CPS Grad Spotlight - Karan Malhotra
Name: Karan Malhotra
MSc or PhD Candidate: PhD Candidate
Location of Undergraduate Education:
MSc. in Analytical Chemistry, and
HBSc. in Biological Chemistry at
University of Toronto Mississauga
Name of the Lab at CPS: Krull Lab
Selected Awards:
The F.E. Beamish Prize in Analytical Chemistry
Huguette J. Cohen Award
NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship (Doctoral)
Chem Club Graduate Scholarship
Selected Research Contributions:
https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=D7RUuywAAAAJ&hl=en
Karan, please tell us about yourself and your journey as a PhD Candidate!
How did you come to UTM? What interested you to join a lab here?
I have always had a strong interest in the sciences and the natural world. In school, I pursued the SciTech program and when I came to UTM as an undergrad, I wanted to continue my journey in the sciences. As an undergrad in my third year, I found that analytical chemistry best suited my interests because it had the right blend of fundamental and applied science. I was lucky enough to have a research opportunity in my fourth year in Professor Krull’s research group and his supervision style, and approach were the main reasons why I continued into graduate studies at CPS.
When did you realize that you wanted to pursue a graduate study?
I struggled for most of my undergrad to find opportunities that would fit my interests. It was after pursuing research positions like the CHM489, that I gained greater interest in academic research. After much consultation with peers and mentors, I decide to apply for the MSc program with the Department of Chemistry (and CPS). This experience was my first and best chance to try academic research and I enjoyed it enough that I decided to start a PhD directly after submitting my thesis.
What are your research interests? Tell us few exciting things about your research.
One of the most exciting and promising areas in research, for me, has been looking at how materials behave at the interface of physical and biological chemistry. Here, we have some fundamental insights to the surface science that governs the interactions of biomaterials to inorganic surfaces. For example, we can use polymers and small molecules to control nonspecific adsorption and aggregation processes of nanoparticles. However, controlling these interactions and then transitioning the technology to build devices and tools is still one of the most challenging areas in nano- and biotechnology.
In my research, I designed a new set of polymers as surface coatings to not only control the aggregation process of nanoparticles, but also to allow for functionalization and application of these materials for sensing and bioimaging. My work attempts to address the poor stability (in PBS buffer) of a class of materials known as upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) that have the fascinating property of undergoing upconversion. In this phenomenon, UCNPs absorb photons in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum and emit light in the ultraviolet-to-visible regions. Due to this property, UCNPs have been well studied for biosensing and bioimaging applications however, the transition of these nanoparticles to commercial products has been severely hindered. This is primarily due to the destabilizing effect of phosphate containing buffers to UCNPs and for products to be commercially viable, it is important to demonstrate a minimum shelf life of at least three months. Over the course of my project, I was able to show that by varying the design of the new polymers that I made for UCNPs, I could improve the stability of these nanoparticles from hours to over four months. This massive improvement in the stability of UCNPs in buffer solutions brings the field one step closer to true commercial applications. Much of this work will be coming out in a peer-reviewed report later this summer and I am very excited to share it with the nano community.
What is your goal when you finish your degree?
A lot of the goals and plans that I made at the start of my degree took a very different turn because of COVID. So, while I do have an idea of what I want to do next, I try to be more cautious, flexible, and open to opportunities as they come. With that said, I hope to continue doing research at a high level for the next few years, whether it is in an academic or industrial settings. I would like to work in a research group with technology that is close to commercialization or with direct commercial applications. While fundamental science is extremely important for expanding our understanding of the natural world, I believe that transitioning science to technological innovation requires a slightly different skillset which I would like to develop moving forward in my career.
What are some of your achievements you'd like to share?
Over the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside many amazing grad students in both CPSGSA and UTMAGS. Together, we have hosted, and organized dozens of events and I am always proud of what we achieved in those years. As I look back, I also recognize the amazing undergraduate students who I had the pleasure of mentoring and teaching. I’ve always felt that I learned more from them than I ever taught and for that, I am very grateful.
Do you have any advice for students considering to pursue graduate studies in research?
Research can be quite stressful, and it becomes very easy to spend all your time in the lab working on projects and setting up experiments. This doesn’t always leave much time to do anything else, but I really recommend that everyone should try to live a balanced lifestyle. At least an hour of exercise three times a week, and healthy meals will do wonders for your mood and stress. Grad school is ultimately, a marathon and not a sprint. The daily habits that you build early on will over time transform your experience, making research and your experience with science a pleasant and worthwhile one.
I also encourage everyone to get involved with the student groups on campus, CPSGSA and UTMAGS. Both organizations offer tremendous opportunities and support to plan events, manage budgets, and to enjoy grad school with your peers. Some of my best memories these past few years have been about planning events and organizing breakfast/networking events. While the research is fun and important, the memories and connections you make with your peers can last a lifetime.