Dr. Imran Mungrue

I am very excited to be starting as an Assistant Professor at the Louisiana State University-Health Sciences Center this May. I completed my PhD training at UHN in the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, under the supervision of Drs. Mansoor Husain and Duncan J. Stewart in 2003.

During my time at UHN, I had the opportunity to interact with many exceptional students, researchers, clinicians and professors and the collegial environment was very important for my development. My graduate work gave me the opportunity to learn the “nuts and bolts” of all aspects of addressing biomedical problems. Importantly, I learned that medical research requires persistence and long stretches of work that do not necessarily lead to immediate results or rewards. I also experienced the satisfaction of generating a body of work that had potential value. Since then, I have had the opportunity to work in two laboratories at the University of California, San Francisco and Los Angeles (UCSF and UCLA), and have been successful in obtaining postdoctoral fellowships and funding from the National Institutes of Health.

I am curious in nature and have always been interested in solving problems for as long as I can remember and I believe that this type of personality is well-suited to a career in the field of research, where one has to work on problems that are daunting, but not impossible. I cherish coming into the lab on a daily basis to solve important problems that may have a great impact, and try not to be disappointed when exciting avenues turn into dead ends. My mentors at UHN were invaluable in developing these traits and, by example, demonstrated the value of perseverance and careful work.

I also try to remind myself that there is life outside of the lab and try to leave it behind for at least short stretches. I enjoy travelling, experiencing different cultures first-hand and in particular, sampling diverse food. I am also a developing runner, having completed my second marathon recently.