Interview MDR PhD student: Ranganath Maringanti
Who are you, what is your background and how did you get involved in MDR?
Hi, My name is Ranganath Maringanti (Ranga). I am from India. Briefly, my academics include Bachelor’s in Pharmacy (B. Pharm) from India and Master’s in Biomedical Engineering(M. Eng) from Martin Luther University, Germany.
Tell us a little bit more about the research you are planning to do within MDR.
During my master’s study, I did my thesis on a ‘’chemokine regulated development of collateral vessel growth’’ in Max Planck Institute for heart and lung research in the department of cardiovascular development and remodeling. With this research exposure and interest in cardiovascular research, I got an opportunity for a PhD in University Medical Center Utrecht in the Department of Nephrology and Hypertension. My supervisors are: Prof. Marianne Verhaar(Promoter-I), Prof. Dirk. J. Duncker (Promoter-II), Dr. Caroline Cheng (Co-promoter/Principle investigator) and Dr. Maarten Brandt (Co-promoter).”Currently, I am focusing on the development of functional vasculature in a 3D microfluidic chip by the incorporation of fluorescent labelled-vascular cell types (VSMCs and HUVECs) and inducing flow in the micro-channels. Thereby, our aim is to induce atherosclerosis on this microfluidic chip by inducing monocytes underflow and differentiating them in to foam cells via Ox-LDL approach.”
Who is your biggest example in science and why?
There are two biggest examples in Science for me. One is ‘’Albert Einstein’’ as one of his quotes motivates me to grow both scientifically and spiritually. It says, ‘’There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is miracle and the other is as though everything is a miracle’’. Another example is my best friend, a Physicist, ‘’Rohit Ageer’’ because we have similar perception towards science and he is the only one who can perceive my unfathomable questions and I can learn a lot from his knowledge and dedication towards it.
What do you do in your free time and how can we recognize the typical Ranganath?
In my free time, I spend my time which complete depends on the state of my mood. It can be in many ways. Sometimes, I spend time just relaxing, watching Netflix/YouTube. Sometimes, I hang out with my friends, cooking, partying, going out and drinking a beer. Some other times I just spend time with myself and listening to mystical talks. Simply, you can recognize me as a cool, very patient and a socializing guy 😉