Written by Kajal Gupta and edited by Christina Nowicki.
Check out the Spring 2023 Innovators and Motivators Podcast with Dr. Kajal Gupta! (scroll to the bottom of this page to listen now)
Dr. Kajal Gupta discovered her passion for science at a young age. She has always been naturally inquisitive and eager to learn new things. While she decided to become a research scientist early on in her life, picking a specialty was not as obvious. Born and raised in a small town in India, Dr. Gupta received her Ph.D. from one of India’s premier schools in infectious diseases. Her desire to learn more and further her education led her to relocate to the United States, where she chose the University of Notre Dame to pursue a post-doctoral fellowship.
She had no idea what the future held. Immigrating to the United States on a J1 visa made it difficult for her to obtain an independent research position in academia. In her pursuit of a fulfilling academic career, she decided to pursue various post-doctoral fellowships at major U.S. schools such as the University of Notre Dame, the State University of New York, and Rush University Medical Center to keep her visa status while simultaneously climbing up the academic ladder. Despite all the obstacles, Dr. Gupta’s resilient character landed her an independent position, and she is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at Rush University Medical Center. Her research focuses on the development of new immunotherapies for breast and pancreatic cancer. She is well-published and well-funded, and she is well-known for her unwavering dedication to her job and students.
Dr. Gupta’s career at the crossroads of science, technology, human contact, and intellectual problem-solving is both gratifying and fascinating, although she sometimes finds portions of her job difficult due to the unique hurdles of being a woman in science. Her strongest advice to young women is to never compromise and to never let someone tell you that you can’t attain your aspirations. She also suggests compartmentalizing, prioritizing time management, and, most importantly, finding outlets for relaxation.
Dr. Gupta is pushing the edge by participating in efforts that encourage more women to pursue careers in research, in addition to juggling family life and the rigorous demands of her jobs. Dr. Gupta also aims to help her trainees develop the skills needed to allow them to navigate through the uncomfortable situations that arise during the course of their career, for which little formal training exists – imparting wisdom on everything from daily work ethics to dealing with unwelcome comments as part of her casual teaching style.