Lohitash Karumbaiah solves problems with regenerative bioscience
Article By Claire Sanders Kinnard
Sitting in his office at the Edgar L. Rhodes Center for Animal and Dairy Science at the University of Georgia, Lohitash Karumbaiah reflects on his path from working in the agricultural biotechnology industry in India to his current role researching ways to help the brain heal itself after traumatic brain injury and disease.
“I’ve always had a deep sense of adventure and a desire for purpose, and I think my journey to where I am now reflects that quite well. Getting out of my comfort zone has been a huge part of my story,” said Karumbaiah, associate professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Driven by a pull toward the foundational science of his work, Karumbaiah made the leap from working in quality assurance and product development at Monsanto Co. (now Bayer AG) in India to his current role as the director of the Translational Glycomaterials and Neural Repair Laboratory at the Regenerative Bioscience Center.
“Before I was sitting in an office in a big city in India, I had been traveling all over the country and seeing firsthand how innovation truly impacted people, so I was anxious to get back to that,” Karumbaiah said. “That feeling only grew stronger as I began to tire of the mundane nature of my corporate position with its swanky big city office.”
With a deep appreciation of emerging technologies and a drive to get involved, he began exploring doctoral programs in the United States.
“I was admittedly very naïve about the application process, but I chose two programs I was interested in, one of which was UGA. When I heard that one of the faculty members I had considered was moving his lab and would also soon be at UGA, it felt like a sign that this was the place to be. Before I knew it, I was here in Athens,” Karumbaiah said. READ MORE
