting a single experiment is challenging. For instance, any cancer, at a genetic level, can be studied either by chromosomal investigation, gene & DNA studies or genome-level investigation.
This makes the experimental design complex, tedious and costly. Further, it is highly unlikely that a single scientist carries expertise in all these domains.
In addition, SOP design, validation, standardization and experimental reproducibility are other challenges scholars have to face during experimental setup.
Data analysis and bioinformatics expertise:
Genome-wide association studies generate up to 10TBs of sequencing data, while chromosomal analysis may have a complex balanced translocation that only an expert can evaluate.
In the era of digitalization, AI and genome sequencing, data analysis is a pivotal part of genetic research. High-end data servers, software and pipelines for data analysis and experts are needed.
At a PhD or postdoc level, scholars do not have access to such high-end data analysis facilities and expertise. They need to rely on a third-party service provider to collect meaningful insights from their research.
Related article: 10 High-Paying Freelance Opportunities In Genetics [No Lab Work Needed].
Budget and funding constrain for high throughput analysis
Genetic analysis is a costly procedure, requiring a huge investment in terms of instrumentation, experimentation and analysis. Dr. Tushar Chauhan explained that for pilot studies, every sample needs genome-wide evaluation, which is a costly procedure.
In addition, authorities don’t allocate such a huge budget. Thus, every project has to compromise its potential due to cost and budget. We are releasing a podcast with a government authority, Dr. Ashwin Dalal, who explained that the scenario has now changed.
Particularly in India, “the government is funding generously, if the project promises meaningful outcomes. But it will take time to implement at a ground level.” Dr. Dalal told us.
So cost and budget are still an active challenge for research scholars in the field of genetics.
Upcoming podcast alert: we are releasing a full discussion session with an industry expert, Dr. Ashwin Dalal, this Friday. The podcast insights will be provided soon.
The silo effect- lack of interdisciplinary collaboration:
“Genetic research is a collective effort, not an individual adventure.”
As aforementioned, genetic research is a multi-domain research field. So, for a better understanding of your research, you need to collaborate with scientists or experts from different fields.
For instance, if a research focuses on prenatal work, they need the help of a gynecologist for amniocentesis, a cytogeneticist for chromosomal evaluation and a molecular geneticist for gene or genome-level analysis.
Further to this, a scholar also has to depend on an expert bioinformatician for data evaluation and analysis. Therefore, an active community and collaboration are needed to uphold a genetic research project.
However, unlike other fields like IT experts or social media creators, the geneticist community isn’t well-established.
Related article: How ResearchGate Will Help You Boost Your Scientific Career.
Strategic pathway to overcome these challenges:
Now it isn’t rocket science to overcome these challenges. What you need is a great strategy, an excellent guide and a smartly crafted research topic.
Try to design a research project that may be a part of someone else’s big-budget project. You will get funding, resources and expertise.
Choose an industry-leading guide. He or she will help you design a simple, cost-effective, but impactful research project and also avail active collaborations of their own.
Be proactive and talk with experts in your field before finalizing the project or research details. This helps you to understand the complexity, challenges and outcome of your research.
Wrapping up:
Challenges are a part of our lives. It actually helps us learn and understand the work we are doing and leads us one step closer to becoming a master in the field. Don’t be afraid of challenges, go further, try to solve them and shine like a star.
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