“5 Questions With…” is a weekly BioBuzz series where we reach out to interesting people to share a little about themselves, their work, and maybe something completely unrelated. This week we welcome Prachi Narayan, M.D., Principal Scientist at American Gene Technologies.
Dr. Narayan has over 23+ years of professional experience in the medical and research field. She has a diverse foundation and background in research, private practice, and teaching at county colleges and Universities. Dr. Narayan was mostly in academia before switching gears, joining the corporate industry in early 2020. She worked for Johnson & Johnson and Merck before joining American Gene Technologies.
Apart from professional life, Dr. Narayan has a family of 6—a husband, 2 human babies, and 3 fur babies (2 puppies and 1 kitty). She loves to travel, exercise, play badminton and tennis, eat, and volunteer. She is President of POP (Parents of Progress), which she and a group of parents pioneered in her school district, and is President and V.P. of 2 HOA’s. She’s a member of NCI, Hopkins Biotech and Alumni, MDA, and the American Red Cross.
1) Please introduce yourself to our audience by looking back at your education, training, and career.
My career began in India as a Medical Officer after med school, and later as a Research Fellow in Interventional Cardiology. I taught Anatomy and Physiology in my med school.
After getting married and having my first daughter, I moved to the U.S. after my husband secured a high tech job in New Jersey. Our first years were very challenging since we moved to the country right after 9/11. Due to my dependent visa status, I was unable to be gainfully employed for the first months in America. I decided to volunteer my time as a research assistant and prepare for the U.S. medical licensing exam.
Facing all these formidable obstacles, while taking care of my family with no support system, was daunting. I continued my medical profession and research and decided to give back to the community by teaching. I am honored to be teaching within the Rowan Community College transfer system as well as a professor at Rowan University. Specializing in science-related subjects ranging from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Calculus, my focus is on Anatomy and Physiology. During the COVID pandemic, I had the honor of creating the online syllabus for the Anatomy and Physiology course at the university, which I still teach to this day.
I was always passionate about immuno-oncology, genetics, and stem cell biology. My love for research grew even more while working at the Cellular and Molecular Biology program at USciences, and I furthered my professional development at Johns Hopkins through their Biotechnology program. I dedicated these last few years to learning all I could about Immuno Oncology. As fate would have it, at a presentation at Hopkins, Montgomery Campus four years ago, I met Jeff Galvin, CEO of American Gene Technologies.
2) What brought you to AGT, and how has your experience been with the company/team so far?
After my first encounter with Jeff at a seminar four years earlier, I was amazed by the team and their mission to find a cure for HIV. I kept in contact with Jeff over the years, keeping a keen eye on the progress made by AGT. Living in New Jersey, it was a big commitment to work all the way in Maryland, but I knew I had to be a part of this incredible innovation. I reached out to Jeff in December and I joined AGT in January 2022. Although it has only been a couple of months, I feel like I belong to a team. Jeff has been phenomenal from the start, and I am honored to have very welcoming and knowledgeable colleagues.
3) Tell us more about your role at AGT and what you’re looking to accomplish over the next year.
I’m a Physician-Scientist, and we as a team are looking forward to achieving a cure for cancer. Of course, we don’t expect this to happen in a year, but I have already started venturing into some aspects and some valuable targets. Some aspects of the program are top secret and will be shared at a later time, but we are excited about the progress.
I will be supporting AGT’s ImmunoToxTM program, helping the team use AGT’s patented technology for HIV and reapplying it to fight cancers. We have some brilliant ideas that we’re trying to accomplish. Although the ideas may not always work out, we learn every step of the way; that’s what science is all about. My job is to develop the ImmunoToxTM program by leveraging my research and medical background, and I hope to create wonders with my team!
4) Do you have someone in your life who you’d consider to be a close mentor? Tell us more about them and the impact they’ve had on you.
I have had several mentors in my life. I will always look up to my mamma, who was a very strong and determined woman. She spent her life teaching, mentoring, and helping students and retired as a principal and director of a residential school. My dad had a similar background – he was a professor, mentor, and principal of a homeopathic medical school.
In high school, some of my mentors were my teacher, Geetha Raj, and Principal, the late Fr. Robert Fernandes. In Pre-University College, it was Prof. Rao (Physics). When I started med school, I had quite a few mentors, including Dr. Dharwadkar (general advice), Dr. Desai (med school sports), Dr. Uppin (Surgery), Dr. Doddannavar (Medicine), Dr. (Mrs.) Patted (OBGYN) and Dr. Halkatti (Cardiology and research). In the U.S., some of my mentors include Prof. Helfgott, Dr. Malankar, and Dr. Pandey.
Each of these people has had a part in shaping me into who I am today. As an immigrant and a woman, I have received discouraging remarks about my age or ability to pursue my goals. My mentors, however, saw my capabilities and pushed me to break through the glass ceiling. Their support and belief in me allowed me to thrive. I am a medical doctor, a mother, and a researcher trying to discover a cure for cancer. I have always been self-driven, but having a support system motivated me even more. I’m very thankful for everyone who believes in me, including my colleague Edmund Cronin, who encouraged me to participate in this series in recognition of Women’s History Month.
5) And finally, you’re relatively new to the BioHealth Capital Region – what is something that you’re looking forward to seeing/visiting/doing in the coming months as the weather warms up?
I visited Maryland frequently for years for various seminars and development programs in and around my alma mater, Hopkins. I also felt right at home as I’ve visited family in Maryland and Virginia. I love the outdoors, do some rock climbing with my colleagues, visit national parks, and go on short trips on the weekends. I can’t wait for the National Cherry Blossom Festival—the pictures look so beautiful every year. It’ll be great to see them up close and in person!
