Ganesh Anand is a man on the move.
His journey began as a graduate of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India. It was at this same institution that he pursued simultaneously his master’s degree in Biological Sciences.
From India, he re-located to Piscataway, New Jersey (USA) and Rutgers University, where he earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry.
From the East Coast of the USA, he moved to the West Coast as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute-Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.
And today? He is in the Far East as an Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore.
“Yes, it was a bit of an adjustment moving to Singapore,” he recalled with a smile. “The pace of life is much faster here compared to Southern California. You could say it is more like New York City! But I’ve adjusted and I find the Department of Biological Sciences where I now teach and carry out research truly an international and stimulating environment.”
As a structural biologist, Dr. Anand uses structural mass spectrometry to help unravel specific protein-protein, protein-ligand, and protein-nucleic acid interactions. His key areas of interest include protein dynamics and the development of small molecule inhibitors for drug discovery using such structural mass spectrometry tools as amide hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange mass spectrometry and Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry in conjunction with X-ray crystallography.
“I am grateful for Waters investments in engineering and innovation so scientists like myself can focus on answering the big scientific questions without limitations. I like the academic approach taken by their scientists. They take the time to really understand the scientific problems and how to address them.”
A Waters customer since 2008, Dr. Anand was attracted to the power of the Waters Synapt™ High Definition Mass Spectrometry (HDMS™) System coupled with hydrogen/deuterium exchange and UltraPerformance LC® (UPLC®), which allowed him to conduct shape morphology experiments on proteins in solution.
When Dr. Anand originally became interested in hydrogen/deuterium exchange in 2000, he estimated that there were only a handful of experts around the world with a similar interest. Since then, interest has grown exponentially: this year’s American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) Conference and Exposition featured an entire track for devotees of the technology. The interest in H/D exchange has grown enormously, thanks in large measure to Waters investment in technology development and to the efforts of Professor John Engen (Northeastern University), one of the technology’s strongest advocates and also an honoree in the Waters Centers of Innovation.
In keeping with his travelogue past, Dr. Anand wishes for a future reduced of cultural differences, a more globalized society, hopefully leading to more effective conflict resolution.
“I think science can play a role in penetrating an increased number of cultures unencumbered by politics, and close the gap between those with knowledge and those without. And in that way, help to prevent future conflicts.”
