Meet our Early Career Scientist Grant Winner Ruchi Prakash Jain

Meet our Early Career Scientist Grant Winner Ruchi Prakash Jain

Introducing Ruchi Prakash Jain of the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, Poland - the latest winner of our Early Career Scientist Grant!

For the past five years we’ve been awarding monthly $500 grants to life science PhDs or postdocs to support them with their career development. To date we’re proud to have helped more than 50 life scientists with the cost of travel to conferences, publishing fees, lab supplies and more.

Our latest winner is a PhD student working in the Laboratory of Neurodegeneration and will use the grant to help fund her attendance at the French Zebrafish Meeting on 29th-31st October 2025 in Toulouse, France. 

When we asked Ruchi how she felt about receiving the grant, she told us:

I am profoundly grateful to receive this Early Career Scientist Grant from Hello Bio. This grant will make it possible for me to attend the French Zebrafish Meeting and present my research to fellow zebrafish researchers. Incredibly motivating opportunities like these reassure me to know that early career researchers are being supported in a generous and encouraging way. Ruchi Prakash Jain, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Warsaw, Poland, Hello Bio Early Career Scientist Grant winner

Congratulations Ruchi! First, can you tell us a bit more about what you’re working on at the moment?

I am currently studying the role of voltage gated potassium channel- Kv2.1 subunits: kcnb1 and kcng4b, using a zebrafish model. These channels are linked to developmental epileptic encephalopathy (DEE). I am using gain-of-function and loss-of-function zebrafish mutants to understand how such mutations affect brain development, behaviour and neural excitability.

What excites you most about your field of research?

What excites me is how zebrafish as a model organism allow us to understand human diseases by recapitulating them. It is amazing to see how genetic-level disruptions manifest into circuit-level dysfunction and behaviour.

Which scientists working today do you most admire, and why?

I deeply admire the researchers whose work has shaped how we understand the brain and behaviour through zebrafish. Prof. Allan V Kalueff has been influential in the field of behavioural neuroscience. I also look up to Prof. Herwig Baier for his groundbreaking contribution to functional imaging and brain-wide activity mapping. And of course, the foundational work of Prof. Didier Stainier and Kerstin Howe in zebrafish genetics which continues to support much of the work happening in the field today.

What do you think are the biggest challenges currently facing life scientists and their work?

The current biggest challenge scientists are facing is the uncertainty of securing research funding, especially for the early-stage researchers. There is always a pressure to publish fast, but publishing itself is often slow, expensive, and frequently results in rejection. On top of that, artificial intelligence is changing the game in both exciting and intimidating ways, and it can be overwhelming to keep up with new tools without proper training. And finally, juggling work and mental health is still an ongoing struggle.

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Thank you so much Ruchi! We wish the best with your future research and we hope you enjoy the French Zebrafish Meeting in France!

Connect with Ruchi:

• LinkedIn: Ruchi Jain

• X: @Ruchi_P_Jain

Are YOU a life science PhD or postdoc researcher? Why not apply for our next monthly grant!

Application is quick and easy, just fill out the form here: https://hellobio.com/early-career-scientist-grant-application

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