John Pravin

Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme

Name:  John Pravin
Born:  India
Region: Chennai

John’s route to Scotland and to his current job in research at the University of Dundee is very interesting. Back home in India, John had an accident and burnt his ankle.  Although it healed it left a small scar with a white patch.  With his knowledge gained from his first degree in Microbiology from the University of Madras he knew that this was caused by the skin’s inability to produce melanin in the affected area. He also observed that many people in India had similar conditions related to this inability of the skin to produce melanin pigmentation.

His curiosity led John to do more research into the possibility of treating this condition with gene therapy and he discovered that a research group in Dundee were doing related research and so he spent two years going through that research in great detail. 

His desire to work with this group led him in 2004 to the University of Abertay in Dundee to study for a Masters in Biotechnology where he had the opportunity to work with the research group and complete his PHD. For John the choice was clear “Scotland is home to almost all the top pharmaceutical and biotech companies and it offers a world-class lifestyle.”

Thanks to the Fresh Talent scheme, John has been able to continue to work closely on leading-edge research and has a research technician post at the University of Dundee working on the activity of S6K which is involved in muscle growth, engineering muscle tissues and making cell sheets from cardiomyocytes to treat people suffering from myocardial infarction.

John’s advice to newcomers – go to a Ceilidh.  “If anyone wants to meet people, go to a Ceilidh.  It’s one of my favourite activities and I’ve been to at least 20 in the past 2 years – lots of fun and great entertainment.  I’ve also met many good friends through church and my workplace.”

John has really enjoyed discovering Scotland and its people and loves visiting the castles and lochs and Scotland’s cosmopolitan cities.  John also loves sport: “I’m mad about playing cricket – I’ve played with both the University team and with a local team called Norwood - and football.  The grounds that are here are so beautiful; sometimes I admire the beauty of the place rather than concentrating on my game!”

So for John the Fresh Talent Working in Scotland Scheme has given him a winning combination – the opportunity to do world class research in his chosen field and play as much cricket as he can!